Who wants to attend a genre film festival in the town of Twin Peaks?
EW can exclusively reveal that North Bend, Washington — where director David Lynch shot many of the exteriors for his mindbending saga — will play host next August to the inaugural North Bend Film Festival. The event will focus on what is being described as “standout vanguard programming” and provide a platform for emerging filmmakers. Working directly with the town of North Bend, NBFF will, according to the official announcement, “be an event for the local community, Northwest creatives, and the national genre film industry to enjoy together.”
The festival is founded by Justin Timms and Jess Byers, who in 2016 launched the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Hugues Barbier, Founder and Creative Director of the Ithaca Fantastik and Acquisitions and Festival Manager for Raven Banner Entertainment. NBFF takes place Aug. 23-26.
“We are very excited to be able to offer a platform for films that are navigating the genre and traditional film festival circuit, but do not adequately reflect either set of values” said Barbier, in a statement. “We’re seeing a growing number of filmmakers gravitating towards a space that North American’s call ‘vanguard,’ but which stems from European surrealism or South American magic realism. These are the type of films we’re seeking for NBFF, and the town of North Bend, WA., is the perfect location to harness that magic and share the cinematic experience with an audience.”
The festival’s homebase will be the town’s art-deco cinema North Bend Theatre, with additional events spread out to historic locations and natural outdoor spaces available in the area. Residents of North Bend and the surrounding towns will be offered discounts, and local businesses will be embraced as a part of the festival. The first edition of the festival will feature special screenings, filmmaker talks, a VR component, and interactive events in addition to the event’s film program. NBFF will also offer a filmmaker development program and an additional program that highlights female talent.
The festival has also announced a list of film business luminaries who will sit on the event’s advisory board and whose membership includes Todd Brown (XYZ Films), actress Barbara Crampton (Actress, Re-Animator, You’re Next), Katie Kelly (Head of Marketing, Altspace VR), Bre Keveren (Special Events, City of North Bend), Tori Palmatier (Ridley Scott’s RSA Films), Ina Pira (Curator, Vimeo), Annick Mahnert (Screen Division), Charlie Sextro (Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival), Travis Stevens (Snowfort Pictures), Mara Webster (Panels Programming Director, Tribeca Film Festival), and Jenn Wexler (Director and Producer, Glass Eye Pix).
Further details about the festival will be announced at a later date. But submissions are now open via FilmFreeway and Withoutabox for the first edition of the North Bend Film Festival.
The organizers offered no news on whether some “damn good coffee” would be available at the festival — but we wouldn’t bet against it.
Entertainment Weekly has the full scoop HERE
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