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Thursday, April 29, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
FILM festival partners with Liberty THEATRE Opera House expands viewing options
By Alex Wittwer
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Eastern
Oregon Film Festival plans to light
up the screen at one of La Grande’s
seminal landmarks.
The fi lm festival, which was held
only online last year due to the
pandemic, aims to serve moviegoers
and fi lm buffs a special treat this
October — the festival will take
place in the Liberty Theatre, the
newly renovated historic building
that dates back to 1910.
There also will be showings at
the performing arts space HQ in
downtown La Grande and the
newly renovated Loso Hall at
Eastern Oregon University. But the
Liberty, 1008 Adams Ave., will be
the main attraction.
With the new venues, new tech-
nology will help increase the overall
quality of the festival.
“This the fi rst time there’s been
a good screen and projector,” said
Chris Jennings, the main organiz-
ing force behind the EOFF. “It’ll be
great to move to more solid ground.”
Each year, the fi lm festival shows
nearly two dozen fi lms ranging
from feature-length fl icks to bite-
sized shorts. Artists from around
the country come and speak about
their fi lms and their process in
creating them.
The fi lm selection process, which
in previous years involved the
members of EOFF coming together
and watching back-to-back fi lms
over a several-hour period before
giving recommendations and dis-
cussion, has evolved to fi t with the
pandemic.
Last year members watched on
their own or through watch par-
ties via Zoom. This year marked
a return of those watch parties
and a new addition — a residency
program.
Jennings said he wanted even
more high-quality talent congre-
gating in La Grande each year, so
he created a new fi lm residency
program with the goal of having
fi lmmakers write their screenplays
and produce their works in
the Grande Ronde Valley,
which in turn would promote
the region on a grander scale.
In a sense, Jennings is
looking for the Eastern
Oregon equivalent of “The
Goonies” — a way to put La
Grande on the map the way
the 1985 adventure com-
edy fi lm raised the profi le of
Astoria.
The inaugural group of
EOFF residents consists of
four festival alumni — Al-
exander Craven, H. Nelson
Tracy, Natalie Metzger and
Parker Winship — plus
Karina Lomelin Ripper and
Samantha Crainich, who are
new to Eastern Oregon.
“They’re here,” Jennings
said, “with the goal of them
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
coming back in a year to
Patrons at the Liberty Theatre Cafe sit
produce those fi lms.”
outside Friday, April 23. The theater is set to
The fi lmmakers will stay open later this year and host a portion of
one month in La Grande at the Eastern Oregon Film Festival in October.
The Lodge at Hot Springs
how the nuance and the culture
Lake. There, they will spend their
and the landscape of the Grande
time writing their screenplays —
Ronde Valley as a whole can play a
hopefully inspired by the region,
role within that story.”
Jennings said.
The 2021 Eastern Oregon Film
“The major stipulation of the
Festival will run Oct. 21-23. For
residency program was we want to
have the screenplay to be the focus. more information, including how
to purchase tickets, visit www.
(We want) their time here to be
eofi lmfest.com.
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for ‘High School Musical Jr.’
ELGIN — The Elgin Opera House circumvented the obstacles because
the pandemic to fi lm its production of “High School Musical Jr.” — and the
show is now live for ticket holders.
The remaining showtimes are Thursday and Friday, April 29 and 30 at
7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 1 at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 2
at 4:30 p.m. To watch the fi lm online, purchase a ticket for a specifi c date
and time. You have to log in at the time on your ticket — the show cannot
be paused or watched later.
The Elgin Opera House also is offering “watch party” public screenings
for the April 29-May 1 showings for up to 100 people on a fi rst come, fi rst
served basis. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Bring your tickets
and show them at the door.
The concession stand will be open. Masks and social distancing will be
required per state law.
The musical’s cast numbers 70, and all were divided into cohorts of 10
actors in keeping with the restrictions in place on group gatherings. Terry
Hale, the executive artistic director at the Elgin Opera House, and his
team had to be creative.
“It was a puzzle,” he said. “We had to go through the entire script, every
song, and break it up into seven pieces.”
The fi nal production replicates a live theater experience as much as pos-
sible. The entire show was recorded in the theater space and the record-
ings were mixed to sound like one cohesive group performance.
To get tickets for “High School Musical Jr.,” go to www.elginoperahouse.
com and click on “order tickets,” contact Laura at tickets@elginoperahouse.
com or call the box offi ce at 541-663-6324.