Last night, BendFilm announced the winners in 12 categories for the 2012 festival. Check out the favorite films below or at bendfilm.org

Best Student Short, $500: "Kiss Me," Jules Nurrish, writer, director. 

Best Short, $500:“Far (Daddy)”, Per Dreyer, writer, director

 Best Cinematography: “A Little Closer,” Matthew Petock, writer/director

 Best Ensemble Cast:“A Little Closer," Matthew Petock, writer/director

 Best Conservation Film: “Watershed," Marck Decena, writer/director

 Best Documentary, $500:“Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines,” Kristy Geuvara-Flanagan, director

 Best Narrative, $60,000 Panavision feature camera rental package: A Little Closer,” Matthew Petock, writer/director

 Best Directing, $500: “Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines,” Kristy Geuvara-Flanagan, director

 Best Screenplay, $500: “It’s A Disaster,” Todd Berger, writer/director

 Special Jury Prize: “Trash Dance,” Andrew Garrison, director

 Katie Merritt Audience Award, $500: “Ethel,” Mark Bailey, writer Rory Kennedy, director

Best of Show, $5000: "Far (Daddy),” Per Dreyer, writer/director

If you haven't seen any films this weekend, check the BendFilm schedule and get out on the town! 

Re-screenings of Best of Show winner "Far (Daddy),”will take place today at 10:30am at Regal 1. Best Doc, “Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines,” will screen tonight at 6pm at the Tower, and other encore performances will take place throughout the day. 

It's a great weekend to be a film buff in Bend!

If you've been wandering through Tin Pan Alley recently, enjoying a coffee at Lone Pine, catching a movie at Tin Pan Theater, making a sketchy drug deal or just doing some good old fashioned dumpster diving, your photo may have been snapped by an anonymous documentarian somewhere above you. 

BackAlleyBlog.com is an archive of the happenings in the alley between Thump Coffee and Connecting Point Computers, photographed and narrated from somewhere above street level.

Posts date back to July so if you've been doing anything note worthy in the alley, you're probably busted and all over the internet. Check out the "tales from between two dumpsters."

Keep 'em coming! 

(Thanks for the tip Jared Rasic!)

The vice presidential debate takes center stage tonight. I know what you’re thinking, who cares? Well we do, because this is a great excuse for a new drinking game!

Try this one from The CityBeat. I’m willing to bet you’ll be tanked before the candidates start discussing foreign policy. 

Biden rules include:

• If Joe Biden says “literally” when he actually means “figuratively” take a drink.
• If Joe Biden says “literally” and actually means “literally” chug.
• If the camera pans to Jill Biden, take a drink.
• If Jill Biden looks embarrassed, take two drinks.

Some Ryan rules mandate:

• If Paul Ryan tries to relate to young voters by bringing up the contents of his iPod, scoff and take two drinks while mentally reminding yourself to introduce him to Passion Pit if you ever see him in person.
• If Paul Ryan mentions his mother, take a drink.

• If Paul Ryan’s mother is in attendance, chug.

There are also rules for both candidates:

• If either candidate tells an inane personal anecdote about Kentucky to make themselves more folksy and relatable because that’s where they’re holding the debate, take a smug drink since you don’t live there.
• If either candidate mentions the 47% drink. If you are part of the 53 percent that actually pay income taxes and Mitt Romney cares about you, buy someone else a drink.

Bring on the drunken heckles! Click this link for a full list of rules and be sure to bring your printed copy to your debate watching location for consultation during the show.

If you’re looking for a place to watch the debate tonight, try the Tin Pan Theater. Starting at 6pm they will be running the show on their big screen. Cheers!

The first draft of the schedule for Bend Roots Revival has been posted!

 Click here to see who's playing, when and where!

We are very excited to see so many returning local bands and some new names on the schedule. The Bend Roots Revival will take place Thursday September 27th at The Victorian and Parrilla Grill and continues Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th at the Century Center. Start getting pumped up, it's going to be a great weekend of local music. 

Traveling man and transcendental Americana singer/songwriter Luke Redfield plays celestial folk  music for the nomadic intellectual. His prosaic lyrics have gleaned comparison to Bright Eyes and Iron and Wine and would fit neatly alongside Beat generation poetry, discussing everything from philosophy to social activism and, of course, the open road. Something like a Jack Kerouac novel set to music by Devendra Banhart.

Redfield’s poetic sensibilities stem from his wandering escapades across the US and Europe. After the recording his first EP, Fire Mountain, in 2008, Redfield pulled a Thoreau and spent a year living in a seven-by-seven shack in the Alaskan wilderness. He emerged with a new set of inspired material and was ready to record. He has since released two full length albums, 2010’s Ephemeral Eon and his newest release Tusen Takk which features collaborations from members of Andrew Bird’s band, Bon Iver and Peter Wolf Crier.

You can listen to all of his albums here.

Redfield also recently recorded with Rock Island, Ill. based indie trailblazers, Daytrotter. Listen to his acoustic Daytrotter session here.
 

Don’t miss his set tonight which rounds out his summer tour, it will soothe any well traveled soul.  He will be joined by shoegaze experimental guitarist Brave Julius.  

Luke Redfield and Brave Julius

Friday August 3

8pm, $5

The Horned Hand 507 NW Colorado Ave.