Local filmmakers take on documentary challenge

Local documentary filmmakers' efforts will grace the screen at Sisters Movie House on April 30. Paired with a sampling of the best of the entrants in the 2009 International Documentary Challenge, four films from Central Oregon will be highlighted.

Sponsored by the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, the showcase of short films stops in Sisters after a sold-out showing in Portland before moving on to San Francisco and then to Toronto. Chamber Executive Director Erin Borla jumped at the chance to bring the event to Sisters.

"It is a unique experience that will bring people to town and is a big deal for us to have here," Borla said.

The International Documentary Challenge calls for submissions that must be created from start to finish in a five-day period. Participating teams receive an e-mail with the topic and theme on the morning of the first day, and are off and running. All participants must be volunteers and obviously ready for a challenge.

Sisters resident, Lynn Rothan, was part of the crew of Team Homespun which produced the film "Song of the Badlands."

The story centering on a Bend musician, Mark Quon, and the song he wrote honoring his deceased friend, the film was Rothan's first try at filmmaking.

"I wanted to try a different medium in art than painting and sculpting, which I focus on," Rothan said. "I also wanted to collaborate with other people, as most of my work is created as an individual. It was wonderful to lend artistic direction without knowing all of the technical aspects."

Another member of Team Homespun, Kara Jensen, participated for the second year in a row.

"The energy is exciting," she said. "It is rewarding and fun when it all comes together. Because of the time constraint you are plunged into creativity for five straight days. Another member of our team, Bob Sant, of Bend, called it the 'creative vortex.' That feeling you get is what makes the stress of the effort worth it."

Joe Leonardi helped put another team together for this year's challenge after hearing about the Portland-based event from Jensen.

"It sparked me creatively," Leonardi said. "That you could just dive in and go for it. From the get-go we brainstormed for about an hour and then the eight members split up and got started."

Leonardi enjoyed the collaboration the project brought and found that it helped with the challenging aspects of the endeavor.

"Technical problems were the main bummer," he said. "But when I was stressing, someone would help calm me down and vice versa. In the end, I felt we were able to show the artistic process in action showing regular people doing what they do without resorting to star power. Doing a documentary allowed us to get issues in front of people in a positive way. I would definitely do this again."

The one-time screening is scheduled for April 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available now. For more information visit http://www.sistersmoviehouse.com and http://www.docchallenge.org.

Patrick McGinn participated as a crew member for Team Homespun.