Mission Nonprofit Spotlight: OlyFilm

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Each month, Thurston Community Media (TCMedia)’s Mission Nonprofit connects with local organizations and agencies that are making positive impacts in our communities. This month, Mission Nonprofit host Robert Kam sat down with board chair Jeff Barehand and board member Janice Liu of the Olympia Film Collective (now OlyFilm), to discuss their history, goals for the future and their upcoming 10-year anniversary screening at the Capitol Theater on December 12, 2022.

Olympia Film 10 Year Anniversary Screening

On December 12 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., join OlyFilm at Capitol Theater as they celebrate 10 years of Olympia indie filmmaking with a retrospective celebration. Presale tickets are just $10 and can be purchased on the OlyFilm website, or $15 at the door. All ticket sales benefit the OlyFilm.

OlyFilm’s Beginnings

Originally called the Olympia Film Collective, the nonprofit has been fostering, promoting and educating indie filmmakers in Olympia since 2012. “When I first moved here – was it 15 years ago, wow – there wasn’t a film-making organization here so I had to resort to Craigslist to find somebody who was like minded,” shares Jeff. At the same time, Riley Gibson also had posted on Craigslist looking for people to make a film with. Jeff got to together with Riley and a couple other people, including Russel Brooks and Dylan Glocker.

They ended up choosing “The Sweet Sorrow,” written by Jeff, as their first film because it only had two actors and three scene locations. “So us four filmmakers – this motley crew of, you know, just people, strangers, really – came together and made this little short film.”

OlyFilm Today

That was the beginning. In the past 10 years, OlyFim has grown to a large nonprofit that helps indie filmmakers bring their scripts to life. Education is a big part of the collective, including things like helping Girl Scouts earn film badges; Inter-Tribal Youth projects; and hosting workshops such as filmmaking, motion graphics, video editing, audio, script writing and more. 

OlyFilm also has its own podcast that interviews experts, local indie filmmakers and more. They have a big focus on diversity and inclusion, especially on increasing the roles of women and people of color in filmmaking.

As part of their support, OlyFilm does have some grant money available for short filmmaking. They also help out with getting outside grants for projects.

For more information, watch the full video above and visit the OlyFilm website. Contact Jeff at jeffbarehand@gmail.com or jeff@skybearmedia.com to donate.

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