#EOFF2026 Kicks Off with a Celebration of Movie Theaters, Community & The Last Picture Shows
Wednesday evening's opening event brings together cinema owners, film lovers and festival guests for a reception, a look inside La Grande’s historic Liberty Theatre, and the opening film of the 17th Annual Eastern Oregon Film Festival.
Eastern Oregon Film Festival will officially kick off #EOFF2026 on Wednesday, October 14, with an evening dedicated to something at the heart of the festival experience: movie theaters and the communities that keep them alive.
Before three full days of screenings begin at The Granada Theatre, EOFF invites regional cinema owners and operators, filmmakers, festival participants, preservation advocates and movie lovers to gather in downtown La Grande for a special opening-night reception and conversation.
The evening begins at 4:30 p.m. at K Voelz Wines, where guests can meet, mingle and raise a glass to another year of independent cinema in Eastern Oregon.
From there, the gathering will include an opportunity to tour the historic Liberty Theatre, currently undergoing an ambitious preservation and restoration effort led by The Liberty Theatre Foundation. Guests will get a closer look at the theater, learn about the restoration process and hear about the work underway to return this historic downtown space to community use.
But EOFF also wants to use the occasion to listen.
A Regional Conversation About the Future of Cinema
Movie theaters—particularly independent, historic and rural cinemas—remain vital gathering places for communities, even as the ways audiences discover and experience movies continue to change.
EOFF hopes Wednesday’s gathering can create an informal space for people working across the region to compare notes: What is working? What has changed? What challenges are theaters facing? And what opportunities exist for cinemas, festivals, filmmakers and communities to work together to keep the theatrical experience vibrant?
We’re inviting regional cinema owners and operators, film exhibitors, filmmakers, industry professionals and anyone who simply loves going to the movies to be part of the conversation.
The timing feels particularly meaningful in La Grande. While the Liberty Theatre Foundation works toward restoring one of the city’s historic cultural spaces, EOFF is also returning its festival screenings to downtown La Grande through its new partnership with The Granada Theatre, where the majority of #EOFF2026’s films will screen October 15–17.
Wednesday night brings those threads together.
Opening Film: The Last Picture Shows
Following the reception and Liberty Theatre visit, the evening moves to The Granada Theatre, where EOFF will present the #EOFF2026 selected feature documentary The Last Picture Shows at 6:45 p.m.
Directed by Rustin Thompson, the 78-minute documentary turns its attention toward the people and places keeping the communal moviegoing experience alive.
It is a fitting way to begin a festival built around bringing people together in the dark to discover something new.
After an afternoon spent looking at the restoration of one historic theater and talking about the future of cinemas across the region, we’ll do the most important thing of all:
Go see a movie together.
Wednesday, October 14
4:30–6:30 p.m. — Opening Gathering & Reception
K Voelz Wines + Liberty Theatre
Reception, Liberty Theatre tour and regional cinema conversation
6:45–8:18 p.m. — Wednesday Special Event
The Granada Theatre · Granada 1
The Last Picture Shows
Directed by Rustin Thompson
Feature Documentary · 78 minutes
Festival Pass Holders: FREE
Admission reception + film: $25
Feature only: $15
Admission includes the full Wednesday evening experience, including the reception, Liberty Theatre gathering and special screening at The Granada.
Space is limited. Reserve your spot in advance.
Whether you run a movie theater, make movies, preserve historic buildings, attend festivals, or simply believe there is still something magical about sitting in a room full of strangers and watching a story unfold on the big screen, we hope you’ll join us.
Together, we’ll celebrate where movies have been, talk about where they’re going—and officially open the 17th Annual Eastern Oregon Film Festival.
#EOFF2026
October 14–17, 2026 · La Grande, Oregon
Movies / Music / People / Party