Hillsboro is rolling out the red carpet for film buffs this May as Bag&Baggage Productions gears up to host the first-ever Hillsboro Film Festival at The Vault Theater & Event Space. According to a recent announcement, the festival, slated to light up screens and imaginations on May 3, promises to be a spirited shindig for the arts community and cinephiles alike.
Tickets have already gone up for grabs for the event that aims to rally the community around the silver screen and storytelling magic; the festival is the brainchild of Christi Dodge, a filmmaker with a fervor for indie flicks and community vibes, and a recent addition to Bag&Baggage's board of directors since 2023. Christi got her start screening her first film at The Venetian back in 2017, which turned out to be a community gathering that left an indelible mark, "The arts were hit hard by COVID, most arts organizations are still struggling to get back to where they were," Christi shared with her hometown's website.
The budding film festival isn't just a beacon for movie enthusiasts but also a fundraiser yoked to the vision of replenishing the arts post-pandemic—a campaign that Christi aligned to the famous words of media mogul Oprah, "Luck is preparation meeting the moment of opportunity." Hillsboro's official website reported. With the Vault Theater's marquees set to flash with creative talent, it’s a duel of art and altruism Hollywood couldn’t script better.
Aligning the Hillsboro Film Festival with Bag&Baggage's core mission—unpacking and transforming stories into shared human experiences—Christi and the Bag&Baggage team aim to spotlight the narrative threads binding the community, as well as reignite the local love affair with live theatre and film; after the economic backslap to the arts by the pandemic, the festival is pegged as a lighthouse project spearheading their resurgence, according to Christi's insights captured by the city's website.
