THE SATURDAY FILM CLUB

The Saturday Film Club is an inclusive, year-round program hosted by McMinnville Community Media that is open to anyone interested in the craft of filmmaking. Our primary goal is to provide a structured, hands-on experience that takes a project from an initial idea to a finished short film ready for the McMinnville Short Film Festival.

We kick off each year by reviewing scripts written by our members, covering a wide variety of genres and lengths. Over the first two or three months, we typically workshop between 7 and 15 scripts through table reads and structured feedback sessions. Once we’ve explored the stories, we move into the selection process by discussing feasibility. We look closely at how each script can be produced and identify any potential obstacles we might face along the way.

After each script has been fully analyzed, we hold "Director Pitches." This is a dedicated time for members who want to lead the project to present their vision, objectives, and creative team in a 20 minute presentation. Once all the pitches are finished, the club members vote on which production to move forward with for the year.

As soon as the votes are tallied, we dive into pre-production. The selected director leads the way, assigning tasks to club members for everything from location scouting and casting to gathering props and costumes. Finally, as pre-production wraps up, we secure our filming dates. We usually schedule our shoots during the summer months to take full advantage of the natural light and the availability of our members.

Our shoots take place over the course of a selected weekend. These days are often long, but rewarding. When the filming has concluded, the film is edited and revised over a period of several months, before being entered in the McMinnville Short Film Festival.

Ready to get involved? Sign up at the link embedded below, and check out our most recent public project as well!