Filmmakers Geoff Klein and Mo Fine, seen here with friend Mark Bertoglio and Bart Traubek, owner of Alpine Brewery, discuss the upcoming Tumble Weed Film Festival at Alpine Brewery in Oroville. Traubek, whose brewery will be one of the venues for the fest

  OROVILLE – Two Seattle filmmakers who specialize in short features have decidedto bring the first ever Tumble Weed Film Festival to Oroville this Aug. 6 and7.
    Calling their project “The Film Festival for Filmmakers byFilmmakers” Geoff Klein and Mo Fine say the biggest reason they are doing the Tumbleweedis because they love films and they want to introduce more people to shortfilms. Short films, unlike full-length features can be anywhere from 10 minutesto half an hour or so. Klein and Fine have been soliciting short films fromaround the world and have already gotten responses from the U.S., Spain, Italyand Germany, with more coming in to be previewed.
    They want to combine their festival with both the localwines and the local beer, thus their venues for the first year will be Fridayat Esther Bricques Winery south of Oroville and on Saturday at Alpine Breweryright here in town. Before the showings at the brewery, there is a wine tastingscheduled at Copper Mountain from noon to 4 p.m.
    When asked why Oroville, Klein said, “We’ve been coming outto Oroville for the last 12 years or so and we really love the area. We feelOroville and the area are a perfect match for showing films from around theworld and to sample locally produced beers and wine.”
   He made his first short film “Sleepwalker” in 1998 and since hasdirected and produced “Baxter’s Big Day”, The Bruja” and most recently “The Furry,” which he premiered earlier thisyear. Fine a Seattle-area video editor with her own multi-mediacompany often collaborates with Klein and released her short film “Prizes”just last year.
    The Tumble Weed Film Festival is open to anyone who wants tocome watch, but because of the availability of beer and wine is limited tothose 21 and over. Esther Bricques, run by Steve and Linda Colvin, will havetheir wine available on Friday and the festival is inviting the local wineries,Esther Bricques, Copper Mountain, Lake Crest and Okanogan Estates and Vineyardsto the brewery on Saturday if the details can be worked out – for moreinformation on show times and to check out their sponsors, keep watching theirWeb site

    “Watch globally, drink locally,” say the festivalorganizers. The film festival is an all-volunteer effort with friends fromSeattle to Oroville helping out.
 ”Everyone in Oroville that we have spoken with has been super friendlyand cooperative and on board. We’d like to have at all the venues we havelooked at, but this year we are going with Linda’s (Esther Bricques) and thebrewery,” said Fine.