History & Mission
When Movie Crush co-founders Nancy Dragun and Warren Etheredge first visited “the city so nice, they named it twice”, they quickly fell in love with it. They had been looking for a home to launch their long-dreamed-of celebration of short films, one informed by their attendance at countless other film fests all over the country, and they discovered the perfect home and partner in the Gesa Power House Theatre.
A few years earlier, Warren had been asked to be a founding faculty member of the Red Badge Project, started by famed actor (and Air Force veteran) Tom Skerritt. Red Badge began hosting regular workshops in Walla Walla, and continues to do so. As the primary instructor for Red Badge, Warren teaches storytelling skills on a regular basis to vets coping with post-traumatic stress; the results are often astonishing. This commitment to the transformative power of story is what drives both Red Badge and the Movie Crush to this day.
As our team likes to say: there are thousands of film festivals, but there’s only one Movie Crush. Here’s what inspires us and sets us apart from the rest – something we’ve come to call The Crush Credo.
We believe in the following:
A CONSISTENT CURATORIAL VISION
The Movie Crush is the only festival to be programmed by a sole individual. Each year, Warren personally reviews over 2,300 shorts to select only the +/- 100 best. Thus, it is easy to offer guidance to creators whose work has been passed over , and to champion those we showcase.
AMERICAN FILMMAKING NEEDS A CHAMPION
The Movie Crush only screens “American” shorts — those made by Americans, or attending American film schools, or featuring American content — because we believe in order for the greater film industry to survive, we must focus on work that is generated stateside. Nurturing homegrown talent can have great impact, commercially and creatively.
SMASHING THE PATRIARCHY
From the beginning, Nancy instituted the “20% rule,” by which our staff, advisors and juries must comprise no more than 1 in 5 individuals who identify as “straight, white men.” Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusivity is baked into the Crush. We actively seek content from creators in marginalized communities and often waive or discount entry fees for them. Our vendors' venues are primarily women, LGBTQ+, and/or BIPOC owned. We can’t solve the problem of institutionalized racism, homophobia, and misogyny, but we can work towards a solution.
AUDIENCE AWARDS ARE NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST
The Movie Crush boasts the festival circuit’s only honest Audience Award, as it is determined solely by those individuals who have sat through all 17 hours of programming over the three-day weekend. These dedicated souls, usually numbering around two dozen, have been christened The Iron Ass Jury.
CRUSHFAM IS FOREVER FAM
From Day One, we committed to growing our #CrushFam4Eva [insert heart here], waiving all future entry fees for those who’ve played the Crush, welcoming moviemakers back to Walla Walla with or without new projects, compiling the CrushFam-ily photo album (with portraits by renowned photographer Steve Korn) and soon, launching a online venture to keep our moviemakers connected year-round. The Movie Crush is like summer camp for movie makers and movie lovers… minus the mosquitoes and letters from home. Once you’re here, you’re family.
SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE
Proceeds are donated to the Red Badge Project (theredbadgeproject.com) — specifically our Walla Walla cohort — serving veterans by teaching them storytelling skills to combat post-traumatic stress.
A LABOR OF LOVE
The Movie Crush operates not on a shoestring budget, but rather the aglet of that shoestring. Neither Nancy or Warren have ever taken a penny from the venture. Over eight years, we have operated entirely as a volunteer effort. We couldn’t do this without our dedicated team, many of whom are or have been students of Warren’s, as well as a tiny but mighty group of stalwart supporters and community partners.
oh, and about the name...
Yes, the Walla Walla Movie Crush is an allusion to the region’s world-class wine production, and also a reference to our lives as movie lovers - with a particular fondness for compact, cinematic gems like the ones that fill our festival.
We trust you'll fall in love as well. <3