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Become a Sponsor!

The fifth installment of The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival will take May 20-24, 2008, in the Soreng Theater of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, in Downtown Eugene, Oregon, USA. This event is the only international competition in the Western Hemisphere featuring films on archaeology and indigenous peoples. (Scroll down to learn more about the Festival.) We invite you and your organization to be a part of this unique event by joining our sponsorship group. Sponsorship opportunities are listed on our Sponsorship Commitment Form.

Similar festivals exist in several European countries, but our Festival is the only one on this side of the planet. As a corporate or organizational sponsor helping to make this event the success it can be, you will be acknowledged in our Festival program, in our on-screen slide show, and on The Archaeology Channel (http://www.archaeologychannel.org), which is the most popular Web site of its kind in the world. Other benefits to you are listed on the Sponsorship Commitment Form.

Please help us make the Festival a grand success. Thanks very much for your consideration.


More About TAC Festival

What is it?
The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival is the only public competition in the Western Hemisphere featuring films about the human past and our shared cultural heritage. This international event draws worldwide participation. For 2007 we received 86 film entries from 23 countries and screened 21 of the best for the competition. As part of this event, we had an internationally recognized speaker (renowned human origins investigator and paleoanthropologist Dr. Louise Leakey), a Willamette National Forest tour, Native American storytelling, and a Symposium on Heritage Film. For 2008, we received 81 entries from 15 countries and will screen 18 of the best for the competition. Our Keynote Speaker will be former Director-General of Iraqi Museums, Dr. Donny George, who became famous worldwide in 2003 when his Iraq Museum in Baghdad was looted. We plan a suite of complementary activities this time as well.

When and Where?
The fifth installment of Festival will take place May 20-24, 2008. Film screenings take place in the Soreng Theater at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Eugene, Oregon. Other Festival activities take place at the Eugene Public Library, the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts, and other locations.

Why is it?

  • To exhibit for our audiences the wonderful diversity of human cultures past and present in the exploration of our place in history and in our world. As a structured display of culture both in terms of heritage and the visual arts, this event excites and educates our audiences about the human cultural heritage and encourages their support of heritage preservation. By demonstrating the many ways of being human, we promote a sense of tolerance and brotherhood among people of different ethnic backgrounds.

  • To promote this film genre and the makers of film and video productions about archaeology and indigenous peoples. The Festival encourages and inspires film producers to create more works exploring the human past and human cultural diversity.

    Who benefits?
    The benefits of the Festival for audience members and others extend well beyond the initial pleasure of viewing the films.

  • The focus on the diversity of cultures that exist and have existed on our planet benefits audience members by enriching their knowledge of the human cultural legacy.

  • The Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County estimated a net financial gain of $250,000 for the community from the Festival. This is good for the Lane County and Oregon economies and additional support for the non-profit sector, which provides 12.2 percent of all Lane County jobs.

  • This project addresses the need for Eugene to develop a strong downtown with dynamic cultural activities that will continue to attract tourism and investment into the future. In fact, the Festival is exactly the kind of cultural activity encouraged by the new Eugene Downtown Plan.

  • The state of Oregon and Lane County benefit from this event by the prestige of having an international film festival within their borders. The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival bridges the past and present and positions Oregon as a key meeting ground for this important cultural dialog. This event creates a positive impression of our community and our state at the international level and generates continued community support for this event in the years to come. As an audience member from our first Festival said, “Thank you for bringing some cultural insight to our town!” Because this is the first and only competitive festival of its kind in all of North America, it puts Oregon on the map as a cultural leader in our nation.

  • The films offer an arena for indigenous groups and their often-ignored stories to be voiced and heard. The films presented in this festival illustrate the many faces of humanity and demonstrate that although human cultures are distinct, we are indeed all one people. By including indigenous peoples and cultural representatives from different countries, we provide a forum for inter-cultural dialogue and multiple cultural perspectives. We emphasize the benefits of learning from each other. Who can deny the critical value of this in today’s world?

  • Those who are not audience members benefit from this project, including students whose teachers experience the films and activities.

  • Film producers and directors from around the world are given the opportunity to present their works to live audiences in a juried festival and to learn from each other through our Symposium on Heritage Film.

  • Our worldwide participants and presenters create the opportunity for a global dialogue concerning diversity, art and culture. The cross-cultural exchange that occurs among international participants, cultural representatives, and our Oregon audience is a contribution to the pan-human culture evolving in the 21st Century. The Festival helps audiences to see the importance of historical and cross-cultural perspectives to our world. As an educational resource, heritage film can attune people to the importance of protecting cultural diversity and cultural resources. The engaging medium of film has the ability to connect history with the present and to unite cultures that exist on opposite sides of the planet.

  • The Festival creates a venue for artists and experts to share their knowledge with Oregonians. At the same time, these artists and experts develop favorable opinions concerning Oregon’s culture and our state’s potential in this realm.

  • This project creates a new cultural event for Oregon and is, in itself, a valuable cultural resource. It is a vehicle through which contemporary culture and past culture are brought face to face.