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After 21 years, Filmed by Bike—the iconic, locally produced film festival that has expanded to have a global reach—is saying goodbye to its founder, retiring festival director Ayleen Crotty.
“I feel I’ve been able to build Filmed by Bike to where I’ve always wanted it to be,” Crotty tells WW. “I feel very complete—and ready to carve out some time for additional creative interests.”
Crotty is ending her era as Filmed by Bike’s leader and champion with a bang. Tonight at Cinema 21, she will screen both new and classic Filmed by Bike movies, presenting a greatest-hits-style event that celebrates the festival’s legacy.
“I’ve always been quite a fan of some of the films we showed in the early days—the really scratchy, raw, rough-and-tumble films,” Crotty says. Some of those films were only recently discovered on VHS tapes documenting Portland’s cycling scene from 2002 to 2004.
While Filmed by Bike is currently looking for a new captain, Crotty will remain involved. ”Filmed by Bike is up for sale,” she says. “I’ll work closely with the new owner and director and make sure they’re able to carry out the festival in a way that works for them.”
And who might that be? “As far as who is the next owner, we don’t yet know,” Crotty says. “It could be anything from an individual to a nonprofit to a group of people. Definitely independent ownership…as opposed to a distributor.”
Filmed by Bike, which is embarking on a worldwide tour, isn’t just a film festival. It’s an event that’s helped nurture the rise of bike culture in Portland.
“There was a time where if you biked to work in the rain and you saw another person on a bike, you would probably wave at that person, because we were rare,” Crotty says. “As cycling has grown in Portland, Filmed by Bike has been there every step of the way…to bring a sense of joy and pride and creativity to the movement of choosing to ride a bike for fun, for recreation, for transportation.”
SEE IT: Filmed by Bike’s Greatest Hits will be held, with a livestreaming option, at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave. 6:30-9 pm Thursday, Oct. 26. Tickets are $15 in person, $12 streaming, and are available here.