I’m writing in New York City where I am attending the 5th annual Cinema Eye Honors Awards  this evening. This is my second year on the nominating committee for the Awards. It has been a great opportunity to view an amazing depth and breadth of documentaries, and also to work with a very talented group of Programmers from distinguished festivals from around the world.

The Cinema Eye Honors were launched in late 2007 to recognize exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film. Cinema Eyeʼs mission is “to advocate for, recognize and promote the highest commitment to rigor and artistry in the nonfiction field” – values we are in true alignment with here at the AIFF!

Renowned filmmaker Frederick Wiseman will be honored tonight with the 2012 Legacy Award for his film Titicut Follies, and Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, will receive the “Hell Yeah!” award for their “Paradise Lost” films about “the West Memphis Three” who were recently released from prison after 18 years.

In its second year at the Cinema Eyes, and one I find intriguing and timely, is the “Heterodox Award.” This award “honors a narrative film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. These films illuminate the formal possibilities of nonfiction filmmaking while raising provocative questions about on-going documentary orthodoxy and the perceived boundaries between narrative and nonfiction filmmaking.” 

All the nominees for the 2012 Cinema Eye’s can be found here: http://www.cinemaeyehonors.com

Good luck to all!

On October 31, 2011 the ashland independent film festival bids farewell to Tom Olbrich, our executive leader for the past eight years. It is a bittersweet moment. All of us at AIFF wish Tom the very best in his new adventures and are deeply indebted to him for his leadership, but we will miss his passion, laughter and vision both in our office and in our organization.

Tom joined the AIFF as its first paid staff member in the fall of 2003. The organization was gearing up for its third festival, which honored the lifetime achievements of Gerald Hirschfeld, A.S.C. Tom didn’t miss a beat, doubling the prior year’s attendance and showcasing such films as The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and What the Bleep Do We Know? Under Tom’s leadership, the success of the festival has continued to blossom each year since, with a parade of notable honorees and guests including such industry greats as Will Vinton, Henry Jaglom, Bruce Campbell, Les Blank, Albert Maysles, Helen Hunt, Ed Hardy, Harry Shearer and Morgan Spulock – among many others. AIFF’s audience has continued to grow each year, with the 10th Annual setting a new record of over 18,000 distributed tickets. Industry recognition for the AIFF has been stellar under Tom’s leadership. In 2008 the festival received its first Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences grant – with another to follow in 2010; in 2009, AIFF was named one of the” Top 25 Festivals Worth The Entry Fee” by MovieMaker magazine, and accolades pour in each year from filmmakers and industry professionals around the country. Local community involvement under Tom’s leadership has grown significantly as well – his outreach efforts helped to involve a record 368 (amazing!) volunteers in 2011, and engender the generous support of many individuals and businesses alike. But perhaps the most telling testament to Tom’s leadership at AIFF is this statistic: over 90% of audience attendees say they will return to AIFF and that they would recommend the festival to a friend.

On a more personal note, I have had the honor of working alongside Tom for five of his eight years at AIFF, as a festival fan, volunteer and board member. During that time, we’ve shared many, many triumphs - and a few challenges. Throughout, I have been impressed by his mastery in orchestrating this incredible annual event, by his unfailing good cheer and compassion, and by his true commitment to independent film and our community.

We invite you to join us in this celebration of our good friend and fearless leader by commenting on this Facebook post.

Submitted by Anne Ashbey Pierotti, incoming Executive Director

2012 Call for Entries Opens; AIFF travels to fall festivals.

We’re now accepting entries for the 11th annual ashland independent film festival, April 12-16, 2012. If you are filmmaker with a new film – consider submitting. If you are a film lover – tell your filmmaker friends. Please help us spread the word!

You can visit our website for lots of information about the festival. For specific information about how to enter your film, see our filmmaker pages. And if you are a Southern Oregon filmmaker, your entry fee is waived (FREE!) so make sure to check out our Locals Only page and also the free Launch Regional Student Film Competition on the website.

Throughout the fall and early winter, we'll be attending film festivals around the country – screening films, hearing about current projects, and connecting with friends, old and new. I'll be at the Toronto International Film Festival 9/8-13, and Independent Film Week in New York in 9/19-22, and members of our Board and Staff will attend the Pt. Townsend Film Festival, and BendFilm, among others. Please say hi if you are there, and join us on Facebook for updates.

AIFF Executive Director Tom Olbrich to Step Down as ED

You may have already heard that Tom Olbrich will be stepping down as Executive Director of the ashland independent film festival. We are so grateful to Tom for his extraordinary work and dedication for the last eight years, and the board and staff are saddened to see him go. Read the announcement.

We are committed to ensuring the continued excellence of the festival, and to build on the strong foundation established over the past 10 years. Tom has agreed to stay on through the transition period as the board searches for a new Executive Director. Follow these links for information about the AIFF Executive Director Position Announcement and Position Description.

As we start a new Programming cycle for the AIFF, and look forward to all the exciting opportunities our 2012 festival will offer, we can't wait to see new work from talented filmmakers from all over the globe. Our team is ready – bring it on!

“Oregon films well represented at the 10th Annual Ashland Independent Film Festival”

2010 marked a record year for films made in Oregon—and by Oregon filmmakers—which screened at the ashland independent film festival. For the upcoming 10th Annual festival, April 7-11, 2011, we are very pleased to include even more Oregon-made films, including our Locals Only program, and our Launch Regional Student Film Competition.

A number of AIFF alumni return to the festival this year. Portland-based Peter D.  Richardson (Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, OR) returns to Ashland with How to Die in Oregon, winner of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize; and Irene Brodsky (Hear and Now and The Final Inch) returns with the World Premiere of her account of the BP Gulf Oil Spill, Saving Pelican 895.  Marshall Curry (Street Fight and Racing Dreams) screens If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, also a Sundance winner, and filmed in Southern Oregon. 

We’re thrilled to host the Oregon Premiere of Ashland filmmaker Susan Saladoff’s, Hot Coffee, fresh from Sundance, as well as a special screening of a new film, The Welcome, by Ashland resident, and AIFF Alumni, Kim Shelton (A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan). Plus our Locals Only programs provide a showcase for 10 films made in Southern Oregon, including the winners of our Launch regional student film competition.

Portland filmmaker Brett Eichenberger will attend the 10th Annual festival with the world premiere of his narrative feature, Light of Mine, and David Weissman, also from Portland, will screen the documentary We Were Here.  Christoph Baaden brings Hood to Coast, his story of the epic relay race from Mount Hood to the Oregon coast. Chris Munch shot his feature, Letters From the Big Man, which premiered at Sundance in January, at locations throughout Southern Oregon.

Shorts and animation are well represented too, Daniel Fickle’s Denmark, Zach Bainter’s Passion, AIFF Alum Patrick Neary’s Landscape with Duck.  Ondi Timoner and Robert James’ short documentary Library of Dust, filmed at the  Oregon State Hospital, will be accompanied by an art gallery show of photographs by David Maisel which are featured in the film.

It’s exciting to see the steady increase in Oregon-made films submitted to the AIFF year after year, and to witness the wealth of talent demonstrated by the growing number of filmmakers here. We are delighted to provide a platform for their films to reach audiences in Southern Oregon and beyond.

GRID LOCK!

These days my attention has shifted -- away from the screen and on to our GRID - the 5 oversized sheets of paper hanging from the walls of the festival office. They are completely covered with multi-colored post-its that represent our 2011 lineup of film screenings, special events, panels, and parties. Our program is "locked," and we are delighted with the result. It's exciting to think that in a few weeks our grid will be transformed into "the Guide," ready to help our audience navigate all the offerings of the 10th anniversary ashland independent film festival.

We had a few rough days last week as we notified the filmmakers who were not accepted this year. The sheer numbers game of programming - having to pick a slate of 80+ films from hundreds and hundreds of submissions can be painful. There were so many deserving films, wonderful films, films we fell in love with, that for a variety of factors couldn't be included. And so we move on...

Although the temptation is to relax for a moment, and take a big breath after the enormous effort of selecting the films is complete, Opening Day of the Festival is April 7th - just two short months away. No stopping us now!

Programming Blog 10/6/10

I'm writing this on the airplane back to Ashland from the Vancouver International Film Fest, in Vancouver, BC. 5 days, 22 feature length films, a few shorts, and my fill of sushi and crepes!  I take lots of notes while seeing the films, then post-festival spend some time reflecting on each one, and start the work of inviting those I think are a good fit to submit to the ashland independent film festival for our 10th annual in April.

Many of us from Ashland will attend fall film festivals over the next few months, and I've been thinking about why it's so important for us.  Clearly, seeing new films is at the core of what we do as programmers, but attending festivals is really valuable for all of our staff. 

It's a chance to observe first hand how other festivals operate - everything from ticketing to waiting in rush lines  - and we've learned a lot.  We meet filmmakers and our colleagues in the "business," catch up with Ashland alum, and get to chat with audience members and festival volunteers.  It's inspiring to see films on the big screen, listen to filmmaker Q&As, go to panel discussions and some parties, and have the opportunity to experience film festivals from the "other side," similar to the way our Ashland audience, filmmakers, industry and special guests experience ours.  And ultimately, it energizes us for the huge endeavor of putting on our festival in the months ahead.

This weekend, 10/7 - 10/10,  we're heading back out on the road.  Tom Olbrich and Jane Sage will be at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California , and Krista Olson, Wendy Conner and I will be at BendFilm in Oregon.  Darrel Pearce and I will be in Mill Valley again 10/14 - 10/17.  We'd love to meet up if you are there!

I love this time of year -- when I can say "we are now accepting entries for the 10th annual ashland independent film festival, April 7-11, 2011." We've had some time to recharge, strategize, and plan for the coming year, and now we're looking forward to seeing new work from talented filmmakers from all over the globe!

The website looks great (big thanks to Krista, our Systems Manager for her design work), and you can find lots of information there about the festival and how to enter your film. If you are a Southern Oregon filmmaker, your entry fee is waived (FREE!) so make sure to check out our Locals Only and also the free Launch Regional Student Film Competition on the website. Please help us spread the word!

Throughout the fall and early winter, our programmers and staff will attend film festivals around the country. Over the next month or so we'll be at Pt. Townsend, Bend and Mill Valley Film Festivals. Please say "hi" if you are there, and join us on Facebook for updates.

In Programming, we have been putting a lot of thought and effort into making this area of the festival as "green" as possible. Our hope is to stop generating reams of paper reviews, entry forms, press kits, etc., and boxes on top of boxes of plastic dvd cases, and we're looking to keep as much as possible online, and to take advantage of all the resources available to us to do so. As a start, we hope to see lots of SOS ("Secure Online Screener") submissions through Withoutabox.com this year. Check it out!

Lots more to come - stay tuned!

An interesting time in the life cycle of a film festival. Yes, it does quiet down a bit at the AIFF offices, as our staff is back to the core of five, and there are so many less volunteers around (we miss you!). The pace slackens a little, we have room to breathe, and the time to put into place improvements, new ideas and systems - we actually get to check off (some) of the items on our "to do" lists that we keep during the crazy busy months... And budgets, grant writing, etc. etc. don't really care which season it is! As a result, staff remains busy all summer long.

On the programming side, it's time to start the cycle again. I recently created a new spreadsheet for 2010-11 to track all the films I'll see this year. I attended the Los Angeles Film Festival and Palm Springs International ShortFest in June and have a long list of films to add to the list. Programming was excellent overall at both fests. Hopefully, some of the films will be coming to a theater near you this summer (WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, FREAKONOMICS) or to a festival near you next Spring (TBA!).

I was on a "Meet the Programmers" panel in Palm Springs with fellow programmers from American Cinematheque, Outfest, SXSW, Seattle, and Sundance, moderated by John Anderson of Variety. We covered lots of topics, including the "personality" of our festival, helpful hints when entering films, what makes programmers happy, and not (hate mail!). We fielded a number of questions from the very full house. Filmmakers wanted to know all kinds of things from whether there is a length of film more likely to be considered (no agreement on this from the panel) to whether hard copies of press kits are still necessary (unanimous "no") and the future of on-line submissions (exciting potential).

Last, but certainly not least, we are looking ahead to April 7-11, 2011 and our 10th annual festival. It's definitely a milestone for us, and we are in the midst of planning the celebration. Save the date - it should be a great year to attend the AIFF!

"Last day at Ashland, and I don't want it to end! It's everything you could want from a film fest - beautiful town, amazing hospitality, intelligent audiences, awesome movies, great filmmakers...what a treat."
Diane Bell, Director, OBSELIDIA

The 9th Annual Ashland Independent Film Festival concluded its most successful festival yet, with amazing films, filmmakers, special guests, jurors, our incredible audience filling theaters to capacity, and the town with excitement. And of course, our unbelievably hard working volunteers, staff and Board making it all happen.

Yes, lots of new records were set this year (tickets distributed, screenings sold-out, filmmakers in attendance) but most extraordinary was the sense of community that the AIFF brings to Ashland for 5 days, embracing film lovers AND filmmakers.

"A filmmakers film festival. You couldn't cast a better community to support independent films."
Michael Nash, Director, CLIMATE REFUGEES

"So happy, and so sad its over...but all the more reason to get another one in the can."
Chris Byrne, Producer, OBSELIDIA

It is hard to believe it is over, and that we are already planning for our 10th Anniversary Festival, April 7-11, 2011. Save the date!

But in the meantime, we will be continuing to present some of the best of independent film at our Monthly Film Series at the Varsity Theatre:

First up is Calvin Marshall opening on Friday, April 30.  The director and producer will return to take audience questions and the 6p and 8:40p screenings will benefit the AIFF thanks to Coming Attractions Theatres, Inc. Tickets are available at the theatre box office now.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers will be our 2nd film in the Series and opens on May 21 at the Varsity.  More information on the screening will be available soon.

Please stay in touch!

View photos and videos of the 2010 Festival on our website.

Sign up for our e-newsletter here: ashlandfilm.org.