ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

Opening this year’s festival with the traditional free community screening, Artisitic Director, Steve Grumette has chosen Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights to be screened under the stars on the recreation field at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Grumette chose the film to open the festival because of the huge positive response when Chaplin’s Modern Times was screened with live orchestral accompaniment earlier this year at the Ojai Music Festival. “The film has a new digitally recorded soundtrack performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra that will knock your socks off,” said Grumette. “Plus, City Lights was recently declared one of the top ten greatest love stories of all time by the American Film Institute. And I’m betting most people have never seen this film on the big screen, and almost surely not with this incredible music. It will be a triumphant opening night under the stars.”

The dazzling Lifetime Achievement Awards Honorees already in place - America’s sci-fi author, Ray Bradbury and the highly acclaimed directing/producing team of Lauren Shuler Donner and Richard Donner get feted on Saturday, followed by the Filmmaker Awards and the Closing Night Party. Hosts of the evening will be Malcolm McDowell and writer Peter Bellwood.

Video presentations for Bradbury have come in from Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Roy Disney adding to the already stellar line up of those coming in person to fete the entertainment giants. Names at press time included: Edward James Olmos, Academy Award winning actress, Diane Ladd, and COPS producer John Langley. The Donners have asked to screen Ladyhawke and Bradbury asked to screen The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, the latter having a limited theatrical release. The special screenings will take place at 12:30 & 3 p.m. respectively on Saturday at the Matilija Jr. HS auditorium. Donners will have a 30-minute Q&A with Howard Smith following and there is a video interview to be screened with Ray Bradbury.

The VC Reporter headlines the Ojai Film Festival an “antidote for an apathetic age” – and for good reason. As the Festival approaches the end of its first decade, it continues to grow steadily, with a well-deserved reputation for quality that distinguishes it from thousands of other film festivals. This year’s presentation of 57 films includes 20 premieres, proof of its growing reputation as a priority festival.

At a time when the “dumbing down” of America reaches all corners of the land, the Festival emerges as a bastion for themes too candid, edgy or challenging to otherwise find an audience in a film market driven by mass mentalities.

Now in its 9th year, the Festival’s theme continues to be "Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film," a challenging mandate that explains its marked divergence from the blockbuster mentality that drives the American film industry, where cash is king and cultural waters tend to run shallow. The challenge of that mandate finds a welcome home in Ojai, an issue-driven community.

“Cinema is such an immersive medium,” explains Executive Director ‘Mo’ McFadden. “We’re transported by these films, and when they’re effective, we can be transformed. Add to that the excitement of the festival – we become a community of cinephiles for the weekend – and you have the whole community engaged in the experience, discussing art, images and ideas.

“Like Telluride, our community – both in size and commitment – is a place where a call to action absolutely resonates,” notes McFadden.

To read the entire article, visit: http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/antidote_for_an_apathetic_age/6387/ .

Please note that you can purchase individual tickets at the door for $10…
or buy a four-pack (access to four screenings) for $35, or a six-pack for $50.

Tickets, along with passes to various events, will be available Nov. 6 - 9 at the
Ojai Valley Inn & Spa and at the Ojai Art Center.

You can now pick up the printed program at various merchants in Ojai,
Santa Barbara, Ventura and surrounding communities. Or, visit the Festival
web site www.ojaifilmfestival.com for details of screenings and events.

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

An Unlikely Weapon
Friday, 5:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Susan Morgan Cooper; 99 min.

Eddie Adams photographed 13 wars, six American presidents, and every major film star of the last 50 years. His lens would change history. In 1968, he photographed a Saigon police chief shooting a Vietcong guerilla – a photo that brought fame and a Pulitzer Prize, and may have ended the Vietnam war.

Angels in the Dust
Friday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 5:30pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA/South Africa, Producer/Director: Louise Hogarth; 95 min.

Witness the life-changing power of one compassionate heart – a courageous, self-sacrificing woman and her work with a group of innocent children in South Africa, many of whom have contracted HIV/AIDS from infected parents or rapists. Here is a pathway of hope and a replicable paradigm for the future.

The Big Question
Saturday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA/France/Italy/South Africa, Director: Vince DiPersio; Producer: Kaluska Poventud; 63 min.

How do we let go of anger and find forgiveness? Through personal stories and interviews with re-nowned religious leaders and scientists, this film portrays forgiveness – explored through astonishing acts of courage and will – as the one element that transcends the cultural divide and unifies humanity.

Burning the Future: Coal in America
Friday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: David Novack; 89 min.

This documentary examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia, who are faced with toxic ground water and the obliteration of their land. It is a personal scream for clean air, clean water, and peace in a nation that turns to coal to supply more than half its electricity.

Crawford
Friday, 3:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: David Modigliani; 74 min.

What happens to the 705 residents of Crawford, Texas when George W. Bush moves to town? Months after he arrives, Bush declares his candidacy for President, using their town as a set-piece to project a folksy image. Crawford explodes overnight. Here is a colorful people’s history of the last seven years.

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURES cont’d

Don’t Know, We’ll See: The Work of Karen Karnes
Friday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 12:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Lucy Massie Phenix; 62 min.

Explore the mystery of the creative process in the life and work of a master clay artist, Karen Karnes, a pioneer of the 20th century craft movement who has worked with unbroken focus for over 60 years. This film about not-knowing and discovery reflects our deepest impulses to make form out of spirit.

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes
Thursday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Peter Rosen; 84 min.

Join writer–performer Garrison Keillor as he mingles fact and fiction to create one of America’s favorite places, Lake Wobegon. Over a year of filming went into this intimate, free-form, spontaneous portrait, going behind the scenes and inside the imagination of the man who created A Prairie Home Compan-ion.

Guest of Cindy Sherman
Thursday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer: Tom Donahue; 88 min.

Videographer Paul H-O must confront issues of ego and identity when he begins a relationship with Cindy Sherman. With unprecedented access, he places us in the company of the renowned but reclusive artist and offers a witty and compelling critique of the inflated New York art market and the culture of celebrity.

Hotel Gramercy Park
Thursday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
Friday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Director: Douglas Keeve; Producer: Wendy Ettinger; 74 min.

In the 1970s, “The Gram” had become a drug-fueled haven for rock’n’rollers like David Bowie, Blondie and the Sex Pistols. Behind the scenes, the family who owned the hotel suffered curses of Shakespear-ean proportions. When an impresario takes over, can he redefine “cool” without destroying a masterpiece?

La Americana
Thursday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA/Bolivia/Mexico, Producer/Director: Nicholas Bruckman; 65 min.

Carmen left her ailing nine-year-old daughter behind in Bolivia when she made the dangerous and illegal journey to New York City where she could earn enough to support the child. Here is their unforgettable story, woven into the immigration debate, putting a human face on this timely and controversial issue.

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURES cont’d

Life. Support. Music
Thursday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Matilija Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar; 80 min.

An established guitarist, living and working in New York City, suffers a brain hemorrhage during a concert in 2004. His pregnant wife and the rest of his family refuse to accept the doctors' dire prognoses. Instead, they take his recovery into their own hands to reactivate his brain through countless acts of love.

Passing Poston
Saturday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 12:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer: James Nubile; 60 min.

This is a portrait of four Japanese-Americans whose lives were shaped, defined and deeply impacted by their forcible internment during World War II. In the last chapter of their lives, they are still trying to find meaning in the inexplicable, and come to terms with the tragic events that continue to haunt them.

The Recruiter
Thursday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
Saturday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Director: Edet Belzberg; 86 min.

This documentary travels to the Louisiana coast to capture a phenomenon now occurring throughout the United States - the intense push to recruit new soldiers into the U.S. Army. It follows one of today’s most successful recruiters and four of his recruits, as they leave high school behind and become soldiers.

A Ripple of Hope
Saturday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Donald Boggs; 55 min.

Advised against appearing before an inner city crowd the night Dr. Martin Luther King was assassi-nated, Robert Kennedy delivered an extemporaneous speech that brought a sense of peace to the city. This film weaves together digitally restored news footage and first-person accounts of that tumultuous day in 1968.

Seeds of Change: The ECO Story
Thursday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, Canada/China, Director: Ava Karvonen; Producer: Lisa Miller; 49 min.

Generations of farming on the banks of the Yangtze River have denuded the landscape. Two Chinese-Canadian expatriate scientists have formed the Ecological Conservancy Outreach Fund (ECO Fund) to restore the region and its inhabitants to health. This is the inspiring story of their altruism and dedica-tion.


OJAI FILM FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURES cont’d
This Dust of Words
Friday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Saturday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Bill Rose; 60 min.

This meditation on genius and disorder tells the tragic, haunting story of Elizabeth Wiltsee, a former honors student at Stanford. The film analyzes the inner turmoil that destroyed a brilliant writer, and also credits the kindness and compassion of the small community that helped keep her alive, for a time.

Throw Down Your Heart
Friday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA/Mali/Senegal/Tanzania/Uganda, Producer/Director: Sascha Paladino; 98 min.

American banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck journeys to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo, and record an album. His boundary-breaking musical adventure helps him transcend barriers of language and culture, finding common ground with musicians from very different backgrounds.

Torn from the Flag
Saturday, 8:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
2007, USA/Hungary/Italy/Russian Federation, Producer/Director: Klaudia Kovacs; 97 min.

In 1956 Hungary, a nation of 10 million people, threw off the tyranny of the Soviet Union, a nation of 200 million, for thirteen days. Hungary's freedom was quickly and brutally crushed. This film reveals how their heroic struggle provided a precedent that eventually led to the fall of communism around the world.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

The 27 Club
Saturday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Matilija Auditorium
2008, USA, Director: Erica Dunton; Producer: Chiara Trento; 89 min.

After his best friend and front man dies on his 27th birthday, Elliot, a grieving rock star, is left behind. He thinks about joining The 27 Club – Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain all died at 27. But, as this beautiful road movie unfolds, the issues of friend-ship and healing take center stage.

The Big Shot-Caller
Friday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Director: Marlene Rhein; Producer: Christine Giorgio; 90 min.

A self-sufficient loner born with a rare vision disability has given up his dream of becoming a salsa dancer. But when he falls in love for the first time with the “wrong” woman, only to be abandoned, he turns to his estranged sister whose encouragement helps him to find meaning in life through dance.

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL
NARRATIVE FEATURES cont’d

Childless
Saturday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Director: Charlie Levi; Producer: Graham Leader; 86 min.

This is the story of four adults linked by blood and love. Wrestling with the fragile realities of middle age, they find themselves struggling to rise above shared histories and personal disappointments as they gather for the funeral of the teenage daughter of one of them – an unexpected opportunity for renewal.

Crazy
Friday, 8:00pm, Ojai Theater
Saturday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Rick Bieber; 104 min.

Inspired by the life of the legendary guitar player Hank Garland, Crazy is a story of musical genius, passion and betrayal. Though Hank’s music was established in country, rock and jazz, his relationship with the “Nashville Mob” of the ‘50s was adversarial, and his playing career ended tragically at age 31.

The Flyboys
Saturday, 5:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Rocco DeVilliers; 118 min.

Two boys inadvertently become stowaways on an airplane at the local small-town airport. Forced to hide in the luggage department, they unwittingly uncover a bomb – and foil a heist. Everyone on board has bailed out, and the boys must take over the controls in this high-action, coming-of-age film.

Imprint
Friday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Director: Michael Linn; Producer: Carolyn Linn; 87 min.

When Shayla Stonefeather, a Native American attorney, returns to her reservation to say goodbye to her dying father, she hears ghostly voices and sees strange visions that cause her to re-examine old, abandoned beliefs. In the process, she confronts the apparitions to uncover a horrifying revelation.

Mulligans
Friday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
2008, Canada, Director: Chip Hale; Producer: Charlie David; 89 min.

The Davidson family appears practically perfect in every way. But when Tyler brings his college buddy home for the summer holidays, a secret is revealed that threatens to tear the family apart – when mom finds out about the affair between dad and their son’s best friend. It’s The Graduate for a new generation.
OJAI FILM FESTIVAL
Tru Loved
Friday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 8:00pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA, Director: Stewart Wade; Producer: Antonio Brown; 99 min.

Tru, a teen-age daughter of lesbian moms, educates her conservative high school peers and finds love in this light-hearted family film with a twist. While this controversial film confronts important political and social issues, they’re handled in a way that enhances the realism of the story as it entertains.

ANIMATED FILMS
The Dark
Friday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Thy Than; 3 min.

After being tucked into bed, a little girl is left alone in her dark bedroom. Too afraid to go to sleep, the little girl finally discovers what is really hiding in the dark. Thy Than is currently working on her MFA in Animation at UCLA. Student film.

Hot Dog
Friday, 8:00pm, Ojai Theater
Saturday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
2008, USA, Director: Bill Plympton; Producer: Biljana Labovic; 6 min.

This is the third in Bill Plympton’s Dog series, following Guard Dog and Guide Dog. In this episode the plucky hero joins the fire company to save the world from house fires and gain the affection he so richly deserves. Typically, despite the best of intentions, the results never turn out the way he planned.

Idiots & Angels (FEATURE LENGTH)
Friday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
Saturday, 10:00am, Matilija Auditorium
2008, USA, Director: Bill Plympton; Producer: Biljana Labovic; 80 min.

In this dark comedy Angel, a selfish and morally bankrupt man, wakes up one morning with wings on his back. After much ridicule when his appendages are exposed to the community, he desperately tries to rid himself of the wings that some see as a ticket to fame and fortune. Can his misguided soul be rescued?

Procrastination
Friday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 5:30am, Matilija Auditorium
2007, UK, Director: Johnny Kelly; Producer: Royal College of Art, London; 4 min.

Created for Kelley’s MA in animation, this brilliant and surprising short is a delightful marathon of visual permutations. He uses offbeat visuals and voice over to illustrate common and less common activities, from pairing socks to sharpening pencils, in this mixed media abstract animation. Student film.

OJAI FILM FESTIVAL
Sebastian’s Voodoo
Thursday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
Friday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Joaquin Baldwin; 5 min.

A voodoo doll must find the courage within him to save his friends from being pinned to death. This moving 3D animated film was created at the UCLA Animation Workshop by Joaquin Baldwin, an animator and website designer from Paraguay, working on an MFA in animation at UCLA. Student film.

Viola: The Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant
Thursday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer: Shih-Ting-Hung; 9 min.

Stumbling on slippery moss at the 4 o’clock bus stop, seven-year-old Viola steps outside her own world to reach out for an adventure. She feels like a giant, a tiny lumbering giant. Teeter-ing on too small shoes. Isolated. A thousand people on paths that never touch. Until she meets another giant. Student film.

Yellow Sticky Notes
Saturday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Matilija Auditorium
2007; Canada, Producer/Director: Jeff Chiba Stearns; 6 min.

After realizing that yellow sticky note “to do” lists were consuming his life, filmmaker Stearns decided to visually self-reflect by animating on the same sticky notes that caused him to ignore major world events for nine years. He created this film drawn with a black ink pen on over 2300 yellow sticky notes.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

Dying Wish
Thursday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
Saturday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Karen van Vuuren; Co-producer: Francesca Nicosia; 29 min.

An eighty-year-old retired surgeon with end-stage pancreatic cancer chooses to stop eating and drinking to hasten his death. We join him in his quest to die at home in the gentlest way possible as he takes leave of his family, enjoys a last meal, an indulges in his favorite music. Addresses patient rights. Student film.

The Ladies
Friday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Christina Voros; 13 min.

Fifty years since the Hungarian Revolution, two elderly sisters close their couture shop on Lexington Avenue. They keep a dozen of their best clients and move the business into the

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS –cont’d

spare bedroom. Still sewing 40 hours a week, they reflect on their craft, on family, and on the persistence of the creative spirit.

Pickin’ & Trimmin’
Friday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Matt Morris; 23 min.

Down at The Barbershop in the small town of Drexel, NC, the atmosphere is laid back and the music is a cut above the rest. For over 40 years, its owners have been cutting hair and provid-ing a gathering place for all who yearn for the good ol’ days – a slice of small town America where if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

Uncovered
Thursday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Roger Weisberg; 19 min.

Putting a human face on America’s health care crisis, Uncovered shows the struggles of a family to care for their disabled twins, born three months prematurely, after their health insurance policy was rescinded. Left with medical bills of a million dollars and severely disabled uninsured children, where do they turn?

NARRATIVE SHORTS
15-40
Friday, 3:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, Denmark/USA, Director: Christian Bagger; Producer: Doug Shaffer; 23 min.

Set amidst the turmoil of World War II, this is the true story of Danish tennis player Kai Hansen who, during the greatest match of his career, has to make the decision of his life. On his way to a chance at the European championships, will he risk all for principle or remain veiled in a life of privilege? Student film.

The Art of Stalking
Thursday, 12:30pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Director: Amitabh Klemm; Producer: Katie Irwin; 15 min.

A young man in love with a beautiful Chicago actress discovers someone else is also follow-ing her. And this guy looks like a real predator. The young man decides that ensuring her safety is more important than being with her, but when he tries to warn her, nothing goes quite according to plan. Student film.

Asphyxia
Friday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
Saturday, 10:00am, Matilija Auditorium
2008, USA, Director: Jesse Pilkes; Producer: Setu Raval; 11 min.

A cynical shrink is more depressed than the patients he treats. Jaded by his profession, confined to a tedious existence, his life hangs by a thread or a subconscious dare based on the survival of his pet goldfish. He lives only to sleep, hoping to find in his dreams the stimulation missing in life. Student film.

Blue Hole
Thursday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Director: Neel Scott; Producer: Timothy Mather; 19 min.

Four teenagers on the verge of adulthood wander into the woods on a summer afternoon and uncover a mystery that has been hidden for many years. Along the way, they are forced to examine their own lives and future, as well as face the realities of death and the impressions that one leaves behind. Student film.

California King
Thursday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
Friday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Eli Akira Kaufman; 22 min.

A mattress salesman, who employs faux science to get female customers into bed, falls for a skeptical insomniac who knows her science better than her heart. Humanizing Newton's Laws of Motion, the film compares falling in love to the physical laws that govern our universe. Student film.

The Chef’s Letter
Saturday, 5:30pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2008, UK, Producer/Director: Sybil Mair; 15 min.

A successful chef lives his life as he runs his kitchen, but his familiar regime of order and control is put to the test when he unexpectedly falls in love with one of his staff. In the early morning hours, he struggles to write the letter that could undermine the future he has imag-ined, and overturn his ordered life forever.

God Only Knows
Friday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 3:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA/Phillipines, Producer/Director: Mark Reyes; 17 min.

Maria is a single mother who lives with her young son in a sprawling slum on the edge of Manila Bay. Faced with the hopelessness of their situation, she makes the most gut-wrenching decision of her life. She will sell him for adoption so he can escape their hellhole. But will he really have a better future?

God’s Beach
Friday, 3:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 5:30pm, Ojai Theater
2007, USA, Director: Abigail Carpenter; Producer: Jason Brown; 16 min.

God’s Beach is a meditative look at a young girl’s life over 48 hours, as she copes with the loss of a loved one while trying to come to terms with a decision that has left her deeply shaken. As the tides come and go, the cyclical forces of life and death cause her to grow and mature. Student film.

Irish Twins
Saturday, 8:00pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer: Toby Wilkins; 20 min.

On the eve of their father's funeral, Seamus drags Michael to the local pub in their small northern California logging community. He tries to convince his brother that they must take their father's ashes to Ireland in tribute, but it isn’t long before true intentions are revealed and their relationship sorely tried.

Jackson Ward
Saturday, 8:00pm, Ojai Theater
Sunday, 10:00am, Ojai Theater
2008, USA, Director: Matthew Petock; Producer: Carter Gilman; 18 min.

Aaron is a young cop walking a thin moral tightrope. Ali is a lonely teenager from a poor neighborhood who deals drugs. They meet and form an awkward relationship, as each knows the other’s secret. When Aaron finds Ali in a compromising situation, only Aaron can help. How will he act? Student film.

Just One of the Gynos
Friday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2007, USA, Producer: Tripper Clancy; 15 min.

In this hilarious comedy, a young gynecologist becomes overexposed to the female anatomy and is unable to view his wife sexually. To overcome this neurotic obstacle he must attend a Gynecologists Anonymous Meeting and seek the advice of his father-in-law, who's also a gynecologist and his boss.

The Key
Friday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
Sunday, 5:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Director: Paul Street; Producer: Taylor Pinson; 13 min.

This elegiac, almost-silent film is an examination of loneliness and longing in a dystopian near future, a story set in a timeless society where water is at a premium. In a depopulated city, a traumatized loner and a vertical farmer attempt to find human connection while living in self imposed isolation.

Larry (the actor)
Thursday, 12:30pm, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
2008, USA, Producer/Director: Eric Poydar; 33 min.

In this mofaux documentary, an out-of-work actor at the end of his rope has just left his last audition. He's been acting for thirty years, and if he doesn't get this part by Friday he's taking off. Portrayed with haunting candor by the late great Lionel Mark Smith, Larry reminisces on convictions and life as a black actor.

Maine Story
Friday, 10:00am, Ojai Art Center Theater
Saturday, 8:00pm, Matilija Auditorium
2007, USA, Producer/Director: Nina Chernik; 24 min.

Shelly is a small-town woman working in the local factory and going through the motions as if her life hasn't yet started. When her high school sweetheart comes back to town, she is forced to confront the things in her life that she's been avoiding, including Kyle, her 12-year-old son. Student film.

November 6-7-8 & 9, 2008
www.ojaifilmfestival.com