The Ojai Film Festival invites you to travel through time during its celebration of cinema, screening 91 films from 36 different countries. The events range from a screening of the 1966 classic, The Rare Breed, to a seminar on the AI filmmaking revolution. Now in its 26th year, the festival takes place at the Ojai Art Center, the Matilija Auditorium, and Libbey Bowl.
Things kick off on Thursday, November 6, at Libbey Bowl with the festival’s free screening of The Rare Breed (1966). At 6 p.m., the night will begin with a Q&A featuring Distinguished Artist Award recipient Juliet Mills, who plays Hilary Price in the film, and will then screen the Western classic co-starring Jimmy Stewart, Maureen O’Hara, and Brian Keith.
On Friday, November 7, author and historian (and Independent columnist) Betsy J. Green will present Silents on the Islands at the Ojai Art Center Gallery at 1 p.m. The film features more than 250 silent movies filmed on the Channel Islands between 1909 and 1928.
Two panels will take place on Saturday, November 8, titled Seeing the Music: How & Why Songs are Chosen for Films and Demystifying Distribution, and then the seminar The AI Filmmaking Revolution with Mary Duda at 4 p.m.
On Sunday, November 9, award-winning screenwriter and director Rosa Costanza returns at 1 p.m. to lead her acclaimed Diversity & Inclusion panels on Social Justice & Climate Justice and Social Impact Film Financing. Then, at 4 p.m., Frieda de Lackner will direct a live table read of Losing Nelson, the Screenplay Competition winner adapted by Alessandra Carlino and her late father, Oscar-nominated writer Lewis John Carlino, from Barry Unsworth’s novel, telling the story of fractured identity and the power of love.
There’s a mini-festival within the larger event consisting only of films produced in Southern California. Screenplay Coordinator Bruce Novotny’s Gold Coast Film Series presents films like The Singers, Bootie’s, The Middle, Ojai, and The Golden Hours, many accompanied by their local filmmakers.
“[This festival is] your chance to see these films in person and meet the filmmakers,” Festival Director Richard Sven Shelgren said. “They’re available over the course of the five days for conversations and Q&A sessions after screenings. Help us give these independent films their day in the sun.”
The festival’s screenings span genres and continents, from animation to feature-length to documentary to narrative films. They’re all scheduled from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday, offering everyone something they’ll enjoy.
No film festival is complete without celebration. The organizers invite you to mingle with filmmakers at their Networking Mixer on Friday, November 7, and at the Festival Party on Saturday, November 8, both at 6 p.m. in the Art Center Courtyard.
For more information with the full schedule of film screenings, and to purchase tickets, visit ojaifilmfestival.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.