Week-long April festival at Varsity Theatre highlights local filmmakers

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

It’s no small thing that independent films are making a comeback to the big screen in Ashland in April.

The Ashland Independent Film Festival announced Monday the nonprofit’s six on-screen film lineup as  a documentary showcase coming April 14-20 to the Varsity Theatre. Organizers said local filmmakers were always an integral part of an AIFF festival and the 2023 Documentary Showcase restores this tradition by including six additional short films screened virtually as well as in-person post-films talks with local filmmakers. Each Varsity feature will be paired with a short documentary directed by a local filmmaker.

“Ashland in April has always meant movies and conversations,” said co-producer Lorraine Vail, in a news release issued Monday by the organization. “Now we’re back together and that makes it even more special.”

The theater will host the following films, starting on Friday, April 14:

• “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, which will be a Northwest premiere. AIFF will present directors with the AIFF Rogue Award and there will also be a Question & Answer session, moderated by the author and screenwriter Leigh Davenport. The film is described by organizers as “an inventive documentary portrait that encompasses the poet’s blazing personality,” showcasing the filmmaker’s “unwavering confidence, and her commitment to community.” The film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

• “Joonam,” a young Iranian filmmaker integrates her mother’s and grandmother’s narratives into her own. Directed by Sierra Urich.

• “The Tuba Thieves,” which examines the presence and absence of sound from the perspective of the deaf and hard of hearing. Directed by Alison O’Daniel.

•  “Subject,” A documentary about the making of documentaries and the subjects at the center of these stories. Film explores the “life-altering impact of sharing one’s life on screen with the subjects of five renowned documentary films.” Directed by Camilla Hall and Jennifer Tiexiera.

•  “I Like It,” a film that features reflections on aging. Directed by Ralph Arlyck.

The closing night film, “Sam Now,” tells the story of a mother’s mysterious disappearance, 

filmed over the course of 25 years by Portland Director Reed Harkness. Harkness will participate in a “Talkback” with former AIFF Artistic Director Richard Herskowitz following the Thursday, April 20, screening.

Smaller but mighty festival to launch in April

Organizers said that before the COVID-19 pandemic darkened movie screens nationwide, the Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) had steadily moved up the ranks of independent film festivals. 

“For five days in April, over 7,000 film lovers gathered in downtown Ashland to watch over 100 documentary, feature, and short films,” according to an AIFF news release. 

The Washington Post called it “a dream you’ll never want to leave” and MovieMaker Magazine named it one of the “Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World.” 

Organizers of the festival this year tagged it as a “mini” festival as it is smaller than past years due to financial constraints stemming from COVID-19. 

Reduced financial resources from those three years of mostly virtual screenings precipitated a downsizing of the festival program and a rebuilding of the festival organization, led by AIFF board Chair Kirkaldy Myers.

“This is a big comeback,” Vail told Ashland.news on Monday. “If you compare it to pre-virtual, it looks small. If you compare it more to where they’ve been the last few years, and what had to be done, it doesn’t look that small.”

“I think that we’ll learn a lot this year with all of this, and all the film festivals will learn a lot,” she added. “Some of them are not back, some of the regional ones … are still suspended and so it’s a learning time for regional festivals.”

Vail said organizers don’t have specific expectations for attendance but are hopeful that individuals would continue their support of the festival, and that seats will be filled.

“As a nonprofit cultural organization,” Myers said in the release, “we are grateful for the continued support of our donors and audiences.”

Film trailers and tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the Varsity Theatre or on the Coming Attractions website.

“We are reminded that Ashland boasts an energetic community of Oregon filmmakers,” said Local Shorts coordinator and filmmaker Kathy Roselli, in a news release. Roselli produced the trailer for the festival.

In addition to the film screenings at the Varsity, another six feature documentaries recommended by AIFF will be streamed on a special KINO NOW playlist from April 14 through April 28: “Calendar Girls,” “Framing Agnes,” “The Super 8 Years,” “The Olive Trees of Justice,” “Hello,” “Bookstore” and “Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power.” 

Organizers shared a special thanks for the passion and persistence of an all-volunteer team of film enthusiasts and supporters, including co-producers Kirkaldy Myers and Lorraine Vail, program consultant Richard Herskowitz, associate programmers Dave Ferguson and Kathy Roselli, AIFF liaison Lisa Greene, and Coming Attractions Theatres.

A link to the six titles can be found at ashlandfilm.org. Kino Now films can be streamed via Roku, Apple TV, FireTV and at Kinonow.com.

Email Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].