Ashland’s Richard Seidman, a screenwriter turned filmmaker, has taken matters into his own hands after years of unproduced scripts in the hope a crowd-funded short film will bring his vision to life: “Schmendrick: The Thirteenth Disciple.” Seidman plans to submit the movie to film festivals and competitions, including the Ashland Independent Film Festival.
Oregon’s energy landscape is charging into the future, and Southern Oregon PBS is capturing every watt of it with “Energy Horizons,” a new six-part documentary series premiering this fall. Directed by Keegan Van Hook (“Us As We Are”) and filmed by longtime collaborator Tripp White, both Ashland residents, the series takes viewers on a powerful journey across the state, spotlighting Oregon’s renewable energy breakthroughs, cutting-edge technologies, and the challenges of storage and transmission.
A locally made short film entitled “I AM FINE” that centers on the experience of a gay man named Ryan as he grapples with his religion and sexual identity will make its premiere on Dec. 6 at John Pugh’s Big Dog Studio in Ashland.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival kicks off its four-day run Thursday, Oct. 3, with the centerpiece film for the festival, ‘Including Us,’ set for its world premiere Saturday. The film, made by local director Brandon Givens, is about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Hairspray: A Broadway Musical” in 2019. The story focuses on four actors with disabilities who starred in the musical, along with the rest of the cast.
AIFF held a preview night for the upcoming film fest on Sept. 18. The arts, environment, and social activism are three of the main movie themes making up the list for AIFF 2024, coming up Oct. 3-6. The 2024 lineup includes more than 60 movie premieres, many with in-depth Q&A discussions with filmmakers, guest artists and actors in attendance.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival will unveil its full lineup of films for this year’s festival at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
Southern Oregon University was recently named a top 30 film school for its digital cinema program in the U.S. and Canada by MovieMaker Magazine, a widely read independent film magazine. Alongside big-name schools such as the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, SOU was chosen for its hands-on education and networking opportunities.
As fall approaches, the Ashland Independent Film Festival volunteers and coordinators prepare for the festival’s triumphant return to the Rogue Valley. With a new executive director, the festival is set to involve plenty of new ideas, events and programs while maintaining the classic film festival experience.
Review: In mid-June, a series of small events took place to celebrate the premiere of the moving and poignant filmed chamber opera, “Dreams Have No Borders,” presented at the Varsity Theatre over a weekend, sharing experiences from the Oregon Latino community.
Two of Ashland’s most prolific, socially conscious artists — chamber opera composer Ethan Gans-Morse and his co-writer, poet-librettist Tizania DellaRovere — are celebrating the heritage, struggles, triumphs and stories of immigrants in an opera film premiering June 22 and 23 at the Varsity Theatre in Ashland.
As of Nov. 3, Ashland Community Food Bank has a new director at the reins. Catie Mahoney will serve in the role with guidance from outgoing director Amey Broeker, who will officially retire on Dec. 31 after serving in the food bank role since 2022.
The Ashland City Council will review a proposal from a potential provider to oversee its extreme weather shelter during its regular business meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival has added a second screening showcasing Indigenous filmmakers on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Three and a half years into the war with Russia, Ashland violinist and longtime music teacher Faina Podolnaya is still finding ways to help Ukrainian refugees.
Herbert Rothschild: As the number of ads in The New Yorker has shrunk, it seems as if the wealth of its readership has concentrated, just as one might concentrate the flavor of a sauce by reducing it on the stovetop.
Local artist MaryAnn Shank will share the thoughts behind her newest novel “Sor Juana, My Beloved” at Bloomsbury Books Jan. 26. Shank is a finalist of The Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Book of the Year 2025 award, awarded by the International Latino Book Association.
(It’s free)
