Southern Oregon University celebrates its 19th annual Student Film Festival on two Wednesdays, June 5 and June 12, at the Varsity Theatre. The dual screening event is a co-production between SOU’s Student Film Club and Digital Cinema Class “Film Festival Programming & Promotion.”
An independent crime drama filmed in Jackson County and featuring local actors, “Above the Trees,” is making its debut in select theaters throughout Oregon. The Ashland debut was Friday. Showings continue this week at the Varsity Theatre.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) has announced the dates for this year’s festival: Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 3 to 6. AIFF memberships are now available on the website at ashlandfilm.org, and AIFF is actively seeking sponsors to support independent filmmaking and foster artistic expression.
AIFF has begun planning for a 2024 festival Oct. 2-6, and hopes to raise an additional $300,000 to finance it through a combination of submission fees, memberships, sponsorships, advertising, grants, donations and ticket sales.
Allee Gustafson: This year’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival is extra special as it is back in person for the first time in five years, providing a chance for Southern Oregon folks to come together and be inspired by the powerful films and the collective excitement and advocacy of the community.
A new film by Ashland’s Dan Brown, “Your Lucky Day,” tells the tale of a high-stakes robbery gone wrong. A special one-time showing at the Varsity Theatre in Ashland is set for 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15. Proceeds benefit Film Southern Oregon, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote the region’s film and media community.
A controversial film about newly discovered theories of racial and cultural injustice premiered at the Varsity Theatre to a sold-out audience Saturday night. The film “Origin” was written and directed by Ava DuVernay and chronicles the “tragedy and triumph” of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.”
“SOMM: Cup of Salvation,” produced and edited by former Ashland resident Jackson Myers, who also was the film’s cinematographer, will be screened Saturday at Grizzly Peak Winery.
After recently launching a $150,000 fundraising campaign goal to help keep the film reels rolling for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, an Ashland nonprofit, new leadership said this week they are more than halfway — raising $88,000 and counting — toward reaching the goal.
Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program last week launched a fundraising campaign to raise $18,000 to help pay for two signature projects. The crowdfunding campaign is only open for contributions through Thursday, Nov. 30.
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)
