The Ashland Independent Film Festival Announces New Festival Dates and Plans!

The Ashland Independent Film Festival Announces New Festival Dates and Plans

ASHLAND, OREGON – The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) announces that its 21st Annual Festival, originally scheduled for April 14 – 28, will now take place virtually on their Eventive Channel from April 1 – 10. Due to the recent circumstances and news surrounding COVID-19, the organization made the decision to postpone their Live Festival to ensure the health and safety of their patrons, in addition to the community at large. Continue reading... “The Ashland Independent Film Festival Announces New Festival Dates and Plans!”

Ashland Independent Film Festival Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With A Live & Outdoor Festival June 24-28th


Ashland, Oregon – The Ashland Independent Film Festival is excited to announce the full selection of musical and cinematic events scheduled for its live & outdoor festival running June 24-28 at venues in Ashland and Medford.

At Scienceworks Hands-On Museum, viewers will watch films projected on a large outdoor screen in the field facing the building. At the Walkabout Brewing Company in Medford, viewers will fill the spacious backyard, facing the big screen and stage. Each screening at these two venues will be accompanied by live musical performers, food carts and beverages. Continue reading... “Ashland Independent Film Festival Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary With A Live & Outdoor Festival June 24-28th”

Ashland Independent Film Festival Announces its 20th Anniversary Festival Awardees

David Oyelowo directing “The Water Man” in Oregon. Photo Credit: Karen Ballard

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is excited to announce the winners of the special Rogue Award, Pride Award, and James Blue Award who will be honored during this year’s hybrid “Double Feature” festival running online for two weeks from April 15-29 and outdoors in Ashland and Medford from June 24-28, 2021. The full virtual and live cinema program will be announced on March 24 in a Preview Night presentation on www.ashlandfilm.org Continue reading... “Ashland Independent Film Festival Announces its 20th Anniversary Festival Awardees”

Ashland & Portland Again On MovieMaker’s List – “Best Places To Live & Work 2021”

MovieMaker magazine published their 2021 rankings for “Best Places to Live and Work as a Filmmaker” – both Portland and Ashland made the list for the Large City and Small City categories respectively.

Here’s what they said about Portland: ” famous for all things handcrafted and artisanal, and that extends to filmmaking. The city is home to two stop-motion-animated films due in 2021: Guillermo del Toro’s bold new take on Pinocchio and the Key & Peele reunion Wendell and Wild, from Coraline director Henry Selick. Continue reading... “Ashland & Portland Again On MovieMaker’s List – “Best Places To Live & Work 2021””

Ashland Is On The Oregon Film Trail With Two New Signs!

The 18th and 19th signs on the Oregon Film Trail are now installed in the City of Ashland – they celebrate the town’s starring role in “Wild” and the historic Oregon Shakespeare Festival as inspiration for “Coraline”.  The signs are now located in the Downtown Plaza, and at the intersection of Pioneer Street and East Main Street in front of OSF’s Black Swan Theatre and the Ashland Chamber of Commerce.

Historic downtown Ashland featured prominently in “Wild”, the highly acclaimed 2014 film adaptation of the best-selling book, starring Reese Witherspoon as Oregon author Cheryl Strayed.  Continue reading... “Ashland Is On The Oregon Film Trail With Two New Signs!”

How the Classic #OregonMade Film “Coraline” Came To Be Set In Ashland, OR

Coraline,” the first feature created by Hillsboro-based animation studio, Laika, was released in 2009 to much critical acclaim and box office success. Recently, Oregon Film reached out to the film’s screenwriter and director, Henry Selick, to find out how the movie, based on a book by Neil Gaiman, came to be set in the small southern Oregon town of Ashland.

Selick said, “I began writing my screenplay for “Coraline” years ago at my home in Northern California.

Continue reading... “How the Classic #OregonMade Film “Coraline” Came To Be Set In Ashland, OR”

Ashland Independent Film Festival: Varsity World Film Week

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is expanding Varsity World Film Week, its annual fall festival of new international films, into a two-week “Varsity World Film Weeks – Virtual Edition.” The festival will run online from Oct. 2 through Oct. 15 via the organization’s website: ashlandfilm.org, and is co-sponsored with Coming Attractions Theatres. Thirteen film selections can be viewed throughout the United States, while two films (The End of Love and Kuessipan) are available only to Oregon viewers.

Erica Thompson, Executive Director of AIFF, released a statement addressing the organization’s response to the recent tragic fires in Ashland and neighboring towns: “We have questioned just how relevant a film festival is in a difficult time for our community that has endured such significant loss. Continue reading... “Ashland Independent Film Festival: Varsity World Film Week”

Ashland Makes MovieMaker Magazine “Best Online Film Fest” List 2020

Film festivals are not alone in having to innovate the way they are doing business these days and going forward the on-line festival format is making a lot of sense.   MovieMaker Magazine highlighted a handful of festivals that seem to be doing it well, including the Ashland Independent Film Festival.

The virtual festival begins May 22nd and runs through June 14th.  Learn how it works here. Continue reading... “Ashland Makes MovieMaker Magazine “Best Online Film Fest” List 2020”

Ashland Independent Film Festival Releases Program for Virtual Festival

The 19th annual Ashland Independent Film Festival released its schedule for an interactive virtual festival that will capture the intimacy and magic of the annual Southern Oregon event popular with filmmakers and audiences.

Richard Herskowitz, AIFF Executive and Artistic Director, in a special 30-minute video available at www.ashlandfilm.org, will preview highlights of the 30 feature films and over 100 short films accepted to the annual April festival, which was cancelled by the coronavirus but which quickly moved to an expanded online event. Continue reading... “Ashland Independent Film Festival Releases Program for Virtual Festival”

Ashland & Portland Make MovieMaker’s 2020 Best List

Oregon cities Ashland and Portland have (once again) been named among the Best Places to Live and Work as a Filmmaker in North America (well, yes, Montreal, Toronto and that other city across the border to our north [but not the one in Washington] are on the list too).

We knew this all along, but it’s certainly nice to be properly recognized. If you haven’t seen the complete list you can check it out for yourself here. Congrats to all the hard working and talented filmmakers, actors, crew and wonderful creatives that help make it happen, every day. Continue reading... “Ashland & Portland Make MovieMaker’s 2020 Best List”