Ojai hosts fourth annual Film Festival
By Jesse Phelps

The time has come again for the cinephiles and art fans in Ojai to get their fill of hard-to-see filmic gems with a mere trip to the local theater, Woman's Club or Art Center. One of the latest additions to Ojai's proud festival culture, the Ojai Film Festival makes its return this weekend for its fourth installment. And this year, organizers say, promises to be one of the best yet.

In its first year, the festival received more than 300 submissions, said artistic director Steve Grumette, a number that has increased over the years, to over 500 for the 2003 festival. A rigorous culling process determined the final selections, which encompass many styles of filmmaking.

Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at the Art Center Sunday at 11 a.m. in the categories of best documentary short, best documentary feature, best narrative short, best narrative feature, best student film, best animated film and a festival theme award.
This year's theme is "Enriching the Human Spirit through Film," something festival executive director Barbara Hadley said intrigued her.

"At a time when the world feels particularly uneasy, when the struggles of human beings all over the world feel every day closer to home, this seemed to me to be a worthy and important challenge," she said in her notes for the festival program.

Grumette said he's excited about the selection of films this year, saying that "the overall quality of the programming has improved."
Grumette said the selection process was difficult because of the increase in quality entries and the fact that art is so subjective. "It's not science where you can add up the numbers and everybody agrees," he said.

And such is the pleasure of a festival like Ojai's. The slate of films include projects dealing with issues as diverse a young heart patient, an interracial community living in the Deep South during the time of segregation, a documentary about Mother Teresa and a narrative feature that takes place during World War II. An entire sub-festival dedicated to the films of teenagers will be highlighted on the big screen at the Ojai Playhouse on Sunday Morning (see adjoining story).
Grumette said that "Mother Teresa:

The Legacy" will be making its North American Premiere, just days after its initial showing at the Vatican, where it was screened for the Pope. "The filmmaker is flying in directly to Ojai from Rome," Grumette said.

Festivities got underway on Thursday with the first set of screenings at the three locations and a special opening ceremony in Libbey Park. Director Chris Eyre was on hand to present "Smoke Signals," which festival representatives said is the first full-length feature film written, directed and co-produced by Native Americans.

Programs are available at locations throughout the valley and a full schedule of the films can be found in today's Ojai Valley News.
If you missed out on a Thursday screening, Grumette said, some of the more promising entries that have already screened at the Art Center Theater will reprise at The Women's Club on Saturday.

Saturday is also the day for some other festival highlights still to come, including an intriguing list of seminars. The Stephen Simon Institute will accept 25 people for an all-day discussion on the spiritual aspect of the filmmaking process. Simon, who will receive the festival's "Limelight Award," produced "What Dreams May Come" and "Somewhere in Time," among others.

Ron Bass, author of such scripts as "Rain Man," "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "The Joy Luck Club," will facilitate a screenwriting seminar at noon, which will be moderated by Simon.

And space is likely to be very tight for the "Actors on Acting" seminar, which will include Matthew Perry of "Friends" fame and some other very special celebrity guests.

Tickets for all events, including special, reduced-price "six-packs," can be procured at a variety of local establishments, including Ojai Creates!, the Art Center and the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The Ojai Film Festival was born in 2000 after Grumette visited Moab, Utah, as a judge for that city's Canyonlands Film Festival.

"It's a town about the size of Ojai," he said. "I had a great time up there for about five days and when I came back I thought, it's town a lot like Ojai in that it's a tourist attraction and its an artist community and they were able to have a little film festival. Unlike Ojai, which is 75 miles from L.A., this is literally in the middle of nowhere. So, I figured, Ojai is only an hour and half's drive from the motion picture capitol of the world. If they can have a festival, why can't we?"

After working with the Ojai Film Society, Grumette convinced its members to host the festival and the rest, as they say, is history.
The festival has since split from the Film Society and all indications are that it's standing well on its own two feet. "We got our non-profit status in record time," said Grumette.

As this, the third sequel to the original, plays out, he hopes that both those in the valley and those who travel to attend continue to find the quality impressive.

So far, he said, the support of the community has been key. A large team of volunteers has helped to keep the festival afloat and as its profile climbs year by year, the works submitted improve. It's looking like an institution that's here to stay and that's all any local film lover could ask for

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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