Ashland International Film (Love) Festival

The new subtitle for the Ashland International Film Festival is the "film festival of love". Love of movies, love of art, love of the natural environment and love of Ashland.

The feeling of community was extended to such a degree to the film makers, that they moved into town "in spirit". This is a film makers dream to have an audience that is 100% supportive of your art.

AIFF supplies several ways for the audience to be a part of the film maker's experience. Panel discussions with producers and director, Q&A after a screening, VIP passes to parties and just down home meet and greet on the street. The film makers give Ashland a bit of Hollywood glamour, but also, a bird's eye view of the real world of film making -- the finance nightmare stories, the rejection letters, the creative angst -- and the joyful exhilaration of success when the audience laughs, cries and applauds your film.

After a film screening, during the Q&A, the audience participates with the artist by encouraging anecdotes, war stories and providing feedback. The film makers get something that you never receive in that deep dark cavern of production and post -- straight up talkback. This is a thrill for the audience too. Meet the film maker and ask anything you want!

The image of the dark brooding auteur is over. It was great fun to see how relaxed the film makers become on the streets or in the theaters during Q&A. MARWENCOL's director Jeff Malmberg and producer Chris Shellen, climbed up on the stage and sat cross-legged to field questions with aplomb -- joking with the audience and even giving an occasional hug afterwards. They thanked the audience for liking their movie!

Most films are screened before they are released to test audiences. And if the audience isn't chosen by demographics, the film can seem like a bomb or have a murky impact because of the subjective nature of film making -- particularly with documentaries.

At AIFF the director of programming, Joanne Feinberg, knows her films and knows her audience. She has found the delicate line of good film making and subject matter. She knows what her audience will appreciate and she will program a movie to give the audience a sense of ownership through feedback questionnaires.

Know best for its yearly Shakespeare Festival, Ashland is a town of art, mostly left-of-center politics and environmental consciousness. There was a special section at the festival's award ceremony devoted to films made in Oregon. The scenic natural beauty of the film, THE RIVER WHY, by Bay Area producer Kristi Denton Cohen and director Matthew Leutwyler, was honored for best cinematography. The film was shot on location in Oregon and was given credit as a "green" film by the behind the scenes documentary GREENLIT, which was also shown at the festival. The audience applauded both films with civic pride.

The final dose of love (and AIFF's best film award) was a quirky, yet beautiful film called OBSELIDIA. Screenwriter and director, Diane Bell's tribute to life, love, nature -- was a sweet witness to the impermanence of everything, including bees. Diane told her audience tales of finding the links between day to day occurrences and her screenplay's creation. Later, Diane's Twitter tweets expressed a general enthusiasm for the festival : dianebell1 Ashland Film Fest was a dream - beautiful town, intelligent audiences, great people. Couldn't have been better.