Mail Tribune

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is branching out. The burgeoning film fete this year will reach beyond downtown Ashland to include events at the old Ashland Armory and ScienceWorks Museum.

Last year’s attendance reached 11,400, and the event sold out two-thirds of its screenings and about 90 percent of its seats. About 3,000 attended the first festival in 2001.

"It’s getting more attention nationwide," the AIFF’s Tom Olbrich says. "Two years ago it was, ‘You’re from where?’ Now it’s, ‘I’ve heard of that."

Sixty of the 82 films in the festival are in competition. Twenty-one jurors from the worlds of film, academics, journalism (including reviewers for The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle and Variety) and the arts will select winners in seven categories.

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Audience members again will be able to vote on films, with the winners determined by the highest average score in three Audience Award categories. More than 7,000 voted last year.

Olbrich says the move to new venues started with a chance to screen the silent classic "Phantom of the Opera" at the armory with a world-class organist.

Three of the films entered this year are among the five films nominated for Academy Awards in the Best Feature Documentary category: "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Darwin’s Nightmare" and "Street Fight." The festival featured another nominee, "Murderball," in a special screening in October. In the Best Documentary Short Subject, the festival’s selections include three of the four nominated films.

Last year the festival had only one Oscar-nominated film, "Born Into Brothels" (it won).

Although films begin showing at the Varsity Theatre at noon April 6, the festival will return to the tradition of having an opening night film. At 6 p.m. that day, the festival will roll out the red carpet for Sony Pictures Classics’ "Art School Confidential." The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opens in theaters April 28 with Jim Broadbent, Steve Buscemi, Anjelica Huston and John Malkovich.

The festival’s Opening Night Bash is slated for 8 p.m. Thursday, April 6, at ScienceWorks Museum in Ashland, with "Savor the Rogue," a cheese tasting featuring Rogue Creamery cheeses, six Southern Oregon Winery Association wines, Rogue Ales, Dagoba Chocolates, Gary West Meats and more.

"Hidden Inside Mountains," a film installation by performance artist Laurie Anderson, will play in the ScienceWorks theater throughout the evening, with Anderson’s signature electronic sounds and poetry.

Events at the old Ashland Armory include some special film screenings. At 6 p.m. Friday, April 7, an event called "Honoring the Indigenous People Who Still Call This Land Home" will be held to honor filmmaker Chris Eyre, an award-winning filmmaker and Klamath Falls native who made the 1998 landmark indie film "Smoke Signals." His film "A Thousand Roads" will show at the festival. It was commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, where it plays daily.

Also at the Armory will be "Make It Funky!" a film and dance planned for 9 p.m. Friday, April 7. The film features a world-class lineup of artists in a night of celebration of New Orleans culture. It was filmed just prior to hurricane Katrina and was quickly recognized as a celluloid memory.

Profits will go to help improve the lives of victims of Katrina through the humanitarian organization FilmAid International (see filmaidinternational.org on the Web). "Make it Funky" will also be shown at the Varsity Theatre.

A restored version of the 1925 "Phantom of the Opera" with the score performed live by organist Dennis James is slated for the Armory at noon Saturday.

The festival’s 2006 Artistic Achievement Award will showcase the work of Henry Jaglom, who will be honored at the awards celebration Sunday night, April 9. Jaglom edited "Easy Rider" with Dennis Hopper and has written, directed and acted in 15 feature films. The Henry Jaglom Retrospective at the Varsity Theatre will feature four films.

Eight winning films will have additional screenings on the final day of the festival, Monday, April 10. The winners won’t be announced until the Awards Celebration at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, at the old Ashland Armory. Filmmakers and film fans will drink and dine on offerings from a dozen of the area’s finest culinary establishments.

For the first time, the festival held a competition for our area’s youngest filmmakers. "The Launch" was a short film competition open to all students in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

Ten juried and audience awards will be presented following clips of the top five films in each category. The Varsity’s John Schweiger will be honored for his contributions.

Olbrich says for all its growth, the AIFF does not aim for bigger pictures.

"It’s a higher quality entry but still independent," he says. "We don’t want to be the cineplex down the street."

Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail bvarble@mailtribune.com.