Ojai Film Festival goes live!
Festival dates: November 4-14, 2021
November 4 – Opening free film in Libbey Park
November 5-8 – Screenings and Festival programs
November 9-14 – All festival films available online VOD
The Ojai Film Festival will present its 22nd consecutive event celebrating independent films from around the world LIVE here in Ojai, November 5-8, 2021.
Last year the Film Festival’s board engaged in a sharp learning curve culminating in the creation of the 2020 Online Virtual Film Festival. Now, after months of studying the projected COVID infection rate data and intense discussions at each meeting, the board decided to plan an in–Ojai, multi-screen event for November 2021.
The COVID pandemic certainly changed our world. Face masks, social distancing, the closure of almost all our public gathering places…sheltering in place for over a year. Small wonder observers of the social order commented widely on the need for us humans, fundamentally social animals, to socially interact. After mastering, to some extent, online electronic communications – Zoom, Facetime, Skype, etc. – we’re ready to see, touch and interact with others. As the COVID numbers drop we continue to inch out of the shadows.
The Festival enjoys an international reputation as an important celebration of independent films. It receives submissions for both its film competition and screenplay competition from over forty countries and each November regularly screens over sixty films and presents “the Libbey” trophy award in ten categories. Jon Lambert, the Festival’s president commented: “We are excited to be able to present our curated films once again to live audiences where they can be discussed and argued about in a festival setting.”
Year after year the Festival has relied on over one hundred film-loving volunteers to sell tickets, usher patrons, conduct Q&A’s and host visiting filmmakers. One result of the fourteen-month shutdown has been that our volunteer base diminished. To continue the tradition of this major cultural event we must identify new people. We also need folks with management skills, such as a people-oriented person willing to act as the Volunteer Coordinator, and an Operations Manager who will keep things running smoothly during the October lead-in and the November festival.
For his directorial finale for the Ojai Art Center Theater Tom Eubanks chose “Family Furniture,” what he calls, “A story of renewal.” Ojai ACT in a state of renewal themselves, stages this, their second in-person show of 2021, June 25 through July 18.
The New York Times called “Family Furniture” by A.R. Gurney “…a tender, sepia-toned play about a traumatic passage in the lives of a tight-knit, well-bred clan….” Brother and sister Nick and Peggy cope with their mother’s possible infidelity, their father’s apathy, and their own complicated love lives.
Tickets for the weekend performances June 25 through July 18, no show July 4th, are $20 general admission, $18 seniors and AC members, and $10 for those under 25. For more information go to https://ojaiact.org or call (805) 640-8797.
On Sunday, July 25, at 4pm Moscow born wonderful pianist, Natasha Kislenko, returns with fanfare to the Ojai Art Center to resume in person concerts. Natasha will perform solo works from the classic piano literature, and cellist Virginia Kron will join her for the much loved Beethoven Op.69 Sonata in A Major for Piano and Cello. $20 no change donation recommended ~ just drop your donation in box at the entrance. This will be an indoor event with no seating restrictions. Non-vaccinated attendees must wear face masks, but for fully vaccinated folks, masks are optional. The Ojai Art Center is located at 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai. For more information contact (805) 640-1158.
