2016 Trailers

2016, Republic of Korea, Director: Seongmin Kim; 15 min. In the near future, a nuclear holocaust destroys the earth’s ecosystem. Then Mari, the lone survivor of a laboratory established to restore the planet, stumbles upon M626, a robot soldier. As the two forge a strong bond, they are pursued by Read more…

Sun. Nov. 6, 2:30 PM, Ojai Art Center/Gallery The Ojai Valley Green Coalition in partnership with the Ojai Film Festival is pleased to present a water-themed afternoon sponsored by SoCalGas. The film explores the West’s water crisis in detail. It examines emerging water conservation technologies and how they might offer Read more…

Screening of Tab Hunter Confidential with Tab Hunter and Allan Glaser, Saturday, November 5, 5:15-8 PM – Ojai Art Center Born Arthur Andrew Kelm on July 11, 1931, Tab Hunter broke into film at the age of 19, starring opposite Linda Darnell in Island of Desire. An instant success, Hunter Read more…

Friday, November 11 9–11:30 AM Ojai Art Center Theater Under the generous auspices of the Ojai Film Festival, the Ojai Film Society presents the winning films of its 2016 Ojai Young Filmmakers competition. The presentation will be followed by a student Q&A and a reception.

2015, Australia, Directors: Lisa Heenan and Isaebella Doherty, Producer: Lisa Heenan; 90 min. Set in the stunning Shenandoah Valley of northern Virginia, ‘Polyface Farm’ is led by “the world’s most innovative farmer” (TIME), uses no chemicals, and feeds over 6,000 families and numerous restaurants and food outlets within a three-hour Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Hal Weiner, Producer: Marilyn Weiner; 55 min. Six years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster –the biggest oil spill in U.S. history – a global team of scientists works to understand its environmental impact on humans, wildlife, and the ecosystem with the ultimate goal of learning how to Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Sue Williams, Producers: Hilary Klotz Steinman and Sue Williams; 63 min. By 2020, four billion people will have a personal computer. Five billion will own a mobile phone. From secretive Chinese factories to a ravaged community in New York and the high-tech corridors of Silicon Valley, filmmaker Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Ben Henretig, Producer: Andrea Chung; 58 min. Bhutan is known as the last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom and one of the happiest places on earth. Crossing Bhutan tells the story of four veteran athletes who explore Bhutan’s enigmatic policy of Gross National Happiness, making the first 485-mile, border-to-border Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Haydn Reiss, Producers: Dominic Howes and Haydn Reiss; 81 min. Celebrate the life and work of Robert Bly—poet, translator, mythologist, social activist and gadfly. Featuring contributions by actor/activists Peter Coyote and Martin Sheen, drummer John Densmore of The Doors, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and mythologists Michael Meade and Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Phil Furey, Producers: Spencer Averick and Phil Furey; 84 min. Bound together by the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, grief-stricken family members face one injustice after another, from the callous response of a once-mighty airline to the back-room deal that frees one of the bombers after Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Max Lewkowicz, Producer: Tim Van Patten; 69 min. Infantryman Tony Vaccaro created some of the most haunting, vivid images of WWII—using a $47 smuggled camera and negatives developed at night. This HBO documentary tells Vaccaro’s story and discusses the timeless ethical issues surrounding war photography and how Read more…

2015, South Africa, Director: Craig Tanner, Producers: Laura Burocco, Dan Jawitz, Bridget Pickering, and Craig Tanner; 52 min. Filmed during the dramatic protests against the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, this hard-hitting documentary exposes the corruption of FIFA, which pockets billions while host countries must confront a legacy of economic Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Stephanie Soechtig, Producer: Katie Couric; 105 min. Despite an epidemic of mass shootings, American society remains deeply divided over the issue of gun control. Under the Gun provides a balanced, in-depth examination of this polarizing controversy and gives a human face to the crisis scarring the conscience Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Eric Juhola; 82 min. Growing Up Coy follows the Mathis family as they advocate for their gender non-conforming child’s right to use the girl’s bathroom at her elementary school. The resulting landmark civil rights case raises important questions about what it means to grow up Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Eric Christiansen, Producer: Bruce Spears; 106 min. For war veterans, the journey from battlefront to home front is almost as perilous as combat. This documentary reveals the emotional journey of soldiers whose return to civilian life is irrevocably influenced by wartime memories. A film about hope and Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Ryan Suffern, Producers: Frank Marshall, Ryan Suffern; 100 min. Raised by the very soldiers who killed their family members, Oscar and Ramiro are the only living witnesses to human rights violations perpetrated by the Guatemalan government. For one of them, the fight to bring war criminals to Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Maisie Crow; 90 min. Set against the backdrop of the fight over the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, this film is an intimate, first-of-its-kind look inside the issues surrounding abortion through three women who stand on all sides of this debate and live at a Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Claire M. Andreae; 14 min. Wildfires are a recurring phenomenon in California and an integral part of its ecosystem. Now, global climate change is having unanticipated effects on wildfire behavior. Living with Fire examines the interplay between wildfires and climate change and explores possible solutions Read more…

2016, United Kingdom, Directors: Daniel Bull and Bryan Liptzin, Producers: Daniel Bull and Bryan Liptzin; 23 min. Thirty years after their first visit, two American college friends return to an ancient Buddhist monastery high in the Himalayas. There, they reconnect with their past, and witness a culture being dragged into Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Fancy Fechser, Producers: Cecil Campanaro, Fancy Fechser, Danny Klein, Krish Makhija, and Nick Tramontano; 22 min. Although the word “surf” originated in India in 1599, the sport has only gained a foothold there in the last decade. In this film, professional surfer Brad Gerlach teaches residents of Read more…

2015, USA, Director and Producer: John Antonelli; 22 min. Half a million tribal people are threatened by the impending GIBE III dam that will diminish the flow of water to Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. Sea Change chronicles the struggles of Turkana native Ikal Angelei as she returns home and Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Michael Rogers, Producer: Meghan Shea; 11 min. Two men—a quadriplegic and a Paralympian—face more challenges in a day than some people experience in a lifetime. Undaunted, the two men launch on a 35-kilometer trek over a Tibetan plateau. In their quest to overcome adversity, the men are Read more…

2016, USA, Directors: Jenny Nichols and Joe Riis, Producer: Arthur Middleton; 28 min. Follow a herd of elk as they navigate snowy mountain passes and treacherous river crossings to reach the summer pasturelands inside Yellowstone National Park’s protected boundaries. Elk River documents the migration of the elk and the backcountry Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Nathan Myers, Producers: Sean Doherty and Tim Russo; 26 min. When famed surfer Gerry Lopez first surfed Uluwatu in 1974, the fabled Balinese beach was empty, pristine, and magical. Forty years later, Lopez returns to discover a crowded, developed metropolis. Undeterred, Lopez uses yoga and surfing to Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Bill Wisneski, Producers: Chris Culp and Bill Wisneski; 14 min. With its mysterious rock formations and iconic trees, Joshua Tree National Park provides a haven for those seeking inspiration. Now, scientists predict that the majority of Joshua trees will disappear in the next 80 years due to Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Steven Kochones, Producers: Steven Kochones and Joe Russo; 22 min. Take a dazzling journey through time with National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting as he presents images from his remarkable “LIFE” project. The result is a stunning interpretation of life on Earth, from the original Big Bang to Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Lance Dumais; 15 min. Professional surfer, surfboard shaper, and animal lover Scott Chandler embarks on a quest to break the world record for dog surfing. The film provides a unique insider’s perspective as Scott constructs a fifteen-foot board in his studio, practices at the dog Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Ben Proudfoot; 26 min. The stars of this documentary have been nominated for a total of 73 Academy Awards and won 9. The film chronicles what happens when the world’s greatest film composers are challenged to write original pieces for solo piano. Featuring once-in-a-lifetime recording Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Rachel Victor, Producers: Loren S. Miller and Rachel Victor; 39 min. Jarvis, the first son of famous American artist, Norman Rockwell, recalls life with his difficult father, explores the wide world of art, and develops a life-changing obsession. Jarvis Rockwell is the culmination of a twelve-year odyssey Read more…

2016, Cuba, Directors: Jeremy Ungar and Ivaylo Getov, Producer: Robin Miller Ungar; 16 min. Winners of the 2016 CUBADISCO Award for best vocal group, the Vocal Vidas are a female a cappella quartet from Santiago de Cuba. This short documentary profiles the unique quartet with its infectious spirit and precise Read more…

2015, Spain, Director and Producer: Ricard Carbonell; 3 min. Get a unique perspective on one of the world’s most feared prisons in this innovative documentary. Originally a tsarist army coastal battery, Paterei was a major center of Soviet repression and WWII detention center for 1,000 Jews. Today, the prison is Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Joshua Shelov, Producers: Minter Dial and Eastwood Allen; 26 min. After 2-1/2 years of imprisonment in the Philippines, Lieutenant-Commander Minter Dial’s last wish was to have his Annapolis class ring returned to his loving wife. Eighteen years later, the ring made a miraculous return home, only to Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Stephen Crisman, Producers: Steven Ungerleider and David Ulrich; 29 min. On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists took eleven Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Olympics and assassinated them. Munich ’72 and Beyond exposes shocking new information about the tragic events and chronicles the four-decade-long struggle to create Read more…

2015, USA, Director and Producer: Steven Kochones; 30 min. In the age of the Internet, ten young people pay homage to photography as an art form. From photojournalism to fashion photography to celebrity portraiture, this international group of millennial photographers offers an eye-popping look at the way images are created, Read more…

2016, USA, Director and Producer: Annie O’Neill; 28 min. Phil is a free spirit who dreams of walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, while facing Stage 4 cancer in his hometown of Seattle. After building his own backyard Camino, Phil walks the equivalent of 500 miles and realizes that Read more…

Marie trades one set of hardships for another when she takes a job as a maid in Singapore to support her family in the Philippines. As she gets caught up in her new life, Maria is forced to choose between her personal aspirations and family responsibilities back home. Remittance Trailer Read more…

2015, Hungary, Director: Attila Szász, Producers: Tamás Lajos and Tamás Mink; 87 min. Three very different women—a high profile courtesan, her housekeeper, and their new maid—inhabit the demimonde of Budapest at the turn of the 20th century. Then their passionate, complex, and bizarre relationship takes a dark turn. A true Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Kieran Valla, Producers: Alvaro Baquero Benedetti, Daniel Marks, Levi Smock, and Kieran Valla; 96 min. When he’s not caring for his sisters, seventeen-year-old Joey is trying to keep his dad out of trouble. Then, the robbery orchestrated by his father goes horribly wrong and Joey must manage Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Alexander Janko, Producer: Laura Goodenow; 116 min. After 30 years as a wife and mother, empty nester Joan (Karen Allen) retreats to Cape Cod rather than follow her relocated husband to Kansas. With support from her literary agent and a host of locals, including a sexy fisherman, Read more…

2015, Norway, Director and Producer: Jan Vardøen; 88 min. Lighting technician Ingvld dreams of writing for the stage. Even though she can’t stand actors, Ingvld becomes entangled with two thespians, one of whom is a notorious hell raiser. Ingvld’s choices take her on an exciting, scandalous, and ultimately very dangerous Read more…

2016, USA, Directors: Andy Kirshner and Debbie Williams, Producers: Andy Kirshner and Heidi Lawson; 98 min. With a voice like an angel and a family values preacher for a father, Liberty Smith is the perfect running mate for a foundering presidential candidate. But when Liberty falls for her (female) spin Read more…

2015, USA, Director and Producer: Erica Fae; 88 min. A lighthouse keeper’s wife struggles with her work and her sanity as she cares for her sick husband in 19th century Maine. When a mysterious stranger washes up on shore, secrets buried in deep waters come to light, and she is Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Marlee Roberts, Producers: Karl Bardosh and Nancy Malone; 82 min. Meet Belle, an overambitious, straight-A, high school freshman. Belle seems to have it all together, but as family troubles and daily social academic pressures begin to grow, she uses weight loss as a way to control an Read more…

2016, USA, Director: Joe Garrity, Producers: Kate Charlotte Hodges and Kyle Parker; 16 min. Jerry and his identical twin, Paul, have always been close. Now that they’re adults, their lives are taking different paths. Feeling sentimental and determined to salvage his fading twin identity, Jerry convinces Paul to join him Read more…

2015, Lebanon, Director: Ely Dagher, Producers: Ely Dagher and Nina Najjar; 15 min. Disillusioned with life in the suburbs of segregated Beirut, Omar is lured into the depths of the city by an unexpected discovery. As he becomes immersed in a world that is so close yet so detached from Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Kevin Maxwell, Producers: Cristiano Cardoso, David Field, Christopher Roja, and Juan Felipe Zuleta; 22 min. The year is 1966 and Cora is an African American woman living in Memphis, Tennessee. To support her son and gambling addicted husband, Cora owns and operates “Cora’s Place”, a “Colored Only” Read more…

2015, USA, Director and Producer: Chris King; 12 min. When a young military wife gets news that her husband has been severely wounded in combat, she realizes that their life ahead is going to be an overwhelming—and incredible—journey. A simple story of love, strength, and courage through enormous adversity.

2016, USA, Directors and Producers: Devon and Hart Perez; 1 min. Everybody remembers their first cup of coffee, right? In this entertaining short film, a young boy tastes coffee for the first time and embarks on a psychedelic, caffeine-fueled adventure. Through his point of view, the film offers a comedic Read more…

2015, USA, Director: Mary-Lyn Chambers, Producers: Katherine Borda, Stephen Love, Jr., and Codie Oliver; 15 min. Caught in the gears of the 2014 US immigration crisis, twelve-year old Ana arrives at a detention center with nothing but the clothes on her back, her mute, younger brother, and a music box. Read more…