Seven distinguished jurors screened the competing films selected for viewing at this year’s festival and determined a winning entry in each category. Pick your favorites—then come to the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 3, and see which films won!

Bob Bancroft (Screenplay) is an actor whose TV highlights include three years on David E. Kelley’s Chicago Hope and appearances in Parks and Recreation and American Horror Story. Film highlights include roles in Texas Rangers and Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century, among many others. Several recent roles in horror projects await release this year.

In addition to acting, he runs a workshop for working screenwriters and actors in Hollywood. Over the last 20 years, group members have written, produced, and appeared in numerous projects (features, shorts, webseries, etc.) that both originated in the workshop and involved group members in various facets of production.

Tom Eubanks (Narrative films) has worked in film and theater for over 25 years as a screenwriter, playwright, and director. He wrote and directed the independent feature film, Open Spaces, which premiered in 2004. He served as artistic director for Elite Theater Company for 14 years and previously served as Chairman of the Ojai Art Center Theater from 1998- 2003 and 2006. His plays, American Right, Perfect Quiet Place, The Art of Something, In the Midst of All that is Good, and At the End of the Day have been produced in California. He resides in the Ojai Valley.

Michael Ewing (Screenplay), a producer, has worked in production since 1990, earning credits on landmark comedies like Tommy Boy, The Naked Gun series, and 50 First Dates. He has three projects currently in development.

Peter Fox graduated from Harvard with a degree in Anthropology, Then moved to Hollywood where he starred as Rev. Hank Buchanan on The Waltons, then as Otter in the Animal House television series and many other movies and television shows. He also served as the Artistic Director of the Ovation Award winning Alliance Repertory Theatre for many years and Samuel French Company published his play Acts of God. After he left Hollywood and moved to Ojai, his need to create turned to found object art – “the stuff dreams are made of”. He describes his process as putting 2 + 2 together in a way that has nothing to do with 4. His art has shown at the Sylvia White Gallery, Gallery 525, Lynn Creighton Gallery, The Porch Gallery, and the Beatrice Wood Art Center. He lives with his wife Julie, a garage full of found objects, one entitled dog, and one ill-mannered cat.

Andy Gilman (Narrative films) is the Director of The Agora Foundation, a nonprofit providing great books seminars, panels, and other educational opportunities for adults. The goals of these offerings are to provide an understanding of the ideas that shape civilization and to promote civil discourse on complicated subjects. Andy’s former work includes Outreach at Oak Grove School, Board President of Ventura Charter School, and Content Consultant for BST. He is a graduate of CalArts and St. John’s College.

Jürgen Gottschalk (Documentaries) – Cinematographer Jürgen Gottschalk, a filmmaker born in Munich, Germany, works as a cinematographer, editor, and motion graphics designer. Having taught at various film schools around Southern California and the United Kingdom, he passionately promotes the power and value of documentary film and has enabled countless students to tell the story that inspires them. He is currently producing media for UC Merced.

Cathy Karol-Crowther (Animation) – Animator Cathy Karol-Crowther began her career in animation in 1973. She started as a background artist and assistant animator on TV specials, commercials, titles, and theme park films. She has completed eight independent animated short films that have played in film festivals around the world. She is a member of the Short Films and Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is also a well-respected teacher at Santa Monica College in the Academy of Entertainment and Technology.

Valerie Levett (Screenplay) recently retired from a 33-year career with Warner Bros where she worked in the Feature Film Story Department as both a Story Analyst and Story Editor. She was the first to read Harry Potter for Warner’s (and, yes, recommended it!). Now she pursues her own writing and feels grateful to have the time to devote to it.

Elizabeth Pepin Silva (Documentaries) – Writer, Director, Producer. For more than 20 years, She’s made films independently and as a staff producer at KQED, the PBS station in San Francisco. She has won five Emmy Awards and numerous film festival awards for her television and documentary film work including La Maestra, Coastal Clash, and One Winter Story. She is also a music licensing and archival research specialist. Elizabeth is currently working on a documentary featuring Ojai residents Dan Malloy and Charlie Benton, as well as a film on 1960s women surf pioneers Linda Benson and Joyce Hoffman.

Patty Reed (Screenplay) worked with veteran producer Hunt Lowry (Last of the Mohicans, A Time to Kill) since 2004, first as a Creative Executive at Gaylord Films and most recently as a Vice President at Roserock Films where she oversees development and production. While at Roserock Films Reed served as a producer on the country music film Pure Country: Pure Heart for Warner Home Entertainment in addition to working on the previous film in that brand Pure Country 2: the Gift, the Robert Rodriguez film Shorts, the Carroll Ballard film Duma, and the stand-up comedy direct to DVD film series Thou Shalt Laugh.

Karin Stellwagen (Documentaries) – Producer Karin Stellwagen’s production experience includes national television series and cutting-edge video installations for major museums worldwide. She received a master’s degree in visual anthropology from USC and taught documentary film production at Brooks Institute in Ventura. Credits include New Heroes for PBS, Hannibal for the History Channel, “Wright Brothers” for PBS Nova, Rocket Challenge for Discovery, and Bataan Rescue for PBS American Experience. She served as production manager for renowned video artist Bill Viola, working at numerous museums, including the National Gallery of England, the Guggenheim, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

screeners

Thank you to our many screeners who did the first elimination round of nearly 500 films. The Screening Panel is made up of professionals with backgrounds in film or theater, as well as serious film fans from our local community.

Lisa Blons
George Bohrer
Dianne Bullard
Liz Grumette
Heather Havens
Ann Horton
Sharon McBee
Mardell Nash
Gregg Olson
Darlene Patrick
Elizabeth Silva
Sue Williams