Some see the Academy Awards as the singular highpoint of the film year. Aficionados, however, know better. Now, it’s time to focus on grass roots filmmaking, the kind that excites aspiring artists who dare dream someday of their own Oscar. Coast-to-coast, film festivals abound. Here are a pair of the most potent:
The Ashland Independent Film Festival runs April 12 through 16 this year. It’s the 11th iteration of the magical, sometimes mystic, moviemaking conclave. The Oregon festival fills screens with some 80-plus documentaries, features and shorts during its five day run. Between screenings are assorted panels, capped off by nightly parties. This is where the action takes place, the artistic ferment that could well define the coming generation of hot new filmmakers. Ashland audiences are anything but passive. They’re hip, thoroughly engaged in the art and supremely savvy. See for yourself.
If Ashland is ascendant, so too is Austin. You’ve got more time to plan your trip to the Heart the Texas for this one. The Austin Film Festival plays out Oct. 18 through 25. If you can’t wait, feed your filmatic appetite by attending 2012’s Conversations in Film down in Austin. The next one is March 25, at the University of Texas’s Harry Ransom Center. “Conversations” is a year-round series of film seminars and script readings. They offer a great place to meet up with local and regional filmmakers and. March 25 the conversation will be with Ted Tally, and the script reading will be from The Silence of the Lambs.
Story by Jerry Chandler
