Ashland Independent Film Festival

Read more

The Ashland Independent Film Festival has selected the CFO of High Sierra Music, Inc., Berkeley, CA to its top job. David Margulies of Ashland will succeed Anne Ashbey as the festival’s new executive director. Pam Notch, president of the AIFF board, described Margulies as “intelligent, dynamic and resourceful, with proven successes in his field. Dave brings over 19 years of festival experience to AIFF. During his professional tenure, Dave has developed deep relationships with key sponsors and partners, garnered numerous in-kind donations and demonstrated his acumen in fundraising.”

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this position,” Margulies said. “I’m a huge fan of the festival. I have a passion for the arts and bringing transformation through the lens of human experience. I look forward to collaborating with AIFF’s incredible staff, board, volunteers and community supporters to build upon the festival’s success and ensure a brighter future for independent film in Southern Oregon.”

Margulies is well acquainted with AIFF, having served on the advisory board for two years from July 2012 to June 2014. “Dave’s incredible success in building and running a well-regarded music festival from the ground up has all the ingredients needed to not only strengthen AIFF but also take it to new levels,” Notch said. “Combine that with his existing experience and relationship with AIFF as an advisory council member, and he is a great fit for the film festival.”

Ashbey resigned recently after two years in the festival’s top position. She will continue to be a part of the organization as a member of AIFF’s Board of Directors. Margulies, 55, a New Jersey native, is the CFO, Co-Owner and Co-Producer of High Sierra Music, Inc of Berkeley, CA, managing over 100 staff and 500 volunteers and an event budget exceeding $1 million. He will continue to work with the 4-day annual festival.

Margulies has also worked for over five years at Sony Music Entertainment as their Regional Director of A & R, and as Managing Editor for College Media Journal of New York for seven years.

“AIFF offers an unsurpassed festival experience that has become a vital part of our community and cultural life,” says Margulies. “You can expect me to be looking for opportunities to expand the audience, garner more support and build the exposure.”

Margulies earned a degree in business management from Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. He moved to Ashland in 2005 with his family. “Coming from a business background, high on my list is to make the festival financially stronger,” he said. “We’re a non-profit arts organization, so we face the same financial challenges others do.”

AIFF is a widely recognized and highly regarded festival, screening 80-plus independently made documentaries, features and shorts at the Varsity Theatre, the historic Ashland Armory and the Ashland Street Cinema each year. Praised by filmgoers for the intimate access it affords to filmmakers, and by filmmakers for its warm and intelligent reception given to the filmmakers, the Ashland Independent Film Festival was named one of the “Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker magazine, and holds the number two spot in the “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2014, Top Towns.” The National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the National Endowment for the Arts have each twice awarded AIFF with rare festival support grants.

The 14th annual Ashland Independent Film Festival will be celebrated April 9-13, 2015.

Read more

The Case Against 8

Read more

 THE CASE AGAINST 8

The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) unveiled its complete program for the thirteenth annual Festival, to be held in the heart of historic downtown Ashland, Oregon, April 3 to 7, 2014. The Festival will open with THE CASE AGAINST 8, is a behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The AIFF will honor two-time Academy Award® winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple with its 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award. Kopple received an Oscar® in 1976 for Harlan County USA, and again in 1991 for American Dream. Kopple’s many award-winning films include SHUT UP AND SING; WOODSTOCK: NOW and THEN; AND WILD MAN BLUES, about Woody Allen and his relationship with Soon-Yi Previn.   RUNNING FROM CRAZY, Kopple’s latest documentary, will screen at this year’s Festival.  The film examines the personal journey of writer, model and actress Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, as she strives for a greater understanding of her complex family history.

This year, the AIFF will present a 2014 Rogue Award to a homegrown talent, Ty Burrell. Ty has appeared in blockbuster hits such as Black Hawk Down (2001), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and The Incredible Hulk (2008) and is the voice of Mr. Peabody in the upcoming Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Most know him as the funniest father on television, Phil Dunphy. But few know the man behind Phil, the Emmy Award® winning performer who grew up in Ashland.  In A Conversation with Ty Burrell on Saturday, April 5 at the Historic Ashland Armory, Ty and his childhood friend, Miles Inada, Professor of Art and Emerging Media at Southern Oregon University, will engage in what is sure to be an insightful and thoroughly entertaining discussion of acting (“the least rational career possible”), playing soccer in first grade together, plus a Q&A with the audience and other surprises.

Putting the spotlight on a filmmaker making a unique contribution to independent film, the AIFF is also proud to present Mark Monroe with a 2014 Rogue Award.  Monroe is the writing talent behind the Academy Award® winning film THE COVE, the eye-opening CHASING ICE (AIFF12), and critically acclaimed THE TILLMAN STORY. Recently, Monroe penned MISSION BLUE, about legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, environmentalist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and her campaign to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries, which will screen at the Festival. Monroe will be featured on a free filmmaker TalkBack panel, NOT THE SAME OLD STORY, examining the critical role of writing for documentary films.

Documentaries featured at the festival include the Opening Night Film, THE CASE AGAINST 8, a behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage.  Other documentaries featured at the 13th annual AIFF include BURT’S BUZZ, an intimate portrait of the reclusive Burt’s Bees founder Burt Shavitz and RUNNING WILD, the story of legendary cowboy Dayton O. Hyde, author and protector of wild horses. From Emmy® Award–winning documentary filmmaker and AIFF Alum Director Rory Kennedy (Ethel, AIFF12) comes LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM, revealing the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War. IVORY TOWER examines the purpose of higher education in an era when the price of college has increased more than any other service in the U.S. economy since 1978.

Four films nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject will be featured.  FACING FEAR follows a former neo-Nazi skinhead and the gay victim of his hate crime who meet by chance 25 years after the incident that dramatically shaped both of their lives. KARAMA HAS NO WALLS chronicles the 2011 Yemen uprising. A peaceful gathering by students turns deadly when pro-government snipers open fire on the protest.  CAVEDIGGER portrays Ra Paulette, an artist who creates cathedral-like caves in northern New Mexico with nothing but hand tools, grit and passion.  PRISON TERMINAL: THE LAST DAYS OF PRIVATE JACK HALL breaks through the walls of one of Americas oldest maximum-security prisons to tell the story of the final months in the life of a terminally ill prisoner.

AIFF will also screen four Best Live Action Short nominated films.  DO I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING, a comedy about a chaotic morning in a family with kids, and a mother who is determined that it’s best to take care of everything herself.  IN JUST BEFORE LOSING EVERYTHING (AVANT QUE DE TOUT PERDRE), a getaway becomes essential for the survival of a mother and her children.  THAT WASN’T ME (AGUEL NO ERA YO) tells the story of Paula, a social worker, who accompanies her boyfriend to Sierra Leone to aid and rescue child soldiers.   THE VOORMAN PROBLEM follows Doctor Williams as he examines the enigmatic Mr. Voorman, a prisoner with a peculiar affliction: he believes he is a god that created the universe nine days ago.  

The Festival’s “Animation Shorts” program will include the Academy Award® winning film MR. HUBLOT and Academy Award® nominee FERAL. MR. HUBLOT depicts the strange world of an obsessive-compulsive recluse with characters and objects fashioned from intricately detailed, salvaged materials. In FERAL, a young boy is found in the wild and brought back to civilization.

Last year, the Festival expanded the “Family Shorts” program, a collection of delightful and engaging short films suitable for ages 5 and up, to a full weekend of showings at the Ashland Street Cinemas. This season, the AIFF continues to grow its family friendly programming with the Oscar®-nominated animated feature, ERNEST & CELESTINE. A curious and surprisingly open-minded mouse, Celestine, befriends Ernest, a down on his luck bear. The two take an immediate liking to each other in this charming, playful and beautifully animated film. Featuring Forest Whitaker, Lauren Bacall, Paul Giamatti, and William H. Macy, the film will enchant audiences of all ages.

Sandra Boynton, one of America’s best-loved artists and children’s book authors, will be in Ashland during the Festival with her newest short film, ALLIGATOR STROLL, playing in the “Family Shorts” program.  A gallery exhibit of whimsical and original images from her new book, FROG TROUBLE, will be held at Houston’s Custom Framing and Fine Art during the Festival.

The AIFF again presents some of the best new feature film work available on the festival circuit. BLUEBIRD, featuring Amy Morton and John Slattery, explores the interconnectedness of a small town in the northern reaches of Maine when the local school bus driver becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection. In the romantic adventure JUST A SIGH, Alix (Emmanuelle Devos) embarks on a mysterious, off-kilter day with stranger (Gabriel Byrne), leading to what could be a new life for Alix.  Obvious Child is an unapologetically honest and authentic look at what happens when 27-year-old Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, loses her job, and discovers she’s pregnant — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Read more