Ashland Independent Film Festival 2024 Opens On Oct. 3 With Over 60 Films

ASHLAND, Ore — The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) is gearing up to screen over 60 films this year come October 3 when the festival opens- coinciding with Ashland’s Pride Parade.

Ashland Independent Film Festival 2024 Themes & Screening

The open call is held by AIIF annually for filmmakers to submit their films for consideration.

Over 200 submissions were received this year and while this is significantly less than its usual 800 to 1,000-plus submissions, AIIF director of programming, Richard Herskowitz said they are excited about the quality of this year’s films.

With “Oregon Animation” as this year’s main theme,  activism, the arts, and the environment are all special overarching themes. 2024’s AIIF promises to pay homage to the Oregon roots of many famous animators, including Matt Groening of The Simpsons fame and Pixar’s Brad Bird. Organizers have also indicated there will be a few surprises in between.

This summer, Aurora Johnson, director of programming (submissions) oversaw a group of individuals serving as pre-screeners, programmers, and higher-level screeners who reviewed and judged the films ultimately chosen for the AIIF lineup.

Films are judged on the originality of the story as well as their cinematography and sound and ranked accordingly.

Herskowitz confirmed that “Every film is looked at at least twice.”

This year’s festival includes an art exhibition and at several screenings, there will be Q&A sessions with directors and actors and a live improvised musical performance during the film “Trip Ticks.”

AIFF 2024 Details

Founded in 2001. the non-profit Southern Oregon Film Society which produces the nationally acclaimed festival also offers educational and cultural programs for over 10,000 patrons annually.

This year’s AIIF is the first fully-fledged film festival in Ashland since 2019 and will take place in multiple venues across town, offering several different ways for movie lovers to interact.

AIIF 2024 runs from October 3 through October 6. To get movie schedules and tickets, visit the website at: ashlandfilm.org.