Curtain Goes Up on Film Festival

As the Ojai Film Festival opens its second season tonight, some organizers are concerned about the fledgling event’s financial future.

“We’re crippled,” said George Walczak, the festival’s director. “We’re absolutely just hemorrhaging money.”

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many of the corporate and individual donations in this area were earmarked for relief efforts. Walczak said donations to the festival are down 40% from a year ago.

According to federal tax documents, the Ojai Film Society collected $122,906 during the first year of the festival and spent nearly $104,000.

The festival relies on dozens of local volunteers to make the event work, but Ojai residents and businesses alone cannot sustain the event, he said. To remain viable, the festival will seek donations and grants from various sources, including the entertainment industry.

“I’m very concerned about where the money will be coming from next year,” Walczak said. “Undoubtedly in the future we’re going to need some government support. . . . This sort of thing will only succeed if we reach out beyond Ojai.”

84 Films to Be Shown in 5 Theaters

Last year, the festival had $500 in government grants, but the society also collected $86,604 in other donations and received $33,916 from ticket sales, film submission fees and sponsorships.

The festival might have to scale back, but it will continue, said Steve Grumette, the festival’s founder and artistic director. “We can continue to do what we have to do, no matter what happens to the economy,” Grumette said.

The 2001 festival, which runs through Monday, will feature 84 films from around the world in five theaters. A panel of 22 people selected the festival lineup from among 300 submissions, Grumette said.

“Each film has to be screened by at least three panel members,” he said. “You can find something even in the bad films to appreciate.”

A few Ventura County filmmakers will have their works shown. “There are a smattering of them,” Grumette said. “We didn’t want to accept films just because they were local.”

But tonight’s opening-night film is an Oscar-winning classic by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. “2001: A Space Odyssey” will be projected onto a large screen on the stage of the Libbey Bowl. “2001” will be the only film shown at that venue, and the event is free to the public.

“We’ll be turning Libbey Bowl into an outdoor theater for a night,” Grumette said. “It looks spectacular.”

The festival will include celebrities like actor Malcolm McDowell and Frank Pierson, who will receive a lifetime achievement award. Other notable films include “Devil in a Blue Dress” with Denzel Washington and “One False Move” with Billy Bob Thornton, followed by a question-and-answer session with the films’ director, Carl Franklin, on Saturday afternoon.

Ojai already hosts events for music, Shakespeare and playwrights, so adding a film festival “seemed like a natural extension of that,” Grumette said.

Ojai offers one of the few film festivals outside Los Angeles city limits that still remains within driving distance. The natural beauty of the area also is an asset, maintains Grumette. “We’re developing a bit of a reputation.”

Last year’s event went smoothly, although organizers learned a few lessons. First, “it’s better to have all the venues as close together as possible,” Grumette said. “We’re trying to keep it more concentrated to the downtown area.”

Event Called ‘Antidote to the Multiplex’

Last year, some attendees also expressed concern that single showings of films prevented anyone from seeing more than one-third of them. This time, each one will be shown twice. Also, a majority of the films will be available after the festival on videotape at the city library.

Although some of the films have been released in theaters or on television, many of the newer films in competition might not otherwise find an audience, Grumette said.

“It’s very hard to find a venue for smaller films,” he said. If the festival remains financially sound, it will only grow in reputation and quality, Walczak said.

“Obviously it’s an evolving enterprise,” Walczak said. “The caliber of the programming is higher this year. . . . We like to think that we’re an antidote to the multiplex.”

Ojai still has the “casual informality of a small town,” Walczak said, adding that that quality helps the festival keep its focus on the artistic aspect. “I hate film festivals where deal-making has replaced the filmmaking,” he said.

This year’s festival features a number of special themes and events, including a forum for Mexican filmmakers, a youth festival, a showcase of works by first-time female directors and a documentary look at the international plight of children. “Amores Perros,” last year’s Oscar-nominated film from Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, will also be presented.

Writer-director Stephen Erickson of Los Angeles had his father-son drama, “The Stonecutter,” chosen to close out the festival after the Nov. 11 awards ceremony.

“I love showing the film,” Erickson said. “I’m very proud of it.” “The Stonecutter,” Erickson’s first feature, has won a variety of awards from other film festivals. Because Ojai is so close to Los Angeles, he expects several actors involved in its production will attend the screening.

“This is a really great people film,” Erickson said.

“I love to go out to smaller film fests.”

FYI

Screening tickets cost $7 a film. Tickets are available in advance for $35 for six. An all-screening pass costs $100, while an all-access pass that includes other special events costs $175. For more information about festival times, locations and costs, call 640-1947 or log on to https://www.filmfestival.ojai.net.