Ashland Independent Film Festival

06/01/2026

We LOVE Our Programming Team! 🖤

Our 2026 Spring Film Festival wouldn't have been possible without all of the passion, dedication, and love of independent film of our beyond fabulous Programming Team. They are behind the scenes watching all of our submissions, discussing their favorites, taking meticulous notes, debating hidden gems, and helping us build a lineup that inspires, surprises, and sparks conversation. We are so beyond appreciative of our Programming Team and everything that they do.

THANK YOU!

05/29/2026

2026 Spring Film Fest Award Highlight: Best Narrative Feature, Trash Baby, Jacy Mairs

Local Jacy Mairs finally made her hometown premiere with her debut feature film, Trash Baby. Jacy shares, "I’m moved by how many people have connected with this story already, and I’m honored to make a film celebrating anyone who’s ever felt socially unclaimed. To the trailer park kids, this film is a love letter to you. We may have to work twice as hard to be half as good, but the wins earned taste sweeter than the wins bought and the truth is, we will always be hungrier.”

Congratulations, Jacy! We were beyond thrilled to celebrate you and all of your talent during this year's fest.

05/27/2026

Mark Your Calendars for the SOU Student Film Festival!

Our friends at the SOU Student Film Festival have a wonderful slate of films lined up to screen at the Varsity Theatre. Here's what you need to know...

🍿 Date and Time: Monday, June 1 and Thursday, June 11, 6:00 p.m.
🍿 Location: Varsity Theatre
🍿 Other: 14 Films, Q+As, Filmmakers Present

Tickets are free for students and $5.00 for non-students. To purchase tickets, please visit the SOU Digital Media Center. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Come on out and support these amazing student filmmakers!

05/25/2026

We APPRECIATE Our Friends of the Fest! 🖤

Our Friends of the Fest went above and beyond to spread the word about all of the incredible films that screened during our 2026 Spring Film Festival. Who are Friends of the Fest, you might ask?

Friends of the Fest is a partnership that positions local businesses and nonprofit organizations as co-sponsors of our films. We identify films that we believe align with their mission and what they are all about, then they help promote the films. In return, we help promote them. It's a win-win and a wonderful way to expand our audiences and collaborate with our community more, because let's face it... We are all doing some AWESOME WORK!

05/22/2026

2026 Spring Film Fest Award Highlight: Indie Institution Awardees, Rick Prelinger and Craig Baldwin

This year, we paid tribute to two film archivists whose vast collections have been an indispensable resource to independent filmmakers: Rick Prelinger and Craig Baldwin. Rick Prelinger began collecting "ephemeral” or “useful” films (films made for specific purposes at specific times, such as advertising, educational, and industrial films) in 1983. His collection of 60,000 films was acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002, and since that time, Prelinger Archives has grown to include some 40,000 home movies and 7,000 other film items.

Craig Baldwin’s Other Cinema Archive, housed at Baldwin’s Other Cinema in the Mission District of San Francisco, has, according to Rick Prelinger, “violated almost every rule that traditional archivists venerate… His collection resembles a Japanese antiquarian bookstore, where nothing exists by chance and the arrangement is an artwork of its own… Baldwin’s collection has introduced generations of filmmakers, artists, and community members to the idea of an archive and much more importantly, to what an archive might be.”

Congratulations, Rick and Craig! We were beyond thrilled to celebrate you and all of your talent during this year's fest.

05/20/2026

Thanks for the Shoutout ArtsWatch! Check out this extra great article below... 🤓

The Southern Oregon indie festival celebrates a quarter-century of creative programming with a broadly diverse and high-quality array of filmmakers and films.

05/20/2026

We 🖤 Our Talented Team!

Big congratulations to our Board President, Gary Kout, for the success of one of his latest projects, Thoughts & Prayers, which received a Peabody Award! Thoughts & Prayers juxtaposes teary and often heartbreaking testimonials from school children with increasingly implausible, capitalist driven attempts to profit from the epidemic of school shootings in the United States. For offering up a depressingly timely dissection of a wholly crisis in America that reveals the very empty political promises its title refers to, this is what makes this film an award winner.

Congratulations!

05/18/2026

Our Venues are THE BEST! 🥰

Our 2026 Spring Film Festival was a success in part because of our extraordinary venues. From screening films, to hosting filmmaker talkbacks, parties, and everything in between, our venues took extra great care of us and ensured nothing short of a positive experience for both our filmmakers and community. We are beyond grateful for each and every one of you who helped make all of this possible.

THANK YOU!

05/15/2026

2026 Spring Film Fest Award Highlight: Pride Award, Cheryl Dunye

Cheryl Dunye is the first out black le***an to ever direct a feature film. Known for her often experimental approach to storytelling, sometimes blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Dunye is iconic for many reasons. Her first feature film created quite a stir when it came out in the nineties - and it’s a great example of true indie cinema. Dunye had an idea, she had limited means, no one had done anything quite like it - she went for it, and was heard...

Dunye screened The Watermelon Woman along with The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye, which included three short films. The Watermelon Woman is currently celebrating its 30 Year Anniversary, a film that is still relevant and important today.

Congratulations, Cheryl! We were beyond thrilled to celebrate you and all of your talent during this year's fest.

05/13/2026

Our Friends at Ashland Devo are hosting a Bicycle Film Festival at the Varsity Theatre! Here’s what you need to know... 🚴‍♀️

Take a journey around the globe on Saturday, May 16, and enjoy films that appeal to everyone, from film connoisseurs, to avid cyclists, and everyone in between. It’s the Bicycle Film Festival’s 26th Year celebrating bicycles through art, film, and music. The festival has spanned the world to an audience of one million people in over one-hundred cities worldwide - and Ashland, Oregon. Let’s celebrate... BIKES ROCK!

The Bicycle Film Festival in Ashland is hosted by Ashland Devo, and all proceeds go to support this nonprofit organization for youth cycling. Bike valet parking will be provided by Piccadilly Cycles. For more information and tickets, please visit www.bikefilms26.eventbrite.com.