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ASHLAND INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL Cinematic treats fill AIFF's 2016 lineup Five-day fest offers 100-plus films, kids programs and parties Comment By Revels DailyTidings.com By Revels Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Revels Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 12:01 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Ashland Independent Film Festival Opening Bash » Social News Ashland Independent Film Festival's 100-plus films — the cream from more than 1,300 submissions, along with films that were formally requested — include comedies, documentaries, shorts and animated films, as well as feature-length movies and programs for children. Several films will be screened in the U.S. for the first time, and many will arrive in Ashland after premiering at such festivals as Sundance, Slamdance and SXSW. The 15th annual festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and 9 a.m. to 9:40 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 8-11, at Ashland Street Cinemas, Varsity Theatre, Historic Ashland Armory, Ashland Springs Hotel, ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum and Schneider Museum of Art. Tickets for films are $13, $12 for seniors and $6 for students. Some events are free, and performance tickets vary. The festival's lineup of films, performances and talks, along with tickets, show times and locations, are available online at ashlandfilm.org . Tickets also are available at the information kiosk on the Ashland Plaza. In his festival debut, new director of programming Richard Herskowitz brings new talents such as YouTube sensation and deejay Flula Borg — whom teens will recognize from the a cappella film "Pitch Perfect 2" — and dance-world darling Celia Rowlson-Hall, named one of 25 “new faces of independent film” in 2015 by Filmmaker Magazine. Rowlson-Hall choreographs for HBO’s "Girls" and vogue.com , and is the recipient of the festival’s first Juice Award, given to an emerging female film director. She will show a selection of her dance videos before her talk at 3:40 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Varsity. Rowlson-Hall's first feature-length film, "MA," is a retelling of the story of the Virgin Mary and will be presented Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Varsity. Sonita Alizadeh, the subject of the Sundance Award-winning documentary "Sonita," will be on hand to take questions after the documentary screens at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Historic Ashland Armory. The film follows teenager Alizadeh as she creates an underground rap song to protest her family’s plan to sell her as a bride. Herskowitz also will honor the roots of independent film by paying tribute to Kartemquin Films and Women Make Movies — two institutions that have built an infrastructure for indie filmmakers, including women who work outside the mainstream. With many films directed by and starring women, the subject of one the festival’s panel discussions will be "Women Make Indie Movies." This year’s Rogue Award will go to directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who will screen their latest documentary, "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You." Their film pays homage to the 93-year-old American social activist and creator of TV shows "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons" and "Maude." Herskowitz explores the boundaries of film and live performance with a trio of artists at the festival. Musician Rozalind McPhail will improvise and perform a live score for the feature film "He Hated Pigeons." The Newfoundland-based and classically trained flutist fuses electronica, classical and jazz to create a soundtrack to accompany the film, which is a slow-burning odyssey about love and loss set in Chile. Portland-based artist Laura Heit performs tiny puppet shows that enter the realm of film when she projects them onto the big screen. She also will install two art pieces that use light, projections and cutouts to create ever-changing installations. The installations will be displayed at Schneider Museum of Art and ScienceWorks. Jeremy Rourke of San Francisco combines vintage photographs, contemporary imagery, text and vocals for his live shows to be presented Saturday, April 9, at ScienceWorks. A show at 1 p.m. will be for children, and one for adults will be at 7 p.m. ScienceWorks also will present kids' activities related to animation, which are free to festival ticket-holders, and Mark Shapiro, from the animation studio LAIKA in Hillsboro, will present a collection of animated shorts. More offerings for children — long an area of interest to AIFF, which holds an annual competition for filmmakers from kindergarten through college ages — will be included at the festival. Young filmgoers may be intrigued by the nature and adventure documentary "Voyagers Without a Trace," the feature film "Bill," the documentary "Sonita," and "CineeSpace," a collection of films from NASA. The mainstay of the festival continues to be a rich assortment of films, including Werner Herzog’s new documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In "Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World," Herzog leads viewers through provocative conversations to reveal how the online world has transformed everything, including our personal relationships. "The Birth of Sake" follows the story of the brotherhood dedicated to making sake the old way in a 144-year-old brewery in Japan; while "Addicted to Sheep" offers an irreverent take on sheep farming in northern England. There are lots of films with local connections. "Boone" is a documentary about three young goat farmers living off the land in the Little Applegate Valley near Jacksonville, and "Bastards y Diablos" co-stars Medford's Dillon Porter and other local residents. For fans of Ashland's "other" festival, there are two films that celebrate William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death. Julie Taymor’s "A Midsummer’s Night Dream" is touted as a visually spectacular adaptation, and the madcap "Bill" is a Monty Python-esque tale of Shakespeare’s “lost years.” By Revels DailyTidings.com By Revels Posted Mar. 31, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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