2007 Ojai Film Festival Announces Full Program Line-up

The Ojai Film Festival with its mission of "Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film" and its focus on documentaries and narrative features, announced the full program line-up today for the 2007 Ojai Film Festival, Thursday, October 4 - Sunday, October 7.

Ojai, CA (PRWEB) September 25, 2007 -- The Ojai Film Festival with its mission of "Enriching the Human Spirit Through Film" and its focus on documentaries and narrative features, announced the full program line-up today for the 2007 Ojai Film Festival, Thursday, October 4 - Sunday, October 7.

David Sington's exceptional documentary, Ron Howard Presents In The Shadow of the Moon (ThinkFilm), opens the 2007 Ojai Film Festival as a free screening at the Libbey Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater, on Thursday October 4 at 7:30 p.m. In the Shadow of the Moon brings together for the first, and possibly the last, time surviving crew members from every single Apollo mission that flew to the Moon, and allows them to tell their story in their own words. This riveting first-hand testimony is interwoven with visually stunning archival material, which has been re-mastered from the original NASA film footage - much of it never used before.

Harris Goldberg's Numb (Insight Films) will have its West coast premiere on Saturday, October 6 at 8 p.m. at the Ojai Playhouse. Starring Matthew Perry, Lynn Collins, Kevin Pollack, Bob Gunton, Helen Shaver, William B. Davis and Mary Steenburgen, the film tells the story of chronically depressed screenwriter Hudson Milbank (Perry). Struggling to understand his plight, he wonders if his new depressive state is the result of a bad experience smoking pot. Life begins to brighten when Hudson meets Sara (Collins), a beautiful business executive who accepts him for who he is and encourages him to change his perspective. Matthew Perry, Mary Steenburgen and Harris Goldberg are scheduled to participate in a Q&A after the screening.

Academy Award® winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday, October 7th at a special private event. Zsigmond has been nominated for the Best Cinematography Academy Award four times - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter, The River, and The Black Dahlia - with a win for Close Encounters. Mark Rydell, who has worked with Zsigmond as both a director and an actor, will be a presenter of the award.

Full Festival Program:
View the full 2007 Ojai Film Festival program at ojaifilmfestival.com/films.html

The 8th Annual Ojai Film Festival will also feature: Julie Christie appearing with a special Lionsgate screening of Away From Her, and with Vilmos Zsigmond for a special screening of her Academy Award® nominated role in Mccabe & Mrs. Miller; a tribute to the late cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs (Easy Rider, Shampoo) with his wife, daughter and biographer in attendance; honoring of film educator James Hosney, whom the Los Angeles Times called "the most influential Hollywood player you've probably never heard of"; a cinematographer's panel featuring Vilmos Zsigmond and Louis Schwartzberg (America's Heart and Soul); a screenwriting panel featuring Harris Goldberg (Numb) and Scott Prendergast (Kabluey); the Panavision Into the Limelight Project of filmmakers from 10 prominent film schools with Master of Ceremonies Bill Paxton; a sneak peak at James Chressanthis' documentary Laszlo & Vilmos; and a special Regional Reels series featuring films of local filmmakers.

Laurie Kirby, the Ojai Film Festival's Executive Director stated "I am honored that we are able to showcase and celebrate the best in independent film today at our Festival. Ojai is a magical town and film is a magical medium. Thus, we offer a unique opportunity to educate, enlighten and entertain through film and interaction with actors and filmmakers at the Festival."

For event information and tickets to all events visit ojaifilmfestival.com or call 805.640.1947.

About the 2007 Ojai Film Festival:
The Ojai Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the art of the motion picture through the presentation of an annual multi-day festival in which films and videos submitted by filmmakers throughout the world are publicly exhibited at several venues in and around the city of Ojai, California.

The 2007 Ojai Film Festival is supported by Producing Sponsors KEYT-TV (an ABC affiliate), KRUZ 97.5 and MAGIC 106.3 KMGQ (Santa Barbara) and Directing Sponsors Domino's Pizza, The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Panavision, Pravda Vodka, Stella Artois, Travel Trainer, TV5 Monde, and US Trust.

The Ojai Film Festival provides film and nature enthusiasts with a breathtaking, relaxing and friendly environment to enjoy groundbreaking independent works and low-key interaction with top Hollywood filmmakers and performers. Only 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Ojai also features world-renowned spas and golfing in a small town setting. Ojai is truly a Shangri-La, and it even served as a stand-in for the mythical city in the 1937 film classic Lost Horizon. The valley is set against the dramatic background of the Topa Topa Mountains, surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest. Some have called this area the last intact Mediterranean ecosystem in Southern California and compare it often to Tuscany.

# # #