Virtual 2022 Festival, Tickets on Sale Friday, March 18
The Nationally Acclaimed Festival Returns with Three Times as Many Feature Films, Almost All Available to Watch Nationwide During AIFF, April 1-10
The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF), cited by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World” and one of the “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” launches its full festival lineup with tickets on sale now. AIFF 2022, celebrating its 21st year, will be an entirely virtual event this year, with more accessibility and a significantly larger program for the ten-day festival, April 1-10, 2022.
AIFF’s Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Feature Films are special one-day-only screenings of three powerhouse documentaries addressing important modern global issues, including:
- Festival Opening Day Feature Film, April 1: We Feed People — A chronicle of how Chef José Andrés and his nonprofit, World Central Kitchen, rebuilds nations in the wake of disaster, providing healthy food to those affected. Directed by Ron Howard. [A portion of ticket sales from We Feed People will be donated by AIFF directly to World Central Kitchen to aid their current efforts for Ukraine]
- Festival Centerpiece Feature Film, April 6: The Territory — The Territory is a 2022 internationally co-produced National Geographic Documentary film directed by Alex Pritz and Sundance award-winning film. It follows a young Indigenous leader fighting back against farmers who occupy a protected area of the Amazon Rainforest.
- Festival Closing Day Feature Film, April 10: Fire of Love — National Geographic Documentary of intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft who die in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing some of nature’s most explosive imagery.
Under its new leadership, the Ashland Independent Film Festival 2022 lineup includes 65+ hand-selected feature films — three times as many feature films as previous years. Local and regionally celebrated filmmakers are heavily featured as always, as well as the exciting addition of filmmakers from around the world, with diverse backgrounds, perspectives and artistic styles. The 2022 program also includes 6+ short film compilations, kid flicks, special one-day-only screenings, Q&A’s with filmmakers and more.
“We’re thrilled that the AIFF program will be more accessible than ever this year, with nearly all features being available to watch for the entire ten-day festival, rather than only during a select showtime,” says Roberta Munroe, new Executive Artistic Director of AIFF. “Most of the films will also be available to watch nationwide, rather than being geo-targeted to Oregon as in previous years and other festivals with virtual screenings.” Munroe previously led programming for several premier global film events, including Sundance, Los Angeles Film Festival and Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) New York. She has also produced over 40 projects and directed six films.
“AIFF’s lineup this year truly has something for everyone,” says Joe Bilancio, new director of programming for Ashland Independent Film Festival, who previously served as director of Programming for OUTshine Film Festivals, DC Shorts, and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. “We have those true indie films with spirit and drive and the bigger independents that will be screening at arthouses throughout the country. Sundance and SXSW films dot the line-up as well. With a line-up that’s more than twice the size as the past, there are even more good things to see…with more time to see them all. So while we can’t be with you in person this year, we do hope you will laugh with us, cry with us and a lot of other emotions as well.”
Ashland Independent Film Festival tickets go on sale Friday, March 18. Tickets start at $13.50 per film, except for the one-day-only features ($20). Ticket packages range from $25 to $800 for an all-festival pass with access to all films, a value of more than $1,200.
About Ashland Independent Film Festival
The Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF) screens the highest quality independent documentary, narrative, animation, and short films in historic Ashland, Oregon for an event the Washington Post called “a dream you’ll never want to leave.” Cited by MovieMaker Magazine several times as one of the “Top 25 Coolest Festivals in the World” and one of the “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” the Ashland Independent Film Festival is held annually in April in beautiful Southern Oregon. AIFFs mission is to cultivate the foremost festival experience, recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, for bringing audiences and filmmakers together through a shared appreciation of the power of independent film. The non-profit Southern Oregon Film Society was founded in 2001 and produces the nationally acclaimed Ashland Independent Film Festival, as well as educational and cultural programs for more than 10,000 patrons annually.