On our first trip to Ojai for the
Ojai Film Festival,
we saw a total of eight different films! The block of films we first saw included The Red Ace Cola Project, 15-40, and Crawford, playing at the
Matilija Theater.
The Red Ace Cola Project was an inspiring film about a woman who starts to work at a company that produces cola. She begins as the assistant to the boss, who seems to think that she was incapable of doing anything. However, she was able to overcome his beliefs and prove to everyone that she can do as good a job as anyone.
15-40 was a moving film about a rising tennis star living during World War Two who must make a difficult choice.
The last film, Crawford, was a documentary about what happens when George W. Bush moves to the small town of Crawford, Texas. Suddenly, the town that had a population of 705 is a place where everyone wants to visit.
After a quick dinner, we headed to the Ojai Playhouse to watch An Unlikely Weapon. From the description of the film that I had read before, I knew that it was about a photographer who took photos unlike anyone else. Once the movie started, I learned that the photographer, Eddie Adams, was exceptionally famous for taking a photograph of a soldier and a prisoner during the Vietnam War. After his name becomes known in the photography world, he continues to take amazing photos from a new perspective. This was one of my favorite movies because it taught me about someone that I had never even heard of before, but by the end I felt as if I had known him personally for years. Afterwards, we got to meet with the director and learned a lot more about how the film was made and what inspired the documentary. (See our interview with the filmmaker/director Susan Morgan Cooper!)
Afterwards, we went to the Ojai Art Center Theatre to check out The Dark, Pickin’ ‘N’ Trimmin’, and Mulligans.
The Dark was a short, animated film created with sand on glass. Although it was only two minutes long, I was completely blown away by the film because of the techniques used with moving the sand all over glass to make a complete animation.
Pickin ‘N’ Trimmin’ was a relatively short documentary about a bunch of old men who run a barber shop. Although sometimes boring, the funny and hilarious parts make up for it. For instance, the group often simultaneously bursts into song with the guitars and banjos.
The last film we saw, Mulligans, was probably one of my least favorite movies of the day because it seemed to go on for a while without really having a point. Although it did have some suspenseful parts, I found that I was more often bored than exciting about what was happening in the film.
