Out of the Ashes
Dear Film Lover:
In December, we shared news about the dire state of the Ashland Independent Film Festival (AIFF), mired in debt and with no staff. We shared that a new group of volunteers had banded together to resurrect the Festival. Rather than declare bankruptcy and try to start something new, which would have hurt local businesses and individuals in our community, we launched a fundraising campaign, challenging our supporters to help us raise $150,000 so that we could begin to pay off our creditors and lay the foundation for the Film Festival to return in 2024.
To date we’ve raised approximately $125,000 of the $150,000 we immediately need. (We are endlessly grateful to the many donors who put their faith in us!) While we didn’t meet our stated goal, the breadth of support and comments we received along the way made it very clear that AIFF is an arts institution that is truly valued and supported in Ashland and beyond. You want the Film Festival back. And so do we.
Here’s the good news. Despite falling short of our initial goal, we have begun planning for a Film Festival in 2024. This will require creativity, continued financial support, and the help of our most valuable resource, our volunteers. In the recent past we’ve had as many as 350 volunteers in any given year, and we’re going to need our volunteers this year more than ever. We’ve already conducted meetings with some key individuals, and we will continue to do so, learning from them, sharing our plans, and working together to rebuild. With limited budget for staff, we’ll need volunteers to help in a myriad of ways, beyond even what we’ve required in the past. If you have been a volunteer before or are willing to invest your time with us now, please reach out.
We are planning for the Festival to be held October 2nd to 6th, 2024. Moving the Festival to the Fall will give us time to build back our capacity, reconnect with volunteers and the local business community, and raise additional funds through memberships, donations, corporate sponsorships and grants. Fall is also a wonderful time to showcase Ashland and the Rogue Valley in all its beauty—and filmmakers equally love the Fall festival season.
If you haven’t yet made a financial contribution, please consider helping us cross the finish line on our $150,000 goal. We still need your help! Click here to donate now!
We have a lot of work to do between now and October, and we’re going to need all the help we can get. Here’s a snapshot of the steps we’re taking to revitalize AIFF:
We’ve reached an agreement with some of our creditors to pay our debt back over time. We can afford limited paid staff (far less than in years past), so we are building a lean organization that includes both part-time help and volunteers (along with our volunteer board of directors). The new AIFF will be nimble and built for long term financial stability. Next month we will launch our membership drive and announce a call for corporate sponsors to support a year-round slate of screenings and events. In March, we will also re-engage our awesome screening and programming teams and begin our outreach to key partners including hospitality vendors, restaurants, film venues, wineries and Southern Oregon businesses. In April we will announce a call for submissions from filmmakers. Finally, it is our intention to make the AIFF office on East Main into a vibrant community meeting place. Expect art installations, regular film showings, and panel discussions.
It’s going to be a busy year. Along the way we will continue to be transparent about where we are and what we need, so that you know what to expect and how you can help. This is a cooperative effort. Our plans for the 2024 Festival are just getting underway, and we hope you will join us on the journey. The first week of October promises to be an exciting time to be in Ashland. We hope to share with you and the film community all the bounty Ashland has to offer: food, wine, music, community spirit, and independent film!
Thanks for your (continued) support. Stay tuned!
Regards,
Jim Fredericks
Executive Director
Ashland Independent Film Festival