27th Ojai Film Festival Opens November 4 With 74 Films From More Than 30 Countries
The 27th Ojai Film Festival runs November 4-9, 2026, in Ojai, Ventura County, California, with 74 films from more than 30 countries screening over six days, including 20 narrative features, 11 documentaries and six Special Showcase films.
The festival's first two special screenings both take place at Libbey Bowl: on November 4 at 7 p.m., actor Martin Sheen hosts the world premiere of the short music documentary American Mosaic; on November 5 at 7 p.m., brothers Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges appear in person for a special screening of the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys.
On November 6 at 4 p.m., Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone receive the festival's Artists of Distinction Award at Chaparral Auditorium and attend a 10th anniversary screening of their 2016 comedy The Boss, followed by a conversation with the audience. That evening at 7 p.m., the festival's Opening Night presentation, the U.S. premiere of Grant Gee's music biopic Everybody Digs Bill Evans, screens at the same venue; Anders Danielsen Lie stars as jazz pianist Bill Evans, with Bill Pullman and Laurie Metcalf in supporting roles.
On November 7, screenwriter Paul Schrader receives the festival's inaugural Storyteller Award: the award follows a 1:30 p.m. screening at Chaparral Auditorium of Taxi Driver, which he wrote and which marks its 50th anniversary this year, and a conversation with the audience. At 8 p.m. that evening he presents the West Coast premiere of his new film The Basics of Philosophy at the Ojai Art Center Theater, with actor Bill Pullman also attending; the film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. Closing Night on November 8 at 6 p.m. features In Memoriam, directed by Rob Burnett and starring Marc Maron, at Chaparral Auditorium.
The festival also hosts industry panels: on November 6 at 2:30 p.m., Hotel El Roblar hosts an agenting panel moderated by Deadline's Mike Fleming with agents from UTA, WME and CAA; on November 7 at 2:30 p.m., an independent producers panel at the Ojai Art Center is moderated by Janet Yang, producer and past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On November 8 at 10 a.m., Anchor Baby, winner of the festival's 11th Screenplay Competition, is presented as a live table read at the Ojai Art Center.
Founded in 2000, the nonprofit Ojai Film Festival is led this year by Artistic Director Ted Melfi, a two-time Oscar-nominated writer-director, and Festival Director Sven Shelgren. Passes are offered in Two Pack, Four Pack, All Access Films and All Access tiers; the full lineup, schedule and ticket information are on the festival's official website. (Source: Ojai Film Festival official program pages and festival release)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图:Ojai 电影节主要场地之一 Libbey Bowl 实景(维基共享资源,作者 Derek V. Schmalenberger,CC BY-SA 4.0)
