It’s hard to neatly wrap up the Ashland experience that a corporate video production company is several things all at once. So too is the Sixth Annual Ashland Independent Film Fest (AIFF), a festival that on one hand shows small, intimate and overlooked independent films, while on the other it has a Bruce Campbell retrospective (complete with Army of Darkness, Bubba Ho-tep and a sneak preview of My Name is Bruce). The audiences for the AIFF skew older than many of the film festivals I’ve attended. At most of the screenings I attended the grey-haired audience members clearly dominated. Don’t let the age of the AIFF audience fool you – these audiences are as enthusiastic about the films they see, no matter what the subject. Can you imagine a seventy year old woman exalting the work of Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness? I was shocked myself when I heard it. AIFF is the kind of film fest you can bring your mother along to and both have an equally good time. There are some downsides, though, to the older demographic of the festival. With very few evening events, the fest isn’t a good one to whoop it up at, and the town of Ashland closes up shop and goes to bed quite early. Last call on Saturday night at the ‘after bar’ was at 12:30am and by 12:45am they were shuttling us out the door. The AIFF also has some issues that come from being successful. Almost every screening I went to was sold out, and with some of the theaters being on the small side, getting a good seat wasn’t easy. It was easy to feel unnecessarily rushed to get into line to secure a seat and I had to wolf down more than one meal to rush to screenings. This frenzied rush is a complete disconnect from the otherwise chilled-out pace of Ashland. In addition, a huge percentage of the festival’s audience are locals, so if you are visiting the fest from out of town it’s easy to feel a little disconnected. Issues aside, AIFF strongest element is its programming. The festival offers a strong slate of diverse films at consistently high quality levels. A number of the films in the festival are ‘hidden gems’ from some of the larger festivals like Sundance, SXSW and Tribecca. With over eighty films to chose from, picking the ones to see was no easy task. Looking over the program I found I was drawn to the numerous collections of short films. Some of my favorite short films included: Friday’s at The Farm – an extremely sweet look at one family’s experience with community supported agriculture. Filmed with a still camera and using time lapse photography, Friday’s at The Farm is a beautiful and personal film that captures a joy and connection with food that is really special. The Tribe – I’ve seen Tiffany Shlain’s short five times now (after first seeing it Sundance) and I’ve enjoyed more and more each time I see it. The Tribe is the quintessential short film and should serve as an example in film schools on what to do in a short. The Blood of Yingzou District – a touching look at kids living with AIDS in China, it won this year’s Academy Award for short documentary and I can see why. Full Disclosure – a pitch perfect short film that explores the question, “What if people were brutally honest about themselves on the first date?” Director Douglas Horn does a fantastic job with Full Disclosure and fans of Judy Greer must seek this short out, because she’s never looked or acted better. While I was only able to catch a few features, I was lucky enough to see Hear and Now – which won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Hear and Now is a touching look at an elderly deaf couple who both get cochlear implants and how that impacts their lives, their relationships and their interaction with the world. Hear and Now is an exceptional film that gives you a window into a world you’ve never seen, and makes you care deeply about the people involved. On a completely different note, the AIFF featured a special sneak preview of Bruce Campbell’s new film My Name is Bruce (slated for release later this year). The premise of My Name is Bruce is simple. A town facing a killer daemon turns to Bruce Campbell to save the day. The one problem, Bruce Campbell is of course an actor and not the Ash-like hero they think he is.