Oxnard is getting ready for a milestone of celluloid proportions. The Oxnard Independent Film Festival (O.I.F.F.) will be celebrating its 10th anniversary at Plaza Cinemas 14 in Downtown Oxnard. The festival runs September 20-23 and 28-30, 2007.

"As each year passes, the popularity of the festival continues to grow," says Elena Smith, Festival Director. "Already, we've received so many amazing entries from all around world, and from filmmakers living right here in Oxnard ," said Smith.

"I'm thrilled that we're about to celebrate an entire decade of screening indie films," said Luis Güereca, Festival Co-Founder. "It's still as exciting as when we first started, and now that we're showcasing these films at the movie theater in Downtown Oxnard, it's a dream come true!"

The festival will once again partner with Oxnard College to present an entire day and program dedicated to young filmmakers. The event will include workshops, guest speakers and special screenings.

Though the final line up of films for this year's festival has yet to be announced (the announcement will be made in early July), there is one movie that will have a special screening during the event's first weekend.

Forty-six years after its completion, Oxnard filmmaker, Dr. Ted Greathouse, is getting ready for another premiere of his labor of love. His documentary film, Oxnard 1961, was only shown a handful of times back in the early 60's. Since then, the 16mm print of the film has been locked away in its dust proof canisters, never seeing the light of day, until now. The Oxnard Independent Film Festival is extremely proud to announce that this historical film will be screened at Plaza Cinemas 14 as part of this year's 10th annual festival in September.

The nearly two-hour film captures life in Oxnard during 1961. It is an extremely effective presentation of the city and all its activities during that year, including street scenes, business operations, parks, community centers, restaurants, council meetings, and much more.

Under the headline, This Is Oxnard, this is what the Press Courier had to say about the film in an article written back in November 1962.

One fact that makes the film good is that it is not wholly confined to the best and most laudatory facts about Oxnard. There are scenes of the worst things in and about town, and of businesses that failed. These have their proper place, and no story of a city is good that ignores those facts that need attention, and which governments and citizens are likely to ignore. Somehow this film, representing an enourmous amount of thought, time and energy, and skillful photography, must be preserved in the archives of Oxnard. Even ten years from now, it will be a picture to remind us that there is a city here that grows with remarkable speed, and it is good to preserve it as it was in 1961.

O.I.F.F is still accepting entries through June 15, 2007. Filmmakers can download the official submission form off the website at www.oxnardfilmfest.com.

The Oxnard Independent Film Festival is being presented by the City Manager's Office-Community Affairs Division, Recreation and Community Services, Plaza Cinemas 14, Oxnard College, and the Oxnard Downtown Management District.

For more information visit O.I.F.F's official website at www.oxnardfilmfest.com or call (805) 385-8326.