Ojai, California is a fun venue. What an honor to be a finalist at the seventeenth annual Ojai Film Festival!

Novotny and a team of readers selected five finalists:

The Lean by Pearse Lehane, Memeloose by Elizabeth Winters, Kaffarah (Atonement) by Tom Rossi, Teton Reckoning by Debi Yazbeck, and Black Swan Records by Nia Ashley.

The biggest honor by far was billing on the same page as Lifetime Achievement Award winners Dean Cundey and Tab Hunter.

Thank you, Ojai Film Festival!

• debi