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OJAI is an upcoming feature film written and directed by David A. Thompson.
The film’s principle photography wrapped in October 2020 and it is now in Post-Production.
What is OJAI about?
It’s about a kid named Ricky.
He’s losing his mom to something out of his control: cancer.
They’ve tried everything. Seemingly every treatment in the world.
They hear about an experimental treatment. This one is being hosted in the quaint town of OJAI.
They pack their things and relocate.
The treatment begins.
Ricky starts to see less and less of his Mom as she spends more time at the facility.
Ricky isn’t sure how his Mom is doing.
She’ll come home sometimes to visit and check in.
Sometimes it seems like she’s doing well, maybe even better.
Other times Ricky could swear that she’s about to die.
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to
change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
– Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr, American Theologian
In the end – Ricky learns a lesson similar to the message of the Serenity Prayer.
He must realize some things in this world are out of his control.
Even when they involve the people most dear to you.
OJAI is about the absolute mayhem of growing up.
It’s the total overload we experience when we try to make sense of the world.
OJAI is the emotions we can’t put into words.
But we really don’t want to put them into words.
They wouldn’t feel the same if we did.
We all have feelings that surpass our words.
We don’t know how to express them. So we look for them.
We look for them everywhere. I know I do.
You’ll find them here, in OJAI.
BRIEF
Award winning Los Angeles based filmmaker David Austin Thompson and the Ojai Film Team are currently in post-production on the feature film simply titled “OJAI”. The film is an ode to the town he called home for 8 formative years, and to his late mother, Anne.
After graduating from film school in 2016 and securing a post-production position at Ingenuity Studios in Hollywood, David moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking. He now finds himself revisiting Ojai with fresh eyes. Though the project has been in development for many years, the loss of his mother in 2018 shifted his perspective, and he carefully restructured the film to honor her life.
“OJAI” is a Soft Sci-Fi Drama feature film. The film centers around a boy named Ricky, who is slowly losing his mom, Katherine, to cancer. After seemingly trying every experimental treatment in the world, they learn about a new experimental treatment being hosted in the quaint town of Ojai, California. They relocate and the treatment begins. Ricky begins to see less and less of his mom as she spends more time at the treatment facility. Some days she seems well, maybe even better; other times Ricky could swear she’s about to die.
As Ricky tries to adjust to his new life, he becomes increasingly skeptical of the town’s innocence and more concerned for his mom’s well-being than ever. He meets Jasmin, who seems to know a lot more about this experimental treatment than she’s letting on. Ricky befriends a host of other people, all with their own ideas and advice to share with Ricky in his time of grief. It becomes more than just a little overwhelming for him.
CHARACTERS
Played by Noah Toth
With his father out of the picture, Ricky has put it upon himself to care for his mom as she struggles with cancer.
Ricky is always given a very murky picture of how his mom is actually doing.
When they move to Ojai, that picture only gets murkier.
As Ricky tries to adjust to his new life, he becomes increasingly skeptical of the town’s innocence and more concerned for his mom’s well-being than ever.
He meets Jasmin. She proves to be a very helpful distraction for him.
Maybe a little too distracting.
Played by Noah Toth
With his father out of the picture, Ricky has put it upon himself to care for his mom as she struggles with cancer.
Ricky is always given a very murky picture of how his mom is actually doing.
When they move to Ojai, that picture only gets murkier.
As Ricky tries to adjust to his new life, he becomes increasingly skeptical of the town’s innocence and more concerned for his mom’s well-being than ever.
He meets Jasmin. She proves to be a very helpful distraction for him.
Maybe a little too distracting.
