Oregon Public Broadcasting

Around this time every year, the organizers of the Ashland International Film Festival start watching hundreds of film entries. From those, the festival directors select the best movies to show to the public.

About 90 films and filmmakers make the cut.

This year, the film festival has something to brag about: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- the group behind the Oscars -- has given the festival 20-thousand dollars.

Tom Olbrich, the festival's director, says the money will be used to encourage filmmakers to come to Ashland.

Tom Olbrich: "And to buy plane tickets for everybody, that gets to be pretty expensive. Our normal invitation is 'get yourself to Ashland'; by adding that one sentence -- 'we will be able to assist you in your travel' -- those few words will have a great impact on the festival."

Olbrich says the film festival had no transportation budget before.