The inaugural Cindependent Film Festival at the Woodward Theater took over Main Street in OTR for three days straight from August 23 to August 25. Several filmmakers from around the globe came to see what an independent festival in Southwest Ohio was cooking up.

C. Jacqueline Wood is an important part of the Cincinnati film community. Her work supports not only independent film and filmmakers, but also the audience who’s looking for a different moviegoing experience. She wanted to build a space that would honor the hard work of the filmmaker and to combine it with wide-ranging programming that needed a home. And she’s done just that with the Mini Microcinema in Over-the-Rhine – whether it’s an abstract experimental film, a classic masterpiece, or even an award-winning kid’s cartoon, you can see them all, for free, in a friendly space with the best in sound and picture quality.

We met college senior Sarah Durham for a drink to chat about what it takes to be a student actress and filmmaker, what it’s like going to school in Cincinnati, and finding balance. As we settled in at the corner of the bar, Sarah’s smile was contagious in the unusually quiet speakeasy.

The first thing you notice about Audrey is her glowing smile as she enters the Rohs Street Cafe on a bustling summer weekday. She is almost effervescent with her energy as we move to a space outside for the interview. With her easygoing nature, she wouldn’t strike the average person as being a driven powerhouse of creativity who has returned to Cincinnati from an ambitious journey throughout the country. But she is, and we’re lucky to have her back as she gears up to showcase her directorial debut with “Too Like the Lightning” during the Cindependent Film Festival this month.

Bright and early on a warm, Saturday morning, I walked across the uneven, cobblestone parking lot at Longworth Hall, just past downtown Cincinnati. As the impressive brick building towered in front of me, I entered the bright lobby to meet an impeccably dressed, beaming Laura VonHolle, director of operations for Heyman Talent.

Lana Read was the name… As we let the conversation roll, she shared her lens on topics ranging from the perfect story arc to the community building potential of local film to balancing leadership and femininity.

On a sunny spring evening, I walked through aisles of brightly colored international candies, hundreds of varieties of wine, and an array of flower-shaped cheeses to find Hannah Blair sitting at a table near the coffee shop inside Jungle Jim’s International Market. After swapping stories of the peculiar displays we’d each passed on the way in, we grabbed a seat and chatted about small town life, filmmaking, and what it means to “make your work.”  

With glasses, long dark hair with bangs, and a red lip, filmmaker Jen Day was serving up some serious “New Girl” vibes when we met her at Nation Kitchen & Bar earlier this summer. We found a corner near the front windows, and with our photographer Heather’s encouragement, I tried a whiskey Moscow Mule for the first time – it was love at first sip. We nestled in with our drinks, took in Nation’s inviting atmosphere, and got right down to the nitty-gritty of being a woman in the city and what it means to tell unique stories through film.