"OJAI" is a Sci-Fi Drama Feature Film directed and written by David Austin Thompson. The film centers around Ricky and his cancer-stricken mother as they move to the seemingly innocuous town of Ojai in pursuit of a vague yet promising experimental treatment. As Ricky tries to adjust to his new life, he becomes increasingly skeptical of the town's innocence and concerned for his mom's well-being. 

Director of Photography/Executive Producer: Joaquim Pujol 

Production Coordinator/Executive Producer: Jeyla Mendoza 

Main soundtrack by: Eluvium 

Award winning 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. In the end, Ricky learns a lesson similar to the message of the Serenity Prayer: 

“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.” – Reinhold Niebuhr, American Theologian 

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