After two long years of tilling, sowing and watering the fields, Documentary Foundation, a local film organization, will finally be able to reap the rewards of its labor, making its debut at the prestigious Silverdocs Film Festival in Washington, D.C., on June 19. Producer of the film and Managing Director for Documentary Foundation Keith Ochwat said he and Creative Director Christopher Rufo grew up in Sacramento.  When they got into film after college, they realized that the city had a lot to offer and they wanted to contribute to that as much as possible, especially with the next generation. As a result, the nonprofit Documentary Foundation was born in 2007.   Based in Midtown, its mis

The Sacramento Electronic Music Festival (SEMF) 2011 held at the Townhouse Lounge on 21st Street had its third day of local, regional and international talent showcased on Saturday night. I showed up a little early and was greeted by Adam Saake organizer of the event. Adam, Clay Nutting and Tais Arises did an extraordinary job of putting on this 3 day event. (Adam Saake said let there be SEMF) Both floors of the Townhouse were used for SEMF. Each floor had DJ and lighting stations and a bar was fully equipped on both floors as well. Tais Arises was on hand as well announcing acts and getting the crowd into the show. I attended the show on Saturday and heard good things about the Thursd

With family and friends in attendance, 40 aspiring high school filmmakers debuted their documentary shorts at the second annual Documentary Foundation Film Festival Sunday. The Sacramento student filmmakers covered a multitude of issues including racism in high school, legalization of marijuana, pink-slipped teachers and prisoner work programs in Folsom Prison. The program is taught by Sacramento native documentary filmmakers Keith Ochwat and Christopher Rufo and sponsored by KVIE. The duo created the Documentary Foundation student program as a means to inspire future generations of documentary filmmakers. "There are so many issues that affect peoples' lives," Ochwat said. He spoke of th

The third monthly "For Art's Sake" meeting held Wednesday morning at Capitol Public Radio had a big announcement. Over 100 people stuffed into CPR's conference room to hear the news that $100,000 had been raised for the For Art's Sake initiative. In addition to the financial support, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced a more active web presence. The initiative has a live Facebook page, and a website is in the works to be launched in the next month, Johnson said. Familiar faces filled the audience which included the likes of Sacramento Ballet artistic director Ron Cunningham and Sacramento's poet laureate Bob Stanley, as well as new faces such as Keith Ochwat of the Documentary Foundation and

The Han Chinese and the Uighur Chinese minority both live in the city of Kashgar in western China, but they’re worlds apart. Not only do they speak different languages, they also live in different time zones. So why do they get along fine playing baseball together? This is the subject of Diamond in the Dunes, a new documentary by local filmmakers Christopher Rufo and Keith Ochwat of The Documentary Foundation. Their last documentary Roughing It: Mongolia was picked up by PBS and broadcast last summer. In that film, the two young explorers, both in their early twenties, search for interesting people in Mongolia, eventually following a herd of nomads. But by the time Diamond in the Dunes