Ojai, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10/8/26 – Meeting Your Maker, the award-winning dark comedy from writer-director Gregory JM Kasunich, brings its wonderfully unconventional exploration of creativity, burnout, and the search for purpose to the 2026 Ojai Film Festival.
Jonathan Kite stars as Otis, a beloved children’s television puppet confronting an existential crisis on the eve of his show’s milestone 300th episode. Against the bright, cheerful backdrop of a bustling television studio, Otis begins questioning his identity, relevance, and value, not only as a performer but as a creation searching for meaning.
Kite delivers a performance that balances humor with surprising vulnerability, supported by accomplished puppeteer Amanda Maddock and a talented ensemble featuring Thomas Lennon, Lenny Jacobson, Jason and Randy Sklar, and Dylan Mooney.
Inventive, delightfully strange, and unexpectedly moving, Meeting Your Maker reminds audiences that even a puppet can experience a profoundly human crisis of confidence. More importantly, it offers a hopeful message about rediscovering purpose when the world, or the industry, makes us question our place within it.
The film arrives on the festival circuit with an impressive collection of honors, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short at the Dallas International Film Festival, along with additional festival and screenplay accolades.
The 27th annual Ojai Film Festival, taking place November 4–9, 2026, will celebrate independent filmmaking with an international lineup of 74 films from more than 30 countries, bringing together emerging storytellers and established industry talent in Ojai, California.
Festival information: OjaiFilmFestival.com
By Valerie Milano | The Hollywood Times
