EPISODE · Mar 25, 2026 · 1H 1M
Ojai At The Oscars: Highway West's Singers Wins Big
from Ojai: Talk of the Town · host Bret Bradigan
When Jack Piatt and partner David Breschel first joined Ojai Talk of the Town last year, Singers was a promising short film — ambitious, disciplined, and quietly powerful.Now, it’s an Academy Award winner, in a stunning historical anomaly, tying with Two People Exchanging Saliva, the French entry, for the first time ever in this category, only the seventh overall. Piatt, Breschel and director Sam A. Davis shared the glory.In this return conversation, Piatt pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to move a film from idea to execution to Oscar night. We revisit the early instincts that shaped Singers, the critical decisions that made it work, and the behind-the-scenes reality of navigating festivals, momentum, and the often opaque awards process.Piatt and host Bret Bradigan also share a common thread: military service — Bret in the Air Force, Piatt in the Army’s 82nd Airborne — bringing a perspective on discipline, risk, and long-term commitment that informs both storytelling and business.This is a conversation about craft, leverage, and timing — and what happens when the world finally catches up to something you believed in early.In this episode:The moment Singers became a contenderWhat actually drives a short film to Oscar recognitionThe balance between art and campaign strategyHow winning changes access, pressure, and decision-makingWhat comes next after the breakthrough
What this episode covers
When Jack Piatt and partner David Breschel first joined Ojai Talk of the Town last year, Singers was a promising short film — ambitious, disciplined, and quietly powerful.Now, it’s an Academy Award winner, in a stunning historical anomaly, tying with Two People Exchanging Saliva, the French entry, for the first time ever in this category, only the seventh overall. Piatt, Breschel and director Sam A. Davis shared the glory.In this return conversation, Piatt pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to move a film from idea to execution to Oscar night. We revisit the early instincts that shaped Singers, the critical decisions that made it work, and the behind-the-scenes reality of navigating festivals, momentum, and the often opaque awards process.Piatt and host Bret Bradigan also share a common thread: military service — Bret in the Air Force, Piatt in the Army’s 82nd Airborne — bringing a perspective on discipline, risk, and long-term commitment that informs both storytelling and business.This is a conversation about craft, leverage, and timing — and what happens when the world finally catches up to something you believed in early.In this episode:The moment Singers became a contenderWhat actually drives a short film to Oscar recognitionThe balance between art and campaign strategyHow winning changes access, pressure, and decision-makingWhat comes next after the breakthrough
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Ojai At The Oscars: Highway West's Singers Wins Big
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