Welcome to Oxford!
In a world of mass-produced, Square Books, like Oxford, has always stood apart in pure quality and great popularity. A surprise best-seller you might say. But then Oxford has always played mythic muse to success, first William Faulkner and then to a host of other greats in fiction and fine arts. Refreshingly novel attractions are our stock and trade and that includes terrific shopping, dining, history, recreation and more, all served up with legendary hospitality. For more of the story, see us on the web, at visitoxfordms.com or give us a call 662.232.2477 or 800.758.9177
The 2015 Oxford Film Festival Thursday, February 26 • Malco Oxford Commons
6:30 p.m. cocktail reception, 7:30 pm Introductions + The Sound and the Fury REQUIRES SEPARATE TICKET, SEE INFO BELOW
Friday, February 27 Four Screens
Saturday, February 28 Four Screens
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11:00 am I Love Art + A IS FOR ALEX 1:00 pm BLOCK: NARRATIVE SHORTS ..................Zuzumi, Proximity, Moffino, Bingo Night, Dept of Signs and Magical Intervention, Waking Marshall Walker, Based on Rosenthal, Day One, Destroyer 3:30 pm BLOCK: SouthDocs ..................The Way I See It, Longleaf: The Heart of Pine, Bury the Show 6:00 pm Conversation with Mo Perkins and Mary Elizabeth Ellis 7:00 pm THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN
11:25 am Humanexus + Between Times + Love in the time of March Madness + DWARVES KINGDOM 1:50 pm Unquantifiable + A Mississippi Love Story + OIL AND WATER 4:15 pm Ed is a Portal + STOMPING GROUND 6:30 pm Lord Knows I’m a soldier + BILLY MIZE AND THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND
11:00 am BLOCK: DOCUMENTARY SHORTS ..................Wagonmasters, Crooked Candy, Shirley’s Kids, Ironman Jackson Wingfield, The Grand Disillusion, Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind the Console 12:45 pm Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou + JUST ABOUT FAMOUS 2:45 pm A Long Journey + Repeater + BLUEBIRD 5:30 pm 85% broken + Mr. X + The Forgotten + Big Bad Art 7:20 pm Leadway + YAZOO REVISITED: INTEGRATION AND SEGREGATION IN A DEEP SOUTHERN TOWN
Screen 4 1:00 pm BLOCK: EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS ....................Memory V: Sodankylä, Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain, On the train to Kutná Hora...and Back, The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City, A Perfect Day, Left, Displacements, Interstates, Flipping, It Goes, Trailer Study #16: a Square and Circle Talking 2:55 pm OZLAND
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10:00 am OZLAND 12:15 pm I Love Art + A IS FOR ALEX 2:15 pm BARTON’S BLOCK ..................Star Warp’d + SHANKS 4:30 pm Ed is a Portal + STOMPING GROUND 6:45 pm Jinxy Jenkins and Lucky Lou + JUST ABOUT FAMOUS
10:00 am Unquantifiable + OIL AND WATER 12:15 pm Humanexus + Between Times + DWARVES KINGDOM 2:25 pm BLOCK: NARRATIVE SHORTS ..................Zuzumi, Proximity, Moffino, Bingo Night, Dept of Signs and Magical Intervention, Waking Marshall Walker, Based on Rosenthal, Day One, Destroyer 4:45 pm Lord Knows I’m a Soldier + BILLY MIZE AND THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND 7:00 pm The Gunfighter + BURNOUT
10:00 am BLOCK: EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS ..................Memory V: Sodankylä, Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain, On the train to Kutná Hora...and Back, The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City, A Perfect Day, Left, Displacements, Interstates, Flipping 12:10 pm Leadway + YAZOO REVISITED: INTEGRATION AND SEGREGATION IN A DEEP SOUTHERN TOWN 2:20 pm 85% broken + Mr. X + The Forgotten + Big Bad Art 4:30 pm BLOCK: MISSISSIPPI FILMS ..................From Tribulations to Triumph, Garage Sale, Inside Your Head, In Ten, Statesboro Blues, PEAs, Barry, Mississippi Milk, A Different Kind of Festival, A Horror Story 6:30 pm BLOCK: DOCUMENTARY SHORTS ..................Wagonmasters, Crooked Candy, Shirley’s Kids, Ironman Jackson Wingfield, The Grand Disillusion, Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind the Console
1:00-2:00 Panel: Producing 2:15-3:15 Panel: Diversity 3:30-5:00 Panel: Casting
AWARDS CEREMONY
Saturday, February 28, 9:00 pm at the Lyric (doors open at 8:30 pm) **Not included with day passes, requires party upgrade
Sunday, March 1 Three Screens
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1:00 pm Love in the time of March Madness + A Mississippi Love Story + THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN 3:30 pm BLOCK: SouthDocs ..................The Way I See It, Longleaf: The Heart of Pine, Bury the Show
1:00 pm The Gunfighter + BURNOUT 3:00 pm A Long Journey + Repeater + BLUEBIRD
1:00 pm THE SOUND AND THE FURY 3:00 pm BLOCK: MISSISSIPPI FILMS ..................From Tribulations to Triumph, Garage Sale, Inside Your Head, In Ten, Statesboro Blues, PEAs, Barry, Mississippi Milk, A Different Kind of Festival, A Horror Story
TICKETS!
Tickets can be purchased for the 2015 Oxford Film Festival 1) in advance online at oxfordfilmfest.com and 2) in person at the festival venue from Thursday through Sunday, February 26-March 1, 2015.
Thursday, February 26 = $20 for screening of The Sound and the Fury (7:30 p.m.), not included in 3-day passes, includes cocktail hour from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Student discount is not available. Friday, February 27 / Saturday, February 28 / Sunday, March 1: 3-day pass (FRI, SAT, and SUN) = $30 regular / $25 student NOTE: ALL SEATS are first come, first serve. A pass ALLOWS admission but does not 1-day pass (FRI, SAT, or SUN) = $15 regular / $12 student guarantee seating. In the event that a screening room is at capacity, the film pass can Individual film block pass = $8 regular / $6.50 student be used for another film at the same time, for the film at an alternate screening time, 1-night Party Upgrade * (FRI or SAT) = $25 (no student discount available) or can be refunded. * Party Upgrade passes require purchase of day pass or higher 2-night Party Upgrade* (FRI and SAT) = $50 (no student discount available)
WHERE TO GET THEM...
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to the 12th annual Oxford Film Festival. We are excited to share with you a lineup of films that inspire and challenge, provoke and amuse us. From narrative films about struggling relationships to documentary films about hidden subcultures to an experimental film that examines the Czech landscape from the window of a moving train—there is something for everyone. (Back to front): Molly We’re especially excited to host many of the filmmakers Fergusson, Dawn Bullion, Kristin Rogers, Diala Chaney, this weekend and look Melanie Harris, Melanie forward to hearing their Addington, Michelle Emanuel. answers to your questions. We encourage you to participate in the Q&As and panels, and approach the filmmakers when you see them. While we celebrate this year’s lineup, we are also saying a bittersweet goodbye. This year’s Oxford Film Festival will be the last of its kind: organized by an independent arts organization run entirely by unpaid volunteers. This is happy news, that the festival has grown beyond what four year-round volunteers can manage. In walking away, we leave the film landscape in Oxford very different from how we found it. When OFF first appeared at the Ford Center in June 2003, the Hoka Theater had been closed for seven years. There was only one four-screen movie theater in town. Netflix was just getting started. iTunes had opened, but was not yet selling video content. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Vimeo did not exist yet. As Seen on TV was the source for independent film in Oxford. The State of Mississippi had two film festivals: one in Jackson and one in Starkville, and the number of filmmakers in Oxford could be counted on one hand. The Oxford Film Festival filled a void for fans of independent film in North Mississippi that no longer exists. Both the University of Mississippi and the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council have expanded their offerings in recent years for both filmmakers and film lovers, from OxFilm to the Cinema Minor, and graduate documentary track in Southern Studies and high-profile guest speakers in between. We do not doubt that independent cinema will continue in some form or fashion in Oxford with or without us. We are proud of the work we have done in the last 12 years and grateful for the support of our sponsors and the Oxford community as well as the support of our patient and understanding families, but we realize that it is time for us to move on. As the festival has grown, so have we, and we are looking forward to new challenges and adventures in our personal and professional lives. Instead of focusing on what’s going away, we ask that you join us in celebrating what is here: this year’s lineup, this year’s filmmakers and actors, this year’s wonderful audience. Thank you for joining us for what promises to be another amazing weekend. Molly, Michelle, Melanie, & Diala
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DANIEL LEE PEREA
Welcome
ROLL CREDITS Twelfth Annual Oxford Film Festival (2015)
Executive Director: Molly Fergusson Operations Director: Michelle Emanuel Development Director: Melanie Addington Hospitality Director: Diala Chaney Assistant Operations Director: Kristin Rogers Assistant Hospitality Director: Joy Clark Operations Consultant: Chris Holland Programming Consultant: Christine Elise McCarthy Experimental Block Curator: Brooke White Production Services provided by the University of Mississippi’s Southern Documentary Project: Andy Harper, Matthew Graves, Joe York, Rex Jones, Karen Tuttle Projectionist: Greg Gray Interns: Wilson Skomal, Harris Swayze Volunteers Managers: Kristin Rogers, Melanie Harris Panels Manager: Dawn Bullion Screen Managers: Toby Douglas and Wilson Skomal Transportation Manager: Alex Etheridge Gift Bag Coordinator: Susan McPhail Jury Wrangler: Arik Sokol Staff Photographers: Bill Dabney, Danny Klimetz, Mike Stanton CINE 396 Festival Programming students: Sarah Ashton Baker, Amanda Bohl, T.S. Cooper, Emily Dearmond, Tripp Devanney, Alex Etheridge, Spencer Hull, Harris Kirkpatrick, Jacqulyn Ladnier, J.C. Martin, Leigh Martin, Jamie Murphy, Courtney Richards, Charlotte Roi, Mary Frances Tanner, Alex Thiel Screening Volunteers: Deborah Barker, Scott DeLeve, Jason Derrick, Marilyn Frey, Andrew George, Suzanne Logan, Cheryl Resetarits, Jimmy Thomas, Alice Walker Poster Design: Eric Summers / That Summers Guy Design and Illustration Ad Design: Stephen Rogers Printed Program Design: Susan Bauer Lee Contributing Writer: Tom Speed Special Thanks to: Aidan Addington, Bill Beckwith, Bradley Bishop, Bruce Butler, Elliott Chaney, Michael Chaney, Phillip Chaney, John Clark, Hudson Clark, Dianne Fergusson, Selby LaBarre, Laff Co., Shannon Lovejoy, Nathan McDaniel, Johnny McPhail, Susan McPhail, Daniel Lee Perea, Stephen Rogers, Karen Scott, Barton Segal, Ethan Stuart, Kevin Stuart, Smith Stuart, and the people of Oxford. The Oxford Film Festival is an independent non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. Donations may be tax deductible. Contact us! info@oxfordfilmfest.com or call 877.560.FILM
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
FILM RIGHTS A V A I L A B L E
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White “A rare glimpse into this world of ‘secret people.’” New York Times Book Review CONTACT Howard Sanders, Partner/Co-Head of Books United Talent Agency (UTA)
This Side of the River by Jeffrey Stayton At the end of the Civil War, a group of young, angry Confederate widows band together, take up arms, and march north to Ohio intent on burning down the home of General Sherman. Release date: February 16, 2015 CONTACT The Nautilus Publishing Company info@nautiluspublishing.com
Old Money, Old Secrets by Kyle Cornelius Weaving past and present together, Cornelius unveils a narrative wrought with tenderness, humor and terror — and a conspiracy that could change the course of American history. CONTACT The Nautilus Publishing Company info@nautiluspublishing.com
The Mississippi Film Office welcomes you to the 12th annual Oxford Film Festival. As an original sponsor of the festival, we are a true believer in the power of film in our state and in our lives. While our everyday mission is to attract film production, our long term vision is to create a supportive and creative environment for all filmmakers. Through the efforts and programming of the Oxford Film Festival, we are able to embrace both. Mississippi is a solid place to make a movie: beautiful locations, hospitable people, supportive communities, and elected officials who understand our mission and champion its progress. Our film incentive program includes a 25-30% cash rebate on your Mississippi spend, including resident and non-resident payroll, with a low $50,000 minimum spend to qualify…and we are always looking for ways to make it better and easier for all filmmakers to utilize. Mississippi is an amazing place of inspiration and accomplishment. Though blemished by unforgivable moments, Mississippi has yielded an unmatchable heritage. The challenge and responsibility of this office, and the obligation we feel to you, is to continue this great heritage. A Mississippian stands at every crossroads of American culture: with words and notes and paint and film; Mississippians are storytellers. Our commitment is to create, nurture, and support the storyteller – be they using words or film or video. For us filmmaking is more than economics. Every film creates opportunity, and the greatest opportunity comes in the explanation of a life, of a place, of a people. In the telling of our stories, real or imagined, we create understanding, discourse, and illumination. There is nothing better than what we do, as there is no boundary to what we can achieve. We will always encourage you, the filmmaker, with financial and educational opportunity. And we will continue to sustain you, the filmgoer, by supporting film festivals and filmmakers seeking the independent voice. We know that all lives are made richer by the stories we share. We hope you enjoy your time in Oxford and in Mississippi. Ward Emling Director, Mississippi Film Office
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Dear Visitors, On behalf of the Board of Aldermen and the citizens of Oxford, I wish to extend a warm welcome to you while you are here for the 2015 Oxford Film Festival. We are glad to have our own film festival as a place for exchanging knowledge, educating viewers and sharing artistic expression. In addition to its charm and hospitality, Oxford offers an excellent venue for enjoying films. We are proud of past festivals in terms of attendance and content and we are happy to see this event continue to grow. While you will be occupied by the festival’s activities, we hope there will also be time for you to get acquainted with Oxford. Please enjoy the natural beauty of the campus of the University of Mississippi, the friendly scale of our streets and neighborhoods, and the excellent restaurants and shops. The Oxford Film Festival is an asset to this already vibrant and beautiful community. Enjoy your visit and please let us know if we can help you in any way while you are here. With best wishes, Sincerely, George G. Patterson Mayor of Oxford
PHIL BRYANT GOVERNOR
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Dear Friends, Dear Friends, As Governor of the State of Mississippi, it is my pleasure to welcomethyou to the As Governor of the State of Mississippi, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 11 12th annualannual Oxford Festival. I know willwealth enjoy thethat wealth OxfordFilm Film Festival. I know you will you enjoy the of talent will be of talent that will showcased as wellas as the panel discussions and other activities are partactivities of this be showcased as well the panel discussions andthat other that are part of outstanding festival. Of course, I know you will also enjoy your time in Oxford, and I this outstanding festival. Of course, I know yourestaurants, will also your time in Oxford, encourage you to explore all of the interesting venues, andenjoy attractions that make this town so special. and I encourage you to explore all of the interesting venues, restaurants, and In December 2013, I so madespecial. the exciting announcement that 2014 would be the Year attractions that make thisoftown of the Creative Economy in Mississippi. Working with the Mississippi Development In December 2013, I made the announcement 2014 would Authority’sof Tourism Division, it is my hopeexciting to invite Mississippi-born musicians,that performers, chefs, photographers, and other artists back home toWorking showcase their talents. be the Year filmmakers, of the Creative Economy in Mississippi. with the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division, it is my invite Mississippi-born There is no place quite as special as Mississippi whenhope it comesto to the arts, and this yearlong celebration will offer a unique way to highlight all that sets our state apart. The musicians, performers, fi lmmakers, chefs, photographers, and other artists back support of members of the arts community like yourselves will be especially important in making this atheir success, and I encourage you to visit mscreativeeconomy.com for more home to showcase talents. information on how you can submit an event to be part of the celebration. There is no place quite as special as Mississippi when it comes to the arts, welcome to Oxford and enjoy festival!way to highlight all that sets our and this yearlongAgain, celebration will offer a the unique state apart. The support of members of the arts community like yourselves will be Sincerely, especially important in I encourage you to visit mscreativeeconomy.com for more information on how you can submit an event to be part of the celebration. Again, welcome to Oxford and enjoy thePhil festival! Bryant GOVERNOR Sincerely,
Phil Bryant GOVERNOR
February 26 - March 1, 2015
POST OFFICE BOX 139 ·JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 ·TELEPHONE: (601) 359-3150 ·FAX (601) 359-3741 www.governorbryant.com
LEGEND of the Hoka
How the Award Got Its Name, and Its Statue By Tom Speed
When the Oxford Film Festival was founded in 2003, the subject of awards inevitably came into the picture. When it came time to choose that award, the name Hoka seemed like the natural fit. After all, it was the Hoka Theater, founded by Ron Shapiro in Oxford in the 1970s, that first brought independent films to town. At the time, it was a rare and special treat for a small town in Mississippi. It helped to coalesce a community of film buffs too, a community that has blossomed under the care of the film festival for more than 12 years. The Hoka was a unique hang-out—a freeform combination movie house and café that hosted live music events and served as a cultural nexus for townspeople and college students alike. Prior to the Hoka, the only movies shown in Oxford were what Shapiro calls “formula” Hollywood movies. With the advent of the Hoka, foreign films and independent features became the norm, with concert films geared towards students, midnight screenings of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and X-rated fare after hours to help pay the bills. The theater was named for Princess Hoka, the Chickasaw woman who, according to legend, first deeded much of Mississippi including the area now known as Oxford to white settlers back in 1832 with the Treaty of Pontotoc. “I don’t know if it’s true,” says Shaprio, “But the story I heard is that the Chickasaws were notorious for a baseball-type came they played and they gambled on it. They were notorious for losing everything. So they’d put stuff in the women’s names so they wouldn’t lose everything. I hope it’s true. I’ve heard that. She’s the one that signed the deed.” The Hoka finally closed its doors in the 1990s, but the legacy it left helped provide inspiration for the advent of the film festival. In many ways, the Oxford Film Festival helps to keep that spirit alive today. Thus, the “Spirit of the Hoka” award was born. “It’s just got that feel,” says Shapiro of the film festival. “There’s a filmmaking community that has built up around it. It’s wonder-
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ful. This festival has given me so much hope. We have a vibrant community, almost like the music and the art thing. We’re so lucky that the creative types in Mississippi keep moving here.” When it came time to design a statuette to represent the award, local noted sculptor Bill Beckwith seemed the obvious choice. Beckwith had already done several heralded sculptures of famous figures. In Mississippi, he had created memorials to B.B. King, Elvis Presley and the sculpture of William Faulkner on the Oxford Square. He’s a wellrenowned master of his craft. But what prepared him most for his creation of the Hoka award was a previous sculpture he’d done for the Chickasaw nation, and the research he completed to prepare for it. After all, while there were photographs of other famous figures, there were none of the legendary princess. Beckwith had to rely on his research and his imagination to bring forth the visage. Beckwith’s research in preparing for his sculpture of Chickasaw Chief Piomingo in Tupelo, Miss. led him to conversations with tribal leaders, who counseled him and offered suggested reading. “[Piomingo] was a Chickasaw chief in the 1790s and very important to the tribe,” Beckwith says. “I did a lot of research and read a lot of books that the tribe recommended. I got a feel for pre-contact Chickasaw. I formed an image of them through all this reading and research and somehow was sort of adopted by one of the higher-ups in the tribe through email. Mr. Kirk Perry was his name. He guided me and answered all of my questions.” When it came time to design the Spirit of the Hoka award, Beckwith drew on that research. “I don’t know how I could really say that that image of her formed. I had this image of a cool morning on the Yocona River coming out of your winter home—they had winter homes and summer homes—coming out in a nice warm blanket and the air was clean and crisp. I don’t know. That was sort of my…maybe a fantasy of pre-contact before the Europeans arrived.” Since then, the Spirit of the Hoka award has been presented to winners at each Oxford Film Festival.
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Panels & Conversations
Conversation with Mo Perkins and Mary Elizabeth Ellis Friday, February 27, 6:00 p.m. (Screen 8) Director Mo Perkins reunites with actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who costars in her latest film, THE LAST TIME YOU HAD FUN. MO PERKINS, director of The Last Time You Had Fun, was born in Tennessee. She received her master’s degree in directing at UCLA, where she was the recipient of numerous awards including the Dorothy Arzner award for women directors, the Wasserman Award and the MPAA award. Her master’s thesis film, Piss Hat, was selected for the UCLA Director’s Spotlight Award and was nominated for a Student Academy Award. Her writer/directorial debut feature, A Quiet Little Marriage (OFF 2010), won the Grand Jury Award at Slamdance and the Audience Award at Austin Film Festival. It was also picked up for distribution by IFC. MARY ELIZABETH ELLIS is a native of Laurel, Miss. Her acting credits include television series such as Cold Case, Without a Trace, Happy Endings, Perfect Couples, New Girl, and a recurring role as The Waitress on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She co-starred in A Quiet Little Marriage (OFF 2010), and The Last Time You Had Fun, both directed by Mo Perkins.
Production on Set Saturday, February 28, 1:00 p.m. (Screen 4) Production is a lengthy process from the initial idea to the final cut, but production on set has its own unique challenges. Join us as we talk crew safety, on set production, legal requirements and other interesting tidbits from producers and more! LEE CAPLIN is chairman and founder of Picture Entertainment Corporation, the multi media company that originated and executive produced the Academy Award®-nominated, $125 million Sony/Columbia Pictures motion picture release Ali, starring Will Smith. Executor and producer of the Literary Estate of Nobel Prize
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winning author William Faulkner, Caplin has been a leader in the telecommunications and multimedia industry for over 20 years, and is the co-founder of Penske Media Corporation, owner of Variety magazine and other major entertainment brands. An attorney, entrepreneur, and educator, Caplin has published over 200 titles of illustrated children’s and educational books; his own book, The Business of Art, is a 3-time international best seller. He was honored as a founding faculty member of California State University’s high tech campus at Monterey Bay in his co-establishment of the university’s program in telecommunications, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Monterey Institute for International Studies, Center for Non-Proliferation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Duke University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review. ADAM HOHENBERG is an independent film producer. After graduating Sarah Lawrence College, he worked for experimental filmmaker, Ernie Gehr. He was a producer of Gehr’s Side/Walk/ Shuttle, which film critic J. Hoberman called one of the ten best films of the 1990’s. He was also an associate producer on Ira Sachs’ Forty Shades of Blue, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2005 and was executive producer of Ira Sachs’ Keep The Lights On, which was nominated for 4 Independent Spirit Awards in 2012. His latest film is Free In Deed starring David Harewood (Homeland). It is directed by Jake Mahaffy and will have its premiere in 2015. In the months following the tragedy on the set of Midnight Rider, ARTHUR J. “ART” MILLER, JR. emerged as the film production industry’s leading rail safety authority and Railroad Coordinator. Miller also is an award-winning railroad safety manager. He has worked tirelessly to maintain filmmakers’ access to railroad locations and trains, and has presented safety programs to university film schools, the Association of Film Commissioners International, and at sold-out IATSE and International Camera Guild rail safety classes. Miller’s credits include Schindler’s List, The Fugitive, Under Siege II – In Dark Territory, Public Enemies, Unstoppable, and scores of TV episodes and movies, and commercials. He is currently System Director of Safety and Regulatory Compliance for The Western Group, the owner of four small railroads in New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, and Oregon.
Diversity in Film Saturday, February 28, 2:15 p.m. (Screen 4) Join our panel discussion on diversity in the film industry both on and off screen. The Screen Actors Guild, which
February 26 - March 1, 2015
collects ethnicity data on all casting roles in TV and film, reported that roles for African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans declined for the first time in 1998, in spite of the increasing visibility of this issue. Since that time, the numbers are not looking up. Some mixed race couples and LGBT storylines have been featured, but the numbers on the screen do not reflect the reality of Americans today. What steps can emerging filmmakers take to improve this? KATHILYNN “KAT” PHILLIPS, born in Mississippi and now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, is a filmmaker whose works have screened to thousands in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Her feature film, Chasing the White Dragon (screened at OFF 2009), has won several awards and received international distribution. A former President and Board member of Women in Film and Television Atlanta, Kat is also Entertainment Industry Group Leader for the Ritz Group/Capital Community located in Atlanta. MARK JONES lives in Memphis and has written and produced three feature films with LGBT characters and themes. He has also written and directed a web series. In addition to films, Mark has twice served on the board of directors for the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center and helped organize the annual Pride Parade in Memphis in the 1990s and early 2000s. Mark worked at WKNO Channel 10 in Memphis before he started making films. His films include Eli Parker Is Getting Married (wrote and produced), Fraternity Massacre At Hell Island (wrote, produced and directed; screened at OFF 2007), Tennessee Queer (wrote, produced and co-directed; screened at OFF 2013). ERIC D. SNIDER has been a film critic since 1999, writing first in “the newspaper industry,” when that was a thing, and subsequently for the Internet. His work can be found regularly at Complex, GeekNation, and EricDSnider.com; previously, Eric wrote for Film.com, Cinematical, Twitchfilm, Pajiba, and Movies.com, among others. He is also the cohost of the podcast Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider (he plays Snider). Eric grew up in Southern California, has a B.A. in journalism from Brigham Young, and now lives in beautiful Portland, Oregon.
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NINA PARIKH has served as the Deputy Director of the Mississippi Film Office for 16 years. She produced the Sundance award-winning feature film Ballast. Co-founder of the Crossroads Film Festival and Mississippi Film & Video Alliance, she also directs the Canton Young Filmmakers Program and is an adjunct professor at Millsaps College. She is a graduate of the film program at the University of Southern Mississippi. Recently, she helped produce the first TEDx event in Mississippi. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi. Moderator AARON HILLIS was recently praised by Brooklyn Magazine as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture.” He is a NYC-based film critic who has written for such outlets as The Village Voice, Time Out NY, Variety, L.A. Weekly, and Filmmaker Magazine. Aaron is also the proprietor of Video Free Brooklyn (three-time “Best Video Store in NYC”) and inaugural curator of the former reRun Gastropub Theater. His co-directorial feature debut, Fish Kill Flea, premiered at SXSW in 2007.
Casting: What you need to know for a successful career Saturday, February 28, 3:30 p.m. (Screen 4) Join casting directors and working actors and directors to discuss the ins and outs of casting for film and television.
MATTHEW MORGAN is a native of Canton, Miss. He’s proudly cast two films directed by James Franco, based on novels by William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury. Matthew has also cast for directors including John Krasinski, Alison Eastwood and PatrikIan Polk. His company Morgan Casting, with offices in Toronto, New Orleans and Canton, recently celebrated its tenth year in 2014. ELISE FYKE worked as a veterinary tech, pharmacy tech and studied pre-med, before deciding to become an actor as a great way to make money fast. Born and raised in Mississippi (Walnut and Ripley), save for a brief defect to Santa Monica, Calif., she has honed her craft with Larry Moss Studios and the Groundlings. She can be seen this year in a few films, including Starve, Battlecreek and I Saw The Light. Fyke also helped assistant cast with Morgan Casting on several films. She lives in Oxford, Miss. with her family and a plethora of pets. SAVANNAH STRACHAN, a native New Orleanian, pursued a degree in fine arts but never let film get too far out of her scope. Working as a production assistant in New York City during and after college, she gained insight into the inner workings of the business. After living abroad for a year, she returned to New Orleans in 2009 and fell in with the world of casting. She cut her teeth on shows like Treme and Memphis Beat, and films such as Parker, Colombiana and The Host with RPM Casting, LLC. She has now flipped the coin and left the casting department to join the People Store, where she represents actors to the casting directors she previously assisted. As the representative member of the People Store’s New Orleans office, she is looking forward to bringing together talent from across the Southeast. A veteran of the film festival circuit, Moderator MARK BELL is furry, cuddly and near-sighted. When not causing film festivalrelated trouble, Mark presides over FilmThreat.com, focusing coverage on the indie, underground and film festival favorite films that are often overlooked (but should never be underestimated).
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
Narrative Feature AARON HILLIS was recently praised by Brooklyn Magazine as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture.” He is a NYC-based film critic who has written for such outlets as The Village Voice, Time Out NY, Variety, L.A. Weekly, and Filmmaker Magazine. Aaron is also the proprietor of Video Free Brooklyn (threetime “Best Video Store in NYC”) and inaugural curator of the former reRun Gastropub Theater. His co-directorial feature debut, Fish Kill Flea, premiered at SXSW in 2007. A veteran of the film festival circuit, MARK BELL is furry, cuddly and near-sighted. When not causing film festival-related trouble, Mark presides over FilmThreat.com, focusing coverage on the indie, underground and film festival favorite films that are often overlooked (but should never be underestimated).
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Distinguished New Orleans actor LANCE NICHOLS starred in the Emmy nominated HBO drama series Treme, but is most widely known for his role as the preacher in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, alongside Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Throughout his 30+ years of acting, spanning from the early 80s to present day, Nichols has made over 75 appearances on multiple award winning and critically acclaimed television series including: Cheers, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Everybody Loves Raymond and Desperate Housewives.
Meet the Judges
OUR JUDGES will determine winners in each of our categories. The winning films will be announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. at the Lyric Oxford. Winners will receive The Spirit of the Hoka, a beautiful statuette created by renowned sculptor Bill Beckwith in the likeness of the Chickasaw Princess Hoka. In addition to the Spirit of the Hoka, we will also present the Lisa Blount Memorial acting award to the strongest independent performance that shows an actor or an actress willing to take risks for their art. Lisa Blount, an award winning actress from Arkansas, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1983 for her breakout role in An Officer and a Gentleman, and received the Best Actress prize at the 2004 Stockholm Film Festival for her lead role in the independent feature film Chrystal. Along with her husband Ray McKinnon and co-producer Walton Goggins, Lisa took home an Academy Award for their Live Action Short The Accountant. Lisa passed away in 2010, not long after agreeing to be a juror for our 2011 festival. This year, we have named our award for the Best Mississippi Narrative Film in honor of Casey Spradling, a friend of the festival who passed away suddenly in 2014. (Read more about him on page 30.) In addition to a Hoka statuette, this award will also receive a cash prize from the newly-formed Spradling endowment. All films in the lineup – including those not in competition – are eligible for the coveted Ron Tibbett Audience Award, named for the founding director of the Magnolia Film Festival in Starkville, the first independent film festival in Mississippi. Tibbett died in 2004 in a car accident just over a year after his short film Buffalo Common debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. This award will be announced online during the week after the festival ends on Sunday, March 1.
Documentary Feature
JOHN WILDMAN is the Senior Publicist for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. He is also a filmmaker whose feature film directorial debut, The Ladies of the House, is set for release Spring 2015. In addition, Wildman writes about film and entertainment for FilmThreat.com via his column “Films Gone Wild” and FilmComment.com.
GERALD PEARY is a professor of film at Suffolk University, Boston, the programmer of the Boston University Cinematheque, and a film critic for the Boston-based website, The Arts Fuse. He is the author of eight books on the cinema, and the general editor of the Conversations with Filmmakers series for the University Press of Mississippi. He wrote and directed the feature documentary, For the Love of Movies: the Story of American Film Criticism (screened at OFF 2010), and played a chess master in Andrew Bujalski’s independent feature, Computer Chess. ERIC D. SNIDER has been a film critic since 1999, writing first in “the newspaper industry,” when that was a thing, and subsequently for the Internet. His work can be found regularly at Complex, GeekNation, and EricDSnider. com; previously, Eric wrote for Film.com, Cinematical, Twitchfilm, Pajiba, and Movies. com, among others. He is also the cohost of the podcast Movie
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B.S. with Bayer and Snider (he plays Snider). Eric grew up in Southern California, has a B.A. in journalism from Brigham Young, and now lives in beautiful Portland, Oregon.
Shorts JOHN BEIFUSS is a longtime reporter and film critic with The Commercial Appeal, the daily newspaper in Memphis. His work has appeared in The New York Times, TV Guide and, most important, Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. He is the author of the children’s book Armadillo Ray but the author of no actual children. JUSTINA WALFORD has been writing for stage and film for over a decade. She is the writer and producer of the grindhouse film The Ladies of the House, scheduled for release in the spring of 2015. She is also writer/director of a number of short films, including her most recent thriller short, Dinner With Others, which is currently in post-production. DON R. LEWIS is managing editor at Film Threat. He also produced the documentary film Worst in Show (screened at OFF 2011). His most recent producing work includes Holy Ghost People which premiered at the 2013 SXSW film festival and the upcoming horror/comedy A Beginners Guide to Snuff. Don lives in Northern California with his wife, daughter and dog Igby.
Animation/Music Video/Experimental SKIZZ CYZYK is a filmmaker, writer, musician, artist, and film festival careerist. He has held positions at MicroCineFest, Maryland Film Festival, Slamdance, and Atlanta Film Festival, as well as serving on juries and advisory boards at many other
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festivals. A filmmaker since 1983, his films include Alfred Jarry & ‘Pataphysics (screened at OFF 2014), Hit & Stay, Freaks In Love, Little Castles, Managers Corner, and music videos for Beach House, Young Fresh Fellows, and many others. He is a video producer & editor for The Oxford Club, writes for music and film magazines, is on the Board of Directors for Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and performs music with Go Pills, The Jennifers, Garage Sale, Half Japanese and Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band. ADAM HOHENBERG is an independent film producer. After graduating Sarah Lawrence College, he worked for experimental filmmaker, Ernie Gehr. He was a producer of Gehr’s Side/Walk/Shuttle, which film critic J. Hoberman called one of the ten best films of the 1990’s. He was also an associate producer on Ira Sachs’ Forty Shades of Blue, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2005 and was executive producer of Ira Sachs’ Keep The Lights On, which was nominated for 4 Independent Spirit Awards in 2012. His latest film is Free In Deed starring David Harewood (Homeland). It is directed by Jake Mahaffy and will have its premiere in 2015. JON MALLARD is an Oxford native who has worked as an Assistant Director for over 20 years on such notable projects as Deadwood and True Detective. He most recently completed a feature film in Ghana called Beasts of No Nation directed by colleague Cary Fukunaga.
Mississippi Shorts JACK BARBERA is a Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Mississippi. In addition to literature courses, he taught several film courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including Introduction to Film. His only attempt at filmmaking, the nine-minute The Janitor, based on August Wilson’s dramatic vignette of the same name, was accepted for screening and shown at the Silver Images Film Festival (Chicago) in 1997. Barbera has lectured on film at the Conference on Film and Literature (Tallahassee,1980), The College English Association (Memphis, 2001), the Popular Culture Conference (April 2003), and the Oxford Independent
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Film Festival (MS, 2003). His essay, “Uses of Elastic Space: The Vertigo Shot,” was published in Romance Monographs. LEE CAPLIN is chairman and founder of Picture Entertainment Corporation, the multi media company that originated and executive produced the Academy Award®-nominated, $125 million Sony/ Columbia Pictures motion picture release Ali, starring Will Smith. Executor and producer of the Literary Estate of Nobel Prize winning author William Faulkner, Caplin has been a leader in the telecommunications and multimedia industry for over 20 years, and is the cofounder of Penske Media Corporation, owner of Variety magazine and other major entertainment brands. An attorney, entrepreneur, and educator, Caplin has published over 200 titles of illustrated children’s and educational books; his own book, The Business of Art, is a 3-time international best seller. He was honored as a founding faculty member of California State University’s high tech campus at Monterey Bay in his coestablishment of the university’s program in telecommunications, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Monterey Institute for International Studies, Center for Non-Proliferation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Duke University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review.
KATHILYNN “KAT” PHILLIPS, born in Mississippi and now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, is a filmmaker whose works have screened to thousands in the U.S., Europe and Asian Pacific. Her feature film, Chasing the White Dragon (screened at OFF 2009), has won several awards and received international distribution. A former President and Board member of Women in Film and Television Atlanta, Kat is also Entertainment Industry Group Leader for the Ritz Group/Capital Community located in Atlanta.
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Barton’s Block
Mississippi Documentary, 15 minutes
Screening: Saturday 2:15 p.m. (screen 8) • Star Warp’d • Shanks
2015 FILMS
85% Broken Directed by Alison Fast and Chandler Griffin Screening in a block: Friday 5:30 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 2:20 p.m. (screen 6) What happens when a classical composer from Japan adopts a small Mississippi town? 85% Broken is a magical film about one artist’s interpretation of place through sound, particularly a found accordion. Filmed in Water Valley, Miss.
A is for Alex Narrative Feature, 1 hour 14 minutes
Based On Rosenthal Narrative Short, 15 minutes Directed by Sam Cespedes Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) Based On Rosenthal follows a boy, Jerry, touched by the supernatural, and his attempt to help his terminally ill grandmother find peace and comfort during her last days.
Directed by Alex Orr Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 8), Saturday 12:15 p.m. (screen 8) Alex (Alex Orr) is an inventor about to face his greatest challenge: fatherhood. Stricken by anxiety and struggling to keep his pregnant wife (a hilariously foul-mouthed Katie Orr) happy, Alex juggles between saving the world and remaining a worthy father and husband. Simultaneously, Alex is Alex Orr, the filmmaker, working on the film we are watching, showing us the process behind the fiction he is creating. A IS FOR ALEX is a fine example of personal, comic filmmaking, a cinematic lesson in turning life’s lemonade back into lemons.
Barry Mississippi Narrative, 10 minutes, non-competition Directed by Matthew Graves Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6) Deep beneath a cold, dark forest lies Barry. His world is a dusty coffin and a cherished locket from his dear wife, Mary. He has come to terms with his present situation but strange new noises are coming from outside his solitary home.
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Between Times Animated Short, 15 minutes Directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter Screening in a block: Friday 11:25 a.m. (screen 7), Saturday 12:15 p.m. (screen 7) From the wall of a small town bakery, a cuckoo clock recounts a fantastic day in a remarkable world ruled by time; where the bread is always sliced one second thick, where the rhythms of lovers fall in sync, and where time rarely flows at an even rate.
Big Bad Art Documentary Short, 43 minutes Directed by Ben Cannon Screening in a block: Friday 5:30 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 2:20 p.m. (screen 6) This no-holdsbarred look at the making of an art installation in the form of a zeitgeisty “house party” might be the funniest documentary to ever come busting out of the art world.
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The Southern Documentary Project and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture congratulate the Oxford Film Festival on a long and remarkable run. Thanks for everything you’ve done to bring inspiring films and people to Oxford.
SouthDocs is also pleased to announce the inaugural Southern Documentary Festival. Coming Spring 2016. Go to southdocs.org for details.
Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound Documentary Feature, 1 hour 40 minutes
snatch some quick cash in this sly and high-spirited comic caper. Starring Lynne Marie Stewart (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers, Legit).
Directed by William Saunders Screening in a block: Friday 6:30 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 4:45 p.m. (screen 7) A uniquely talented collective of musicians emerged, quite unsuspectingly, from Bakersfield, California in the 1950s and 60s. The emergence of the ‘Bakersfield Sound’ changed the Country music landscape forever. Billy Mize, a singer-songwriter and an original founder of the Sound, who gave Buck Owens and Merle Haggard their starts, found touring to be incompatible with the only thing he loved more than music: his family. But the deaths of two children, divorce, and hard living tore that family apart, and when a stroke took Billy’s voice, he hit rock bottom. After relearning how to talk through intensive brain rehabilitation, Billy’s birthday approaches, for which the city of Bakersfield has thrown a huge concert event, and at which Billy is determined to take back the mic and end his 20 years of silence.
Bingo Night! Narrative Short, 14 minutes Directed by Jordan Liebowitz Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (7) A financiallystrapped senior citizen crafts a plot both creative and dubious to
The Fine Print
Unless otherwise indicated, all films and panels will occur at Malco’s Oxford Commons (206 Commonwealth Blvd., Oxford). All films contain adult content and are not recommended for children under 18 unless otherwise indicated. Views expressed in the screened films are of the filmmakers, and not necessarily shared by the Oxford Film Festival. Presentation of films does not mean that the Oxford Film Festival promotes the behavior contained therein. All times are tentative and subject to change. Refer to our website (oxfordfilmfest.com) for the latest info on guest scheduling, panel, and event info. An individual film pass allows admission to a single film block but does not guarantee seating. Seats are first come, first serve. In the event that a screening room is at capacity, the film pass can be used for another film at the same time, or for the film at an alternate screening, or can be refunded.
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Bluebird Narrative Feature, 1 hour 31 minutes Directed by Lance Edmands Screening in a block: Friday 2:45 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 7) In the northern reaches of Maine, a local school bus driver becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection and fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. What happens next shatters the tranquility of her small logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences. Starring Amy Morton (Chicago P.D.), John Slattery (Mad Men), and Margo Martindale (Justified, The Americans).
Burnout Narrative Feature, 1 hour 17 minutes Directed by Lydia Hyslop Screening in a block: Saturday 7:00 p.m. (screen 7), Sunday 1:00 p.m. (screen 7) When a vote to legalize marijuana passes in California, happy-go-lucky flower child Ada finds her controversial livelihood suddenly threatened. What happens when the demand for the girl with the drugs becomes obsolete? Apparently: Foot-fetish comedy.
Bury the Show Documentary Short, 30 minutes Directed by Matthew Graves Screening in a block: Friday 3.30 p.m. (screen 8), Sunday 3:30 p.m. (screen 8) Every year, thousands of high school theatre programs across Texas compete in the state’s One Act Play tournament. It’s a five month journey of late night rehearsals, long bus rides, and moments of pure joy and sheer terror all leading up to the opportunity to perform at the State Tournament in Austin. It’s a
February 26 - March 1, 2015
place where dreams are made and crushed within a single spotlight. Bury the Show follows the cast and crew of the Seminole, Texas high school theatre team and their quest to be the first team in school history to win the state championship.
Casting: What you need to know for a successful career Panel: Saturday 3:30 p.m. (screen 4) Panelists: Savannah Strachen (The People Store) and Matthew Morgan (Morgan Casting) and Elise Fyke (Actor/ casting assistant), moderator Mark Bell. Join casting directors and working actors and directors to discuss the ins and outs of casting.
Conversation with Mo Perkins and Mary Elizabeth Ellis Panel: Friday 6:30 p.m. (Screen 8) Director Mo Perkins reunites with actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis who has appeared in two of her feature films: A Quiet Little Marriage (OFF 2010) and The Last Time You Had Fun, which will screen at this year’s festival.
Crooked Candy Documentary Short, 7 minutes Directed by Andrew Rodgers Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6) A ban on Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs in the U.S. isn’t enough to keep one man from following his childhood dream.
Day One Narrative Short, 25 minutes Directed by Henry Hughes Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) Inspired by a true story, an Afghan-American woman on the heels of a divorce joins the U.S. Military as an interpreter. On her first day of deployment in Afghanistan, her unit searches out the remote house of a bomb-maker. When the unexpected occurs, the interpreter must go beyond the call of duty.
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The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention
A Different Kind of Festival
Narrative Short, 19 minutes
Directed by Ellen Phillips
Directed by Melissa Sweazy
Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) Captivated by a beautiful stranger on a trolley, Aidan Crane misses some key signs that might have saved his life. Arriving at the Department of Signs and Magical Intervention, he is put to work sorting through the requests from the living for signs from above. When he accidentally sends a sign to the one person who shouldn’t have received it, he is sent back to fix his mistake.
Mississippi Documentary, 7 minutes, non-competition
The first ever Art-er Limits Fringe Festival opens its doors for artists, performers, and musicians from all over Mississippi to showcase their work in a unique fashion.
Displacements Experimental Film, 10 minutes Directed by Manuel Alvarez Diestro
Destroyer Narrative Short, 8 minutes Directed by Andrew Kightlinger Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (Screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (Screen 7) A husband, Alan Ruck (Spin City, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) drives his wife out to the country with a mind for retribution. Also starring Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, NBC’s Nashville).
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) In Hong Kong, one of the densest cities in the world, new towns are adjacent to cemeteries. The world of the living coexists with that of the dead. Meanwhile, Hong Kong inhabitants move from place to place, awaiting their final displacement.
Diversity in Film Panel: Saturday 2:15 p.m. (screen 4)
Barton’s Block
Barton Segal knows movies. Projectionist emeritus of the famed Hoka Theater (1976-1997?) and film enthusiast, he has an unrivaled knowledge of film history and trivia. His trivia quizzes are a frequent feature in The Local Voice. He often has suggestions for our programming, and this year we have asked him to curate a block on Saturday afternoon. Here’s what he said about each film in the block: • •
STAR WARP*D, a short film, uses a mix of CGI and claymation to pay homage to many classic sci-fi films. SHANKS, a feature-length film directed by William Castle, is about an inventor’s aide who is left a most unusual gift by said inventor upon his death. Most films feature one genre but this film contains a dozen. It’s one wild ride.
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Panelists: Kat Phillips, Mark Jones, Eric Snider, Nina Parikh and Aaron Hillis (moderator). Join our panel discussion on diversity on and off screen in film today. The Screen Actors Guild, which collects ethnicity data on all casting roles in TV and film, reported that roles for African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans declined for the first time in 1998, in spite of the increasing visibility of this issue. Since that time, the numbers are not looking up. Some mixed race couples and LGBT storylines have been featured, but the numbers on the screen do not reflect the reality of Americans today. What steps can emerging filmmakers take to improve this?
Documentary Shorts Block Screening: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6) • Wagonmasters • Crooked Candy • Shirley’s Kids • Ironman Jackson Wingfield • The Grand Disillusion • Jim Dickinson: the Man Behind the Console
February 26 - March 1, 2015
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Dwarves Kingdom
Experimental Shorts Block
Documentary Feature, 1 hour 11 minutes
Screening: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) • Memory V: Sodankylä • Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain • On the Train to Kutná Hora • The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City • A Perfect Day • Left • Displacements • Interstates • Flipping • It Goes • Trailer Study #16: A Square and a Circle Talking
Directed by Matthew Salton Screening: Friday 11:25 a.m. (screen 7), Saturday 12:15 p.m. (screen 7) One day, a Lord of the Rings-obsessed Chinese real estate investor met a little person on the train. This downtrodden man’s openness about his trouble finding a job inspired the businessman to try to help by creating an amusement park where people with dwarfism could live and earn money performing. Under the shadow of exploitation, and negative attention from groups like Little People of America, Dwarves Kingdom attempts to capture what the park means to its workers. In English and Chinese with English subtitles.
Ed is a Portal Narrative Short, 10 minutes Directed by Darrell C. Hazelrig Screening in a block: Friday 4:15 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 8) A sci-fi comedy from the New Puppet Order about all of life’s little headaches: obnoxious co-workers, slovenly roommates, and having an interdimensional gateway growing in the back of your head.
Flipping Experimental Short, 8 minutes Directed by Jin Kyu Ahn Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) Using a handdrawn animation technique called “flipping,” physical objects collide with the sounds made by playing two improvised scores.
The Forgotten (Los Olvidados) Documentary Short, 13 minutes Directed by David Feldman Screening in a block: Friday 5:30 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 2:20 p.m. (screen 6) A young Latino artist advocates for domestic laborers through an art installation in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, in tribute to his immigrant roots.
Feel like a movie star in the lobby in the photo booth provided by Smile Y’all.
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
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offering a full homemade breakfast as well as wine and cheese in the evenings Annie Zeleskey • (713) 927-1295 www.TheZ-Oxford.com
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From Tribulation to Triumph
The Gunfighter
Mississippi Music Video, 5 minutes
Narrative Short, 9 minutes
Directed by Jake Wood / Music by Jake Wood
Directed by Eric Kissack
Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
Saturday 7:00 p.m. (screen 7) and Sunday 1:00 p.m. (screen 7) In the tradition of classic westerns, a narrator (Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation) tells the story of a lone gunslinger who walks into a saloon. But the people in this saloon can hear the narrator, who also may just be a bit of a jerk.
A Horror Movie Garage Sale
Mississippi Narrative, 11 minutes
Mississippi Narrative, 13 minutes
Directed by Casey Dillard
Directed by Meaghin Burke Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6) Lydia and her father struggle to heal a fractured relationship while preparing to sell his house. Packing and selling cherished childhood objects conjures a host of memories for Lydia, who is still reeling from the death of her sister. As she tries to accept her complicated relationship with her father, she also celebrates the opportunity to make amends across the generations.
The Grand Disillusion (La gran desilusión) Documentary Short, 11 minutes Directed by Pedro González Kuhn Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6) On September 1, 2012, the Spanish government increased the culture taxes from 8% to 21%, causing the closing of many theatres and the loss of many skilled workers. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6) Six “teens” are expecting a night of fun, but their cabin party quickly turns into a night of terror, danger and clichés.
Humanexus Animated Short, 11 minutes Directed by Ying-Fang Shen Screening in a block: Friday 11:25 a.m. (screen 7), Saturday 12:15 p.m. (screen 7) Tools and technologies have made it easier to reach out and share ideas, but each one presents a new, unforeseen challenge to forming meaningful interpersonal connections.
I Love Art Narrative Short , 9 minutes Directed by Mac Alsfeld Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 8), Saturday 12:15 p.m. (screen 6) During a fun trip to the art museum with his girlfriend, Carl falls in love with a painting...literally.
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
In Ten
Interstates
Mississippi Documentary, 15 minutes, non-competition
Experimental Short, 3 minutes
Directed by Melanie Addington
Directed by Jeffery Chong
Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6)
For 15 years, Oxford’s theater community has held a national 10-minute play contest, with a festival of the winners produced with local talent.
Interstates captures the essence of a winter drive through rural New Hampshire and Maine by focusing on the journey’s everfleeting scenery. Long road trips with unvaried scenery are forgetful, and remembering such journeys is like recalling a feeling without the imagery. Often the driver concentrates only on the destination, and the repetitive landscape transforms into hypnotic abstraction. This film recreates this dream-like state by extracting and sustaining the droning occurrence of power lines, trees, headlights, snow banks and highway signs. The attention given to these elements induces a feeling, impressionistic of the highway experience.
Inside Your Head Mississippi Music Video, 3 minutes Directed by Newt Rayburn / Music by The Heard Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
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Ironman Jackson Wingfield
Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou
Documentary Short, 4 minutes
Animated Short, 4 minutes
Directed by Jordan Berger/Deer Run Media
Directed by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon
Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 12:45 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:45 p.m. (screen 8)
To become an Ironman, one must complete a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. Jackson Wingfield won a ticket through his job at Kenco Logistics 14 weeks before race day. To go from couch to Ironman in just 3 months is an unprecedented endeavor. Jackson rose to the challenge.
When the chaotically misfortunate Jenkins and the monotonously Lucky Lou run into each other one morning, they find a thrilling and fulfilling change of pace as they hurtle down the hills of San Francisco in an unexpected fashion.
It Goes
Just About Famous Documentary Feature, 1 hour 29 minutes
Experimental Short, 4 minutes
Directed by Jason Kovacsev and Matt Mamula
Directed by Brandon Doherty
Screening in a block: Friday 12:45 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:45 p.m. (screen 8)
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) A pinhole landscape film. It is a circular journey from the lake and the surrounding urban environment.
Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind the Console Documentary Short, 16 minutes Directed by Nan Hackman Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6) Legendary record producer Jim Dickinson (1941-2009) discusses how working with producer Sam Phillips and, later, watching the Rolling Stones record Sticky Fingers influenced his role as a future producer. Dickinson also speaks on teaching his sons Luther and Cody of the North Mississippi Allstars, the world of music, and how he values his role as a producer of Alex Chilton of Big Star’s Third album.
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Just About Famous shines a spotlight on the often overlooked side of celebrity: the lookalikes. Take a trip into the intriguing, enlightening, and often surreal life of Elvis, Obama, Bush, Madonna and Lady Gaga impersonators, each with a different path, as they converge on an annual convention.
The Last Time You Had Fun Narrative Feature, 1 hour 19 minutes, non-competition Directed by Mo Perkins Screening in a block: Friday 7:00 p.m. (screen 8), Sunday 1:00 p.m. (screen 6) When Clark and Will meet Alison and Ida in a wine bar, the foursome set out for an all-night adventure to have the most fun that four decidedly dysfunctional adults are capable of having. Starring Demitri Martin (Taking Woodstock, In a World), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings), Kyle Bornheimer (Bachelorette).
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
405 S. 11th St., No. 307 | Oxford, MS 38655 713-523-2929 | www.nrp-oxford.com btartt@nrp-oxford.com
SECRET WEAPONS Behind The Scenes With OFF’s Student Screeners By Tom Speed Programming a film festival is a daunting task, and as the Oxford Film Festival grows and submissions soar, the task becomes even more challenging for the group of volunteers who screen countless hours of films to fill a defined block of time. There are many considerations in choosing the films, including which films meet the quality standards of the festival, which films are the right “fit” for the festival’s crowd and how accepted films might complement or contrast other films slated for the fest. But in facing this mission the Oxford Film Festival staff has an ace up their sleeve—Ole Miss students. Oxford Film Festival Operations Director Michelle Emanuel is Head of Cataloging and Associate Professor of University of Mississippi Libraries. Each fall semester, she leads a one-semester class called Festival Programming, or CINE 396, in the College of Liberal Arts. Her students are typically juniors or seniors, and it’s an elective course. Many of them are Cinema minors. Throughout the semester the students are asked to screen as many as 15 films per week—a mixture of short and feature length films that have been submitted to the festival for consideration—and offer their feedback. But it’s not just feedback. The students also learn how to weigh the divergent interests that help one film make the cut over another, and how to schedule them so that they work together. As head programmer for the festival, Emanuel likens the construction of film blocks to a game of Jenga, putting the pieces in the perfect place while trying to prevent the entire structure from crashing. So while one of the primary objectives of the course is to provide critical feedback on independent films, they also learn the nuts and bolts of how to program and schedule a festival. And their feedback actually counts. They help make decisions about films in the second of three rounds of screening. “[Their input counts] more than they probably realize,” says Emanuel. “Their opinions broke a lot of ties.” Nearly 400 films were submitted to the festival this year. Only 71 were selected. In the first round of screenings, festival staff weeded out some, with 288 making it to the second round. During the second round, community volunteers and the students of CINE 396 provide their feedback. Then in the final round the festival directors make the final determinations.
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Some of the students helped some films make it to that last round. In each class, Emanuel leads an open discussion on the dozens of films slated to make it to the next round. “It seems like we just watched something just like this,” one student says about a documentary short. Then, Emanuel acknowledged the similarity, but steered the discussion towards the idea of programming rather than simply critiquing the film solely on its individual merits. “We should consider programming them together because the same audience might be interested,” suggests Emanuel, referring to the similar film they’d already viewed. “If they are interested in [this topic], they would be likely to go to this block. I think it would have an audience.” “But you might have better luck pairing it with [another film],” offers another student. The student pleads his case for his suggested film. In the end, the student’s pairing suggestion made it to the next round and into the festival, whereas the original film being discussed did not. After Emanuel issues a critique of a film being “too much like reality TV,” a student refutes her argument. “There’s a moment where he worries that it’s going to look like reality TV and doesn’t want it to,” the student says. “But it was funny.” Emanuel takes this rebuttal and announces the film was still in the running. In the end, it made the cut too. This isn’t uncommon. “I can think of more than one title that I went back and watched a second time after hearing how much they liked it,” Emanuel says. The students are candid in their assessments too. One student assails a narrative short by saying: “I read it as a Lifetime movie.” Another dismisses another narrative film curtly: “It was bad. Was it supposed to be bad? Were they being self-aware?” None of these made the cut. Another one of the benefits of having student input is simply a result of the generation gap. Jim Dickinson, the subject of the documentary Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind The Console, is a well-known and beloved figure in and around Oxford and certainly known to most festival programmers and community screeners. But the documentary provided new information to one of the CINE 396 students, a fan of the seminal power-pop band Big Star, who was unaware of Dickinson’s involvement with the group. This perspective allows the festival programmers to view the submissions through a different lens, and the film is a part of the festival. “The students make up so much of our audience and it’s important to hear their voice in the selection process,” says Emanuel. “But so much has changed since I was a 20-something student. Seeing so many films that do not make the cut is especially valuable to those students in the Cinema minor. They learn what not to do in their own projects, and have gained valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t.”
February 26 - March 1, 2015
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Inspiring Diversity and Exploration
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Leadway
Longleaf: The Heart of Pine
Mississippi Documentary, 10 minutes
Mississippi Documentary, 30 minutes
Directed by Robbie Fisher and Dudley Percy Olsson
Directed by Rex Jones
Screening in a block: Friday 7:00 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 12:10 p.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 3:30 p.m. (screen 8), Sunday 3:30 (screen 8)
Set in a small town in the rural Mississippi Delta, this short film by two women directors traces the emotional journey of Cindi Quong Lofton, a Chinese-American woman, as she deals with the violent murder of her father, an iconic figure in the community known simply by the name ‘Leadway,’ the name of his store. Though devastated by his death, Cindi responds in a way that shows both courage and resilience, and binds her even more closely to her struggling community.
Towering stands of old-growth longleaf pine (pinus palustris) once covered over 90 million acres while stretching from southern Virginia to eastern Texas. Today, the total acreage is about two million, with only about two thousand of that considered old growth. As the South was settled and Northern timber supplies were exhausted, this incredible natural resource was very nearly extirpated from the South’s landscape and collective consciousness. Longleaf: The Heart of Pine is a cultural and natural history of the South’s ancient primeval forest and how it might still be saved.
Left
Lord Knows That I’m a Soldier
Experimental Short, 3 minutes
Mississippi Music Video, 4 minutes
Directed by Daniel Winter
Directed by Danny Klimetz/Oxford Sessions / music by Sean Apple
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 6:30 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 4:45 p.m. (screen 7)
Left is a left-handed, rotoscoped short film about a child, a bear and leaving home. Its beautiful simplicity is the result of creating 3,075 individually drawn frames.
A Long Journey
Love in the time of March Madness Animated Short, 10 minutes
Mississippi Music Video, 4 minutes
Directed by Melissa Johnson
Directed by Shannon Cohn / Music by Leo ‘Bud’ Welch
Screening in a block: Friday 11:25 a.m. (screen 7), Sunday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8)
Screening in a block: Friday 2:45 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 7)
A dry comedy and true-life story of a 6'4" woman who is a star on the basketball court but struggles to find true love.
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February 26 - March 1, 2015
Memory V: Sodankylä
A Mississippi Love Story
Experimental Short, 6 minutes
Mississippi Documentary, 14 minutes
Directed by Gloria Chung
Directed by Robbie Fisher
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Friday 1:50 p.m. (screen 7), Sunday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8)
Days under the midnight sun. Research for this work began with various scientific studies of how sleep and melatonin deprivation might affect memory. The resulting video is comprised of recollections of a week spent north of the Arctic Circle, under the midnight sun: hazy, dreamlike, disorienting, lovely and surreal.
Eddie and Justin lead what might otherwise be considered an ordinary life during an extraordinary time in history. In this glimpse into their relationships with each another, as well as with their family and friends in their Deep South hometown, Eddie and Justin share their personal take on what love really means in a charged political climate.
Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain Experimental Short, 5 minutes Directed by Gloria Chung Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) We watch a movie, we remember what the weather was like that day, we remember which theater we went to, but we don’t remember the plot of the movie. This video project explores how our memory functions, why we remember certain trivial or mundane things but cannot recall other seemingly larger ideas, information, events or experiences.
Mississippi Milk Mississippi Documentary, 13 minutes Directed by David Rogers Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6) A family farmer’s struggle to produce a local product and bring it to the communities of North Mississippi.
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Moffino
On the Train to Kutná Hora...and Back
Narrative Short, 6 minutes
Experimental Short, 8 minutes
Directed by Giosuè Petrone
Directed by Ann Deborah Levy
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7)
Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6)
Moffino is obsessed with getting out of work at 6:00 p.m. sharp with the hope of finding a parking place, until today. In Italian with English subtitles.
Footage shot with a point-and-shoot camera on a day trip in the Czech countryside is rearranged and heavily edited. It shows the landscape viewed from the train window in morning overcast light interrupted by passing trains, and later transitions to a light show when reflections in the glass are superimposed upon the scenery at sunset. A soundtrack of voices and percussive train sounds serves as counterpoint. It is the filmmaker’s intent that viewers, like travelers, not understand what is spoken in foreign tongues but enjoy the voices for their sound and rhythm.
Mr. X Documentary Short, 7 minutes Directed by Alex Nicholson Screening in a block: Friday 5:30 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 2:20 p.m. (screen 6) The study of a London tattooist.
OzLand Narrative Feature, 1 hour 58 minutes Directed by Michael Williams Screening: Friday 2:55 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 8)
Narrative Shorts Block Screening: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) • Zuzumi • Proximity • Moffino • Bingo Night • The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention • Waking Marshall Walker • Based on Rosenthal • Day One • Destroyer
In a dry and dusty post-apocalyptic world, two wayfarers wander aimlessly until Leif finds a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book that challenges the beliefs, friendship, and even the very survival of these two divergent travelers.
A Perfect Day Experimental Short, 5 minutes
Oil & Water Documentary Feature, 1 hour 15 minutes
Directed by Oguzhan Kaya Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6)
Directed by Alan Robert Davis Screening in a block: Friday 1:50 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 7) This feature documentary explores the complex relationship between coastal Cajuns in Louisiana and the oil and gas industry, following a family and their seafood business as they struggle in the years after the BP oil spill.
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In a city far away from nature, a man wakes up, has his breakfast, and starts a perfect day.
#oxff February 26 - March 1, 2015
PEAs
Shanks
Mississippi Narrative, 10 minutes
Narrative Feature, 1 hour 33 minutes
Directed by Kelly Buckholdt
Directed by William Castle (1974)
Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
Screening in a block: Saturday 2:15 p.m. (screen 8)
PEAs is a dark comedy about a woman who goes to a meeting of Picky Eaters Anonymous looking for relationship advice.
A mute puppeteer (Marcel Marceau) uses a deceased scientist’s invention to control dead bodies like puppets.
Shirley’s Kids Documentary Short, 10 minutes
Production on Set
Directed by Michael Paulucci
Panel: Saturday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4)
Screening in a block: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6)
Panelists: Lee Caplin, Adam Hohenberg, Art Miller Production is a lengthy process from the initial idea to the final cut, but production on set has its own unique challenges. Join us as we talk crew safety, on set production, legal requirements and other interesting tidbits from producers and more!
Proximity Animated Short, 4 minutes Directed by Holly Petersen Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) Two ceramic figures, a Victorian gentleman and a sixties cowgirl, explore the depths of love and betrayal. Closeness can create an illusion of an unspoken bond, but when challenged by desire it can be turned on its head and shatter our reality.
Repeater Narrative Short, 21 minutes Directed by Wade Vanover Screening in a block: Friday 2:45 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 7) A father and son struggle to relate after years apart. Starring David Strathairn (Lincoln, Good Night and Good Luck). Adapted from Chris Offut’s short story, “Target Practice.”
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Shirley Chambers is a woman who gained nationwide publicity because of the tragic loss of her four children to gun violence in America’s most dangerous city, Chicago. A microcosm for Chicago gun violence and the national gun debate, this film celebrates the lives of and relives the deaths of Carlos, LaToya, Jerome, and Ronnie through the eyes of the person who loved them more than anything in the world, their mother.
The Sound and the Fury Narrative Feature, 1 hour 41 minutes, non-competition Directed by James Franco Screening: Thursday 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 1:00 p.m. (screen 6) Starring James Franco, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Tim Blake Nelson. A portrait of the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats struggling to deal with the dissolution of their family and its reputation.
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SouthDocs Block: Films of the Southern Documentary Project
Stomping Ground
Screening: Friday 3.33 p.m. (screen 8), Sunday 3:30 p.m. (screen 8) • The Way I See It • Longleaf: The Heart of Pine • Bury the Show
Directed by Dan Riesser
Star Warp’d Narrative Short, 32 minutes, non-competition Directed by Pete Schuermann
Narrative Feature, 1 hour 20 minutes Screening in a block: Friday 4:15 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 8) A young couple on a weekend trip to the American South embark on an impromptu “Bigfoot hunt” that threatens their relationship and their lives.
Screening in a block: Saturday 2:15 p.m. (screen 8) A claymation parody of classic sciencefiction films including Star Wars, Star Trek, The Terminator, and many others.
The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City
Trailer Study #16: A Square and a Circle Talking Experimental Short, 2 minutes Directed by Brandon Doherty Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (Screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (Screen 6) A square and a circle talk about the conversion from analogue to digital.
Experimental Short, 5 minutes Directed by Rebekah Flake Screening in a block: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 4), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 6) This film explores tendencies of exuberance and patriotism “and throwing away money” in the ancient seat of Western imperialism. A Roman tourist ritual is set to a bombastic live performance of John Philip Sousa’s classic patriotic anthem performed at the Pantheon on a hot June afternoon.
Statesboro Blues Mississippi Music Video, 3 minutes Directed by Danny Klimetz/Oxford Sessions / music by Will Echols Screening in a block: Saturday 4:30 p.m. (screen 6), Sunday 3:00 p.m. (screen 6)
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Award for Mississippi Narrative Film to Honor Spradling Casey Wilson Spradling, 31, died on July 2014 doing what he loved the most: working on a film in Mississippi. A graduate of the University of Mississippi, he worked sound and grip on films and occasionally had a cameo or two. In his short time, Casey touched lives of everyone he knew and worked with. His legacy will not be forgotten and he will be missed. Shortly after his death, an endowment was developed in his honor to support Mississippi filmmakers. The Oxford Film Festival and the Tupelo Film Festival -- two of Casey’s favorite film festivals to celebrate the work of his friends -- are proud to help honor our friend Casey Spradling in the form of awards for Mississippi filmmakers. This year, the best narrative film made in Mississippi will be honored with a Spirit of the Hoka award and cash prize as the Casey Spradling Memorial Award. Learn more about how to support this endowment at www.facebook.com/Cwspradlingfund.
February 26 - March 1, 2015
Unquantifiable Mississippi Documentary, 21 minutes
Wagonmasters offers glimpses into the lives of lingering wagon enthusiasts, and tells the story of the station wagon as it represents a changing America over the last hundred years.
Directed by Ed Foose Screening in a block: Friday 1:50 p.m. (screen 7), Saturday 10:00 a.m. (screen 7) A documentary about the teachers working through Art Place Mississippi, an organization promoting art education in adolescent offender programs, alternative schools, and senior citizen centers.
Wagonmasters Documentary Short, 19 minutes Directed by Sam Smartt and Chris Zaluski
Waking Marshall Walker Narrative Short, 15 minutes Directed by Bjorn Thorstad and Gabriel Baron Screening: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) An encounter with a mysterious stranger brings unsettling premonitions, sending Marshall Walker on a desperate race through memory and time to reunite with his estranged daughter Charlotte and undo a fateful mistake or risk being trapped between worlds forever.
Screening: Friday 11:00 a.m. (screen 6), Saturday 6:30 p.m. (screen 6) The car that was once the quintessential image of the American Dream is all but dead, at least for most people.
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where the new wave of craft culture meets design and makes it an art Amelia • 1006 Van Buren Avenue • Tuesday - Saturday 10-5 • ameliapresents.com
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MEET
Mo Perkins
Meet Mo Perkins, the director behind The Last Time You Had Fun, our Friday spotlight feature. On Friday at 6:00 p.m. (screen 8), she will join actress Mary Elizabeth Ellis for a conversation before the screening at 7:00 p.m. Originally from Tennessee, Mo Perkins received her master’s degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where she received numerous awards. She wrote and directed her debut feature A Quiet Little Marriage (OFF 2010) which premiered at Slamdance and won awards at Austin Film Festival before being distributed by IFC. Mo recently sat down with Development Director Melanie Addington to answer a few pre-festival questions. MA: How many films have you made? MP: I’ve made a handful of short films and two features. My first feature, A Quiet Little Marriage played at Oxford Film Festival 2010. I was very pregnant and couldn’t travel, so I had to miss it. The Last Time You Had Fun is my second feature and I’m excited to be able to attend with this film. MA: What is the film about? MP: With The Last Time You Had Fun, I was searching for grounded humor, the kind that makes you wince, tear up and laugh despite yourself. For me this is a movie about how unsuccessful most of us are at being grown ups, and what happens one night to these four people when they stop trying so hard. I try consciously to set up challenges for myself with every new project. A Quiet Little Marriage, my first feature, was a marriage in a pressure cooker; for the most part everything took place in the
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Interview by Melanie Addington
same four rooms. The two main characters were in love with each other - looking right at each other and not really seeing each other at the same time. That special interiority was part of the last film’s constraints, it was the shape of the film and I enjoyed experimenting with it. With this one, I wanted to be on the move, literally, and to have that be part of what makes this night special and gives the characters permission to reexamine themselves. The movie is about marriage, but none of the main characters are married to each other. They are exploring what’s missing with strangers. Instead of a spatial constraint, The Last Time You Had Fun has a time constraint; the characters have wandered out of their situations for the night, but they all know when the sun comes up, they will have to go back and face their lives. MA: How did this story develop? MP: The script was written by Hal Haberman, who also is my husband. We had wanted to work together for a long time and a moment opened up when it just seemed like why not now? We decided to collaborate, with him writing and me directing. The first thing we talked about was what kind of film we wanted to make. Hal has written for other people and is a director in his own right, with several award-winning films. The one he’s most known for, Special, with Michael Rapaport, really rode the line between darkness and a giddy transcendent humor. We both like a lot of different kinds of stories and watch a lot of films together. But in talking it became clear that what we really wanted to make together was something we weren’t seeing as much of in recent independent American films. A grounded, scripted, comedy for grown-ups, which dealt honestly with
February 26 - March 1, 2015
character. I think there is a move in smaller budget indie films to explore character through these very pensive cinematic styles and it’s beautiful, but for me I felt that I had done that several times already and therefore it was less interesting. I wanted to make a film in which you come to meet the characters as you do in real life, by listening to what they have to say. We settled on marriage as a subject, talked about characters and a few plots points, then Hal went to work on the script and I can’t tell you how excited I was when I first got to read it. A few drafts later we were reaching out to our producer and cast. It all happened pretty quickly. MA: How did you select the actors you worked with for the roles? MP: Because the film is such an ensemble piece, with the four main characters together for most of the movie, selecting actors was like building a puzzle. All the pieces had to fit. So we cast like that, envisioning the cast as a whole and looking for actors who created a kind of balance. We had help from our casting director Nicole Arbusto and from an agent at CAA. But when you’re making a small film, really it’s about the script and whether people trust what you can do on a shoestring [budget]. A casting director or an agent can get your project read, but you have to get them excited about the film. I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten the cast we did, and I credit that entirely to the strength of Hal’s script. MA: Had you worked with any of the cast in previous films? MP: I had worked with Jimmi Simpson, who plays Ida’s husband Jake, on A Quiet Little Marriage. He’s a joy and a super talent. I was grateful to get to work with him again. Also from Quiet is Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who plays Allison in this film. She and I have been working together for years. At this point, we are dear friends. We met while I was casting my thesis film at UCLA and just really loved working together. She›s been in almost every film since. She really inspires me. It›s wonderful to come back and work with people you›ve built relationships with, the work gets better, you have a foundation already and so you get to where you need to go faster. I feel like you get to do more, experiment more, play, because you›ve already built the trust.
The other major contributor to the music was Justin Johnson and his band Pretty Little Empire. You can hear their music throughout the film and it›s one of their tunes playing under the beach scene. I met Justin a few years ago on the film festival circuit when I was screening A Quiet Little Marriage. He was part of a team that had made a film called Zombie Girl, a documentary about a thirteen-year-old filmmaker who was making a zombie feature with her mom. We struck up a friendship and he sent me a Pretty Little Empire album down the road. I just fell in love with the music. Hal and I were listening to it while we were coming up with the story. So when it came time, I asked if we could include it in the film. MA: What do you want audiences to get out of this film? MP: We had a wonderful time making this movie, so I would really just love it if audiences have a good time watching it. If they laugh and enjoy the night, I›m good. If the story resonates, and they think a bit about human relationships, empathize with the characters and come away with a little more, then I›m overjoyed. MA: After Oxford Film Festival, where can people see the film? MP: We are currently working on a distribution deal. So hopefully the film will be available in the U.S. this spring. See The Last Time You Had Fun on Friday at 7:00 p.m. (Screen 8) – following the Conversation with Mo Perkins, Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Kyle Bornheimer (6:00 p.m., screen 8) – and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (Screen 6).
PUT AN EGG ON IT
MA: Where did you film this? MP: We shot this film all over Los Angeles, from the east hills to the ocean and back again. We were in and out of this old beat up limo that the producers and I found on Craigslist. There are a few scenes shot in my house, a handful in a non-operational church we rented downtown, but mostly we were driving around in the limo. MA: How long did the film take to make? MP: We shot the entire film in seventeen days, which is actually four days longer than the last movie, but still a dead run for a feature film.
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MA: Tell us about the music in the film. MP: The music in the film came mostly from two places. The score was composed by my brother, David Lux. He and I work together on everything. He recorded this one in a barn up in Sonoma County, where he lives. He had the help of sound recorder Jeff Martin and a bunch of talented local musicians. I swear you can hear a chicken or two in the background of some of the score.
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The Way I See It Mississppi Documentary, 15 minutes Directed by Christine Dickason and Kaitlyn Barton Screening in a block: Friday, 3:30 p.m. (screen 8), Sunday, 3:30 p.m. (screen 8) Filmed at three randomly chosen Mississippi public schools such as Magee High School, Northwest Rankin High School, and Leland High School, this documentary short focuses on whether or not the Mississippi school system is preparing high school students for college adequately.
Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town Documentary Feature, 1 hour 24 minutes Directed by David Rae Morris Screening: Friday 7:20 p.m. (screen 6), Saturday 12:10 p.m. (screen 6)
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History of race relations and the1970 integration of the public schools in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the hometown of the filmmaker’s father, the late writer, Willie Morris.
Zuzumi Animated Short, 3 minutes Directed by Mengyi Xu Screening: Friday 1:00 p.m. (screen 8), Saturday 2:25 p.m. (screen 7) A story about the friendship between pets and humans. A pet pig turns into a super pig woman save the day and her master.
February 26 - March 1, 2015
Mississippi Music Video
Between Times Humanexus Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou Love in the time of March Madness Proximity Zuzumi
From Tribulation to Triumph Inside Your Head A Long Journey Lord Knows I’m a Soldier Statesboro Blues
Documentary Feature Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound Dwarves Kingdom Just About Famous Oil & Water Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town
Documentary Short Big Bad Art Bury the Show Crooked Candy The Forgotten (Los Olvidados) The Grand Disillusion (La gran desilusión) Ironman Jackson Wingfield Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind the Console Mr. X Shirley’s Kids Wagonmasters
Experimental Film Displacements Flipping Interstates It Goes Left Memory V: Sodankylä Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain On the Train to Kutná Hora...and Back A Perfect Day The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City Trailer Study #16: A Square and a Circle Talking
Mississippi Documentary
Films by Genre
Animated Short
Mississippi Narrative Barry Garage Sale A Horror Movie PEAs
Narrative Feature A is for Alex Bluebird Burnout The Last Time You Had Fun OzLand Shanks The Sound and the Fury Stomping Ground
Narrative Shorts Based On Rosenthal Bingo Night! Day One The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention Destroyer Ed is a Portal The Gunfighter I Love Art Moffino Repeater Star Warp’d Waking Marshall Walker
Panels Casting: What you need to know for a successful career Conversation with Mo Perkins and Mary Elizabeth Ellis Diversity in Film Production on Set
85% Broken A Different Kind of Festival In Ten Leadway Longleaf: The Heart of Pine A Mississippi Love Story Mississippi Milk Unquantifiable The Way I See It
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OFF GOES TO THE GULF COAST! March 6-7, 2015 “Best of the 2015 Oxford Film Festival” Mary C. O’KeefeCultural Center • Ocean Springs, Miss. Encore screenings of winning films and other favorites! See themaryc.org for details.
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February 26 - March 1, 2015