18th Annual Oxford Film Festival Program by Oxford Film Festival

Whether you’re a leisure lover, arts enthusiast, storied soul, foodie or a mixture of it all, your perfect type of getaway awaits in Oxford. Historic Downtown Square Oxford Canteen

Volta Taverna

The Lyric

COME VISIT US for all of your visitor needs! Visit Oxford Visitors Center | 1013 Jackson Ave. East | 800.758.9177 #Visitmsresponsibly For a complete list of events happening in Oxford, visit www.VisitOxfordMS.com

Welcome to the 18th annual Oxford Film Festival. We are pleased you could join us for our yearly celebration of independent film. What a strange 2020 we all had, with the inability to even have our 17th annual festival in ways we are used to doing. Some of us didn’t make it since the last festival. The pandemic, racial equity discus sions, the accessibility of the Internet, and more dominated our headspace. But through it, we had human stories whether via television, movies or books to keep us going. We have no idea what the future holds but the present is filled with good movies and for us, that is enough. We hope to see you online or safely distanced with us in the Oxford Commons this spring. As we move forward with our year-round plans and continue to bring you independent films, we look forward to engaging with you. You put the festival into Oxford Film Festival. If I don’t get the opportunity to thank you in person, please know that your support means the world to me and to the Oxford Film Festival. I’ll see you at the movies. Melanie Addington

Table of Contents Welcome/Credits................................2 Sponsor List........................................5 FAQ & The Fine Print...........................7 Grid.....................................................8-9 Virtual Schedule..................................10-11 Special Screenings..............................12-13 Documentary Features.......................15-18 Narrative Features..............................20-21 Documentry Short Films......................22-25 Fest Forward ......................................26-29 LGBTQIA+ Short Films.........................30-33 Mississippi Short Films........................34-36 Music Videos......................................37-40 Narrative Short Films...........................41-45 Projections..........................................46-47 Short Screenplay Competition.............48 Student Short Films.............................49-50 Awards/Jury........................................52-55 Parties & Panels..................................56-57 Index of Films......................................58-60

Roll Credits

18th Annual Oxford Film Festival March 24-28, 2021 Executive Director: Melanie Addington Assistant Director: Kristin Rogers Associate Director: Matt Wymer Oxford Film Festival Board: Don Cole, Donna Ruth Roberts, EJ Edney, Ethel Scurlock, Kevin Cozart, Kinney Ferris, Kristina Carlson, Lucas Singh, Mary Elizabeth Milek, Robbie Fisher, Rocio Herrelson, Sarah Hennigan, Steven T. Case Programming Director: Donna Kozloskie Narrative Feature Programmer: Greta Hagen-Richardson LGBTQIA+ Programmer: Brian Whisenant Mississippi Programmer: Victoria Negri Narrative Shorts Programmer: Jennifer Murchison Music Video and Documentary Programmer: Newt Rayburn Fest Forward Programmer: Valerie Guinn Polgar ScreenPlay Contest Coordinator: Meaghin Burke DCP and Projection Services provided by Selig Polyscope Volunteer Coordinator: Sarah Wadford Publicist: John Wildman Transportation Coordinator: Virginia Brick Gift Bags: Wendy McMain Assistant Box Office Coordinator: Angel Baker Operations: Mindy Van Kuren Venues Director: Morgan Tucker Q&A Coordinator: Rory Ledbetter Party Coordinators: Courtney Hall, Kristin Rogers Green Room Coordinator: Anne Klingen Documentary Coordinators: Damon Burks, Antonio Tarrell Interns: Kate Kimberlin, Kennedy Lawling Trailer Editor: Mary Knight Staff Photographer: Joey Brent Poster Design: Adrienne Brown David Printed Program Design: Susan Bauer Lee Ad and All Other Designs: Stephen Rogers, Blue Clock Designs Ambassadors: Johnny and Susan McPhail

In Memoriam: Ron Shapiro and Wilson Roberts Screening Committee: Marcus Black, Maria Reynolds, Michael Sorenson, Naomi Levin, Samantha Usry, Ryan Carpenter, Emily Conly, Emily Stewart, Kathy Stubblefield, Rory Ledbetter, Paulina Afentakis, Maggie Bushway, Ken Foley, Dee Dempsey, Cher Foley, Michael Stark, Karim Chaiep, Jonathan Smith, Arta James, Megan Swartzfager, Harrison Bender, Torrean Johnson, Alem Dauletkulov, Ambriehl Turrentine, Amy Pearson, Jessica Starks, Cris Surbeck, Conor Coughlin, Angela Brooks, Angella Baker, Beth Roman, Diana Foronda, Harlan Weiss, Suzanne LaCour, Kirk Daniel, Marilyn Frey, Montana Byrd, Nicola Rose, Patti Woten, Stephanie Ann Fitts, Steven Crainich, Steven Case, Susan McPhail, Tiffany Albright, Timothy Tanner, Montana Byrd, Dede Reed, Edward Douglas, Jennifer Merin, Jennifer Fowlkes, Amile Wilson, Jutoria Warner The Oxford Film Festival is an independent non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) status. Donations may be tax-deductible. Contact us at info@oxfordfilmfest.com or 877-560-3456 or visit us online at oxfordfilmfest.com

March 24-28, 2021

Smile Y’all Photo Booth ...where to find the photos!

Feel like a movie star in the Tru Hotel lobby photo booth provided by Smile Y’all.

Take a printed photo home but don’t forget to also check it out on Facebook or share right from the booth!

Virtually attending? Enjoy our virtual photo booth April 1-7 on the website! oxfordfilmfest.com

oxfordfilmfest.com

SUPPORT INSPIRE ENRICH

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is a state agency serving more than two million people through grants and special initiatives that enhance communities, assist artists and arts organizations, promote arts education and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage.

Mississippi Arts Commission 501 N. West Street Woolfolk Building – Suite 1101A Jackson, MS 39201

Established in 1968 by the state legislature, the MAC is the ofﬁcial grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. Funding for the MAC and its programs is provided by the State of Mississippi, the National Endowment for the Arts, and private sources. Learn more about supporting MAC at www.arts.ms.gov or (601) 359-6030.

SCREEN PRESENTER Cannon Motor Company, LLC Charter Road Hospitality Donna Ruth Roberts Mississippi Arts Commission National Endowment for the Arts Selig Polyscope Steven and Gay Case Visit Oxford Yoknapatawpha Arts Council

CONTRIBUTOR LEVEL Anonymous Blues Water Bud and Julie Fanton Bullseye 95.5 Dodo Pizza Eric D. Snider Final Draft High Cotton Warehouse

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Eventive Malco Methodist Rehab Ray and Nancy Neilsen

DIRECTOR Kristina Carlson Mississippi Humanities Council Oxford Conference Center Oxford University transit Red Window Communications South Arts Visit Mississippi/Mississippi Development Authority Wilson Roberts

PATRON LEVEL Blue Clock Designs Harry & Lynda Addington Joe Shapiro Landers Auto Group North Mississippi Enterprise Initiative Proof Beverages Photos by Joey Brent R&B Charitable Foundation for the Beaux Arts Smile Y’All Photo Booth Taproot Audio Design The INDOOR ADvantage

Sponsors

The 2021 Oxford Film Festival would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors. Please support those who have supported us.

Ink Tip Kevin and Camille Mitchell Krystal’s Lagniappe Foundation/ Fisher Productions LLC Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation Oxford Chamber of Commerce Oxford Commons

Reel South Ron and Brenda Guins Sam and Mary Haskell Sola Oxford Tannehill, Carmean & McKenzie PLLC, Attorneys The Local Voice Videomaker Magazine

SUPPORTER LEVEL Adam Hohenberg Chicken Salad Chick Chicory Market Clark Beverages Department of Modern Languages End of All Music Helen Overstreet Hempville CBD Hotty Toddy News Hudson and Susan Hickman

Ink Spot Jack Garner Janice Antonow Kate Kellum Kathy and Peter Sukanek Kaye Bryant Laura Harper Lulu’s Melanie Addington

Nautilus Publishing/Neil White Newk’s Pam and Bill Lawhead Shaw Security Sugaree’s SuperTalk Mississippi 93.7 and Q105 The Jewish Federation of Oxford The Sipp Tri-State Tracer

FRIEND OF THE FEST LEVEL City Hall Cheesecake Depot Antique Mall First National Bank Jim and Kelly Blackwood William Bozeman Professional Therapy Services

Randy Weeks Rainy Day Pictures Josh Moore Cliff and Leigh Johnson Mary Sexton & Phillip Loria Dr. Todd Threadgill Michael Johansson

Joe Atkins Michelle Emanuel Marilyn and Richard Frey Aileen Ajootian Anne Klingen The Growler

SLATE LEVEL Ann Abadie Beth Roman Bill and Jeanne Tarullo Hays Camille Gifford Mitchell Cris Surbeck Daneel Ferreira Daniel and Addie and Bailey Talbott

Donna Wade Farish Percy Hollie Hilliard Hire a Helper Home Depot Joanne Hutchison Keith Collins Company Leslee Linn

Molly Wexler Professional Therapy Services Taylor and Nancy Moore The Depot Antique Mall Tim Phillips Dr. and Mrs. Robert Khayat Wayne and Ouida Drinkwater

CROWDFUNDERS Andy and Cristen Hemmins Andrea Spain Betty Bloom Charlie Davis Elaine Gelbard

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Jenny Anne Davis Jo Robinson Jon Gann Lela Meadow Conner Linda Arrington Marty Lang

Maura Klingen Natasa Stearns Tracey Williams Tav Falco Valerie Guinn Polgar

WE ARE A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL NobodyBeatsACannonDeal.com

What is Last Minute/Rush Line? Did we announce a film selling out? There may still be opportunities to snag a seat. Once seating is complete (10 minutes before the film) we will release any available seats and you can buy at the door or use your VIP pass to snag a last-minute seat.

Can I buy just one ticket to one screening? Yes, they are $10.

recommend arriving at least 20 minutes before a film to be seated first.

Do I have to buy tickets online? Yes, this year we are doing no contact due to COVID-19 so sales will be directed to our website.

When should I arrive for a screening? We recommend arriving at least 20 minutes early to get in either the VIP priority line or regular ticket holder line to secure your preferred seat.

Can I pay for a ticket in cash? Not this year. Contact us if unable to buy online about issuing a check to us to order for you in advance. We are trying to keep our staff safe to be contactless at the festival. I bought a pass online. How do I get it? We ask that you pick up your physical pass at our box office during the film festival. Tickets are not printed and only your phone receipt is what we will use to show the usher. You can also print it out and bring with you. What do I do with my pass? Wear it and get access to everything! Virtual? Log in and claim any events you want. I lost my pass. What do I do? Stop by our box office at the Tru Hotel and let us know so we can help you. How do I reserve a seat at a film? Films are first come-first served unless you have requested any accessibility needs. We recommend arriving at least 20 minutes before a film to get in line for your preferred seat. What about passholders? VIP badges get priority seating and those with advance tickets will be seated first. Due to COVID-19 this year we ask that you claim your ticket for your seat in advance. We can not guarantee access if you do not. We do still

Do I have to stand in line? We are able to seat you as soon as the last film is completed. You don’t have to stand in line unless you have a seat preference and/or want to be the first to get into the theater. However, we release any empty seats 10 minutes before the screening begins. Accessibility Requests Our ushers are there to help you if you have any needs and will get you supported whether seated or parked. Please look for the Red Volunteer Shirts or Staff Shirts. Someone will assist you. You can also contact us in advance at boxoffice@oxfordfilmfest.com. I have questions about the virtual festival. Visit https://www.oxfordfilmfest.com/how-tovirtual-fest I still have questions -- help? Email us at boxoffice@oxfordfilmfest.com or during the festival visit our information table located at the box office. Where is the box office? The box office during the physical festival: • Tru Hotel (97 Ed Perry Blvd) • Virtual-boxoffice@oxfordfilmfest.com

If we didn’t answer your question, please stop by our box office at the festival to ask more questions!

The Fine Print What are you doing to ensure the safety of visitors from COVID19? The Oxford Film Festival will take the lead of the local and county officials in following recommended procedures as well as taking additional precautionary measures, including but not limited to increased healthrelated messaging, on-site sanitation resources for attendees, and fortified cleaning protocols at all venues and events. Be sure to check the program to make sure you are at the right venue. This information is also listed in your ticket. All films in the regular schedule contain adult content and are not recommended for children under 18 unless otherwise indicated with a FF (family-friendly) in the ponline program listing. While films are not rated by MPAA, we have asked the filmmakers for their own rating consideration to be included with the film description. Some films have content that can include violence, sexual content, and strong language or intense subject matters. Please read the description of the film in advance if you have any concerns or ask us.

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Views expressed in the screened films are those of the filmmakers, and not necessarily shared by the Oxford Film Festival. Presentation of films does not mean that the festival promotes the behavior contained therein. The filmmaker has agreed that they own the intellectual property within their film. All times are tentative and subject to change due to the nature of film festivals. Refer to our website, www.oxfordfilmfest.com, our social media, and/or our box office for the latest information. Seating is not guaranteed unless you purchase an individual ticket or book your ticket with your pass for a specific film. We suggest arriving at least 20 minutes before each film. VIP badges get priority line access. However, any seats unclaimed 10 minutes before the film will be given away. If a film is sold out, we will release any unclaimed seats 10 minutes before a screening. VIP pass holders sit first and then individual ticket holders.

Rating System: All films are marked by a general rating system provided by the filmmakers. Please use your discretion when checking films and ask at the information table if you have any concerns. • Family Friendly = For ages 8+ • Teens and Up = For Ages 13+ • Mature = For 18+ • CW: Content Warning

Venues: • Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.) • Oxford Commons Lot (204 Commonwealth Blvd) • Oxford Conference Center Lawn (102 Ed Perry Blvd.) • Powerhouse (413 South 14th St.) • Overby Center (555 Grove Loop) • Oxford High School - Drive-In (101 Charger Loop ) • Tru Hotel Lobby Box Office and Merchandise (97 Ed Perry Blvd)

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Frequently Asked Questions & The Fine Print

How much are tickets for Oxford Film Festival? • Single Movie Ticket ($10) Good for one movie. We no longer have general single tickets but only sell tickets to each specific film. Your ticket is a secure seat at the film you pre-selected. However, if attending the drive-in, each attendee must have a ticket if over age 5. • 5 or 10 Pack ($40, $90) Save by buying single tickets in bulk and use them on any films you want to see or buy 10 friends a ticket to one film and save money! This replaces the weekend pass in past years. • VIP Pass ($175) Priority entrance to all films. Access to all parties and catered VIP green room. • Student VIP ($50) Priority entrance to all films. Access to all parties and catered VIP green room. • Virtual Only ($50) On sale this year to give priority to see all films. This covers the streaming costs only. • Genre pass ($50) Prefer only one type of genre? Pick this one for access to only specific films. • FREE TO ATTEND: As always Panels/ Workshops are free to attend sponsored by OxFilm EDU and Mississippi Film Alliance.

Virtual Q&A Schedule 2021 March 18th

Time

Film Run

Geoblock

Talk with Joe Atkins and Preview Party

6:00 PM

March 18-April 30

Global

April 1 Music Videos Q&A Seed& Spark Art of the Pitch Look Away, Look Away Q&A Bleeding Audio Q&A All In A Day’s Work Q&A

12:00 PM 1:00 PM 5:30 PM 7:00 PM 8:30 PM

April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-7 April 1-7 April 1-30

Global Global Mississippi USA Global

12:00 PM 2:00 PM 4:30 PM 6:00 PM 9:30 PM

April 1-30 April 1-7 April 1-7 April 1-7 April 1-7

USA USA USA Mississippi Mississippi

1:00 PM 3:00PM 5:00PM 7:00PM 10:30 PM

April 3-30 April 3-30 April 1-7 April 1-7 April 1-7

Global Global Global MS, TN, LA USA

Visiting Doc Mossville

6:00 PM

April 2-9

Global

No Ordinary Man One Sweet Night +Surviving the Silence

5:00 PM 7:00 PM

April 1-7 April 1-7

Mississippi Mississippi

5:30 PM

April 1-30

USA

April 2 Vanishing Louisiana + Hungry To Learn Horton Foote: The Road to Home Dixie + The Passing on Luv U Cuz + Mama Gloria Gossamer Folds + Kapaemahu

April 3 Activism On & Off Film My Pandemic Story: FIlmmaking in the time of COVID

Is This love that I’m Feeling Swim to Steven + Dramarama David + Murder Bury win

April 5 April 6

April 9 Things We do for Love

April 10 MS Shorts Projections Brave New World Student Shorts Fest Forward

Time

Film Run

Geoblock

10:00 AM 12:00 PM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM 9:00 AM

April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-30

Global Global Global Global Global

12:00 PM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM

April 1-30 April 1-14 April 1-30

Mississippi Global Global

5:30 PM 6:30 PM

April 1-30 April 1-30

Mississippi USA

11:00 AM 1:00 PM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM

April 1-7 April 17 April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-30

Mississippi USA USA USA USA

2:00 PM

April 1-30 April 1-30

USA Global

5:00 PM 6:30 PM 8:00 PM

April 1-30 April 1-30 April 1-30

Global Mississippi USA

2:00 PM

April 1-30

Mississippi

2:00 PM

April 1-30

Global

April 11 Uprooted Rap Squad Queens of Pain

April 16 Castle on Red Mountain Shorts + Drought Q&A

April 17

Surviving Q&A Liberation Heroes Kind of + Tahara Women is Losers Vinyl Nation

April 18 Nora Highland They Found Me

April 23 Family Ties In A Different Key Unmarked + Bastards Crossing

April 24

Late Night Shorts

April 25 Queer Shorts

Special Screenings

Liberation Heroes: The Last Eyewitnesses in association with USC Shoah Foundation Director: Vanessa Roth REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: CA, USA • Run Time: 42 min. Heroic World War II veterans vividly share their liberation journeys, drawing parallels between the past and present. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Oxford.

Horton Foote: The Road to Home Director: Anne Rapp Country: USA • Run Time: 77 min.

Horton Foote: The Road To Home is a documentary that chronicles the creative journey of acclaimed Texas writer Horton Foote through his own eyes and voice at the end of his life. Anne Rapp returns after 17 years.

Nora Highland Director: Ryan Spahn Country: USA • Run Time: 63 min.

Nora Highland follows the casting process of a notable gay character in an upcoming Broadway revival and explores the phenomenon of straight performers being lauded for their work in queer roles. Adapted from a play of the same name, this is a damning look at how and why over 60 straight/cis actors have been Oscar nominated for playing queer roles while only one queer actor has been Oscar nominated for doing the same.

Labyrinth - 25th Anniversary Director: Jim Henson Country: USA • Run Time: 101 min. Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth. Does not play the virtual festival.

Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story

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Director: Posy Dixon Country: United Kingdom • Run Time: 63 min. Virtual cinema only. After his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies is rediscovered, a black trans musician recounts his life as an out queer person and performer from the 60s to the present.

March 24-28, 2021

Tahara Director: Olivia Peace Country: USA • Run Time: 82 min

They Found Me: Vengeance

A queer, coming-of-age drama set in Rochester, New York, about an anxious teen girl who is manipulated into a romantic encounter with her best friend during the funeral service of their former Hebrew school classmate. Plays the virtual cinema only.

Director: Bill Perry Country: MS, USA • Run Time: 70 min.

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The Nebulonians are an advanced alien species that have come to Earth to conquer and destroy all humans. They have created a race of hybrid clones to infiltrate human society called the X Models.

March 24-28, 2021

Hungry to Learn Director: Geeta Gandbhir Country: NY, USA Run Time: 84 min.

Bleeding Audio

In a documentary film by Soledad O’Brien and Geeta Gandbhir we meet the faces behind an American crisis – college students so strapped to pay tuition that they don’t have enough money to eat.

Director: Chelsea Christer REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: USA • Run Time: 91 min. Music Documentary Competition From inspiring triumphs to heartbreaking setbacks, Bleeding Audio relives the explosive career of the Matches and explores what it means to succeed in the digital age of music.

In A Different Key Castle on Red Mountain, The Director: David Delaney Mayer Country: NC, USA • Run Time: 55 min. Documentary Feature Competition

The Castle on Red Mountain is a documentary about a sculptor named Robert Mihaly who is returning to finish his biggest project to date: a whimsical 70-foot-high castle that he abandoned a decade earlier.

Directors: Caren Zucker, John Donvan Country: USA • Run Time: 102 min. Mississippi Feature Competition A mother tracks down the first person diagnosed with autism, now an elderly man in Mississippi, to learn if his life holds promise for her autistic son. Her journey through autism’s past and present uncovers much cruelty, framed by forces like race, money and privilege, but ultimately leads to hope. Also, Sid Salter, political columnist is in the cast.

Hungry To Learn Film Food insecurity is an issue throughout the globe, sometimes even in your own backyard. In Hungry to Learn, journalist Soledad O’Brian and Emmy-winning filmmaker Geeta Ghandbhir take a look at the growing issue on college campuses. As part of the screening, we will be collecting donations for Grove Grocery, the UM Food Pantry. Drop your donations at the door or learn how to give online.

oxfordfilmfest.com

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Documentary Features

Oxford’s legendary eclectic culture is reflected in this year’s documentary feature selection providing films for any audience member, in-person or online. Highlighting LGBTQIA+, Music and Mississippi stories, the lineup also touches on issues of social justice, community and the power of creativity. An array of internationally renowned festival films and regional premieres round out this collection of progressive, nonfiction storytelling ensuring that the visions and voices on display are just as bold as Oxford itself. – Donna Kosloskie

Documentary Features

Look Away, Look Away

No Ordinary Man

Director: Patrick O’Connor Country: USA • Run Time: 89 min. Mississippi Feature Competition

Director: Aisling Chin-yee, Chase Joynt Country: USA • Run Time; 84 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition

Look Away, Look Away is the story of the fierce 5-year fight over the state flag of Mississippi, the last of the original Confederate states to still have the Rebel flag in its design – a fact that warmed the hearts of many white Mississippians and angered most of their African-American and progressive white neighbors. But this documentary is about more than a flag – it’s about how race, heritage, and long-simmering grievances over the Civil War lead to a reckoning over the meaning of Confederate symbols.

The legacy of Billy Tipton, a 20th-century American jazz musician and trans icon, is brought to life by a diverse group of contemporary trans artists.

CW: This film contains scenes with explicit language, violence, and racism that some viewers may find offensive. Viewer discretion is advised.

Passing On, The Director: Nathan Clarke Country: USA • Run Time: 64 min. Documentary Feature Competition Three professions ushered former slaves from poverty to the American dream: preacher, teacher, and undertaker. Now, renowned embalmer James Bryant puts his faith in a new generation to continue the legacy of Black funeral homes in San Antonio, Texas.

Mama Gloria Director: Luchina Fisher REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: USA • Run Time: 76 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition Meet Mama Gloria. Chicago’s Black transgender icon Gloria Allen, now in her 70s, blazed a trail for trans people like few others before her.

Queens of Pain

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Director: Cassie Hay, Amy Winston REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: TX, USA • Run Time: 75 min. Documentary Feature Competition An intimate portrait of three athletes of Gotham Girls Roller Derby League, Queens of Pain follows Suzy Hotrod, Evilicious, and Captain Smack Sparrow as they face the constraints of being a woman in America to play the sport they love.

March 24-28, 2021

Rap Squad Director: Nathan Willis Country: USA • Run Time: 55 min. Music Documentary Competition

Rap Squad is an intimate verité documentary about student hip hop artists who seek healing for themselves and justice for their Delta community through their music.

Surviving the Silence Director: Cindy L. Abel Regional Premiere Country: USA • Run Time: 79 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition Years before “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Colonel Patsy Thompson presided over the board that dismissed Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer for being a lesbian, forcing her to confront her own secret and moral dilemma: she too was a lesbian.

OFF2021 MERCH! Check out the merchandise for sale at Tru Hotel or on our website. We ship to most countries! Shirts • Hats • Mugs • And more!

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Documentary Features

Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance

Weed & Wine

Director: Khadifa Wong Country: USA • Run Time: 94 min. Music Documentary Competition

Director: Rebecca Richman Cohen Country: USA/France • Run Time: 89 min.

Uprooted - The Journey of Jazz Dance is a feature-length documentary celebrating the history, lineage, and future progressions of jazz dance. With special appearances by Debbie Allen, George Faison, Chita Rivera, Camille, A. Brown and Thomas F. DeFrantz.

The feature documentary Weed & Wine interweaves stories, urging comparisons and teasing out contradictions between France’s revered winemaking traditions and the artisan culture emerging alongside the legal cannabis industry. Documentary Feature Competition.

Vinyl Nation

Without Getting Killed or Caught

Director: Kevin Smokler, Christopher Boone Country: USA • Run Time; 92 min. Music Documentary Competition Vinyl Nation is a documentary dig into the resurgence of vinyl records, the diversification of vinyl fans, and the connective power of music.

Director: Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: TX, USA • Run Time: 95 min. Music Documentary Competition Does not play the virtual festival.

Without Getting Killed or Caught is the true story of Guy Clark, the dean of Texas songwriters, who struggles to write poetic, yet indelible songs while balancing a complicated marriage with wife Susanna, and a deep friendship with singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, on whom Susanna forged a passionate dependence.

Smile Y’all Photo Booth ...where to find the photos!

Feel like a movie star in the Tru Hotel lobby photo booth provided by Smile Y’all. Take a printed photo home but don’t forget to also check it out on Facebook or share right from the booth! Virtually attending? Enjoy our virtual photo booth April 1-7 on the website!

March 24-28, 2021

Authentic Locations, Competitive Incentive 25% - 35% Cash Rebate filmMississippi.org 21-0081 VM MFO OXFRD FILM FESTIVAL HP4C AD.indd 1

2/4/21 1:06 PM

Supporting ﬁlm as a conduit for community conversations throughout the South.

SOUTHARTS.ORG

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Maria Hamilton, subject of The Blood is at the Doorstep speaking with an audience from the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.

Narrative Featurres

The events of the past year have required that filmmakers and festivals alike find creative and innovative avenues for storytelling. With a Narrative Feature lineup composed almost exclusively of filmmaker submissions, we spent the year truly embracing our role as a Discovery festival. Our filmmakers have taken limited resources and made exciting, fresh, and compelling work for our audience. The unique perspectives presented speak to who we are as a community in a time when circumstances have forced us to exist separately. Our Narrative Features explore a range of perspectives, from filmmakers in our community, as well as stories from the other side of the world. Through this Program, audiences will get access to work that reflects their lives as well as work that challenges them to consider what it means to live life in a way diametrically opposed to their own. From the contemporary implications of major historical events to how tough it can be to sell your board game, we are thrilled to offer a look into different worlds despite the limitations imposed on us all in 2020. – Greta Hagen-Richardson

Bastard’s Crossing Director: Travis Mills Country: USA • Run Time: 1 hr. 35 min. Mississippi Feature Competition This film tells the story of Cam Talcutt, a man who won a trading post in a card game. Now, he’s stuck in the wilderness trying to run it when he learns the freight company who supplies his store won’t be coming anymore.

Drought Directors: Megan Petersen, Hannah Black Country: USA • Run Time: 84 min. Narrative Feature Competition It’s 1993 and North Carolina is experiencing a historic drought but autistic teen Carl, fascinated by weather, predicts that a storm will soon hit nearby while his sister Sam crafts a plan to help him chase the storm.

Dramarama

Get The Hell Out

Director: Jonathan Wysocki Country: USA • Run Time: 91 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition

Director: I-Fan Wang REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: Taiwan • Run Time: 95 min. Narrative Feature Competition.

In 1994, a closeted teen struggles to part ways with his 4 high school drama friends at their final murder mystery party before they leave for college.

Taiwan’s parliament turns deadly when a virus transforms politicians into ravenous zombie mutants.

March 24-28, 2021

Narrative Featurres

Gossamer Folds Director: Lisa Donato Country: USA • Run Time: 96 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition

Sublet

A young boy with an unhappy home life seeks solace in an unexpected friendship with his next-door neighbor, a trans woman named Gossamer.

Director: Eytan Fox REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: USA/Israel • Run Time: 90 min. LGBTQIA+ Feature Competition Michael, a travel columnist for The New York Times, goes to Tel Aviv to write an article after suffering a tragedy.

Murder Bury Win Director: Michael Lovan REGIONAL PREMIERE Country: CA, USA • Run Time: 90 min. Narrative Feature Competition

Women is Losers

Three friends have created a board game, Murder Bury Win, and they think it has what it takes to become a bestseller on the indie charts.

Director: Lissette Feliciano Country: USA • Run Time: 84 min. Narrative Feature Competition In 1960’s San Francisco, bright and talented catholic school girl Celina Guerrera (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Lorenza Izzo) survives a difficult home life by following the rules.

OFF2021 MERCH!

Reunion Director: Jake Mahaffy Country: New Zealand • Run Time: 90 min. Narrative Feature Competition

Check out the merchandise for sale at Tru Hotel or on our website.

A pregnant woman returns to her recently deceased grandparents’ family home to spend time with her estranged mother. What begins as a reunion turns terrifying.

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We ship to most countries! Shirts • Hats • Mugs • And more!

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Documentary Short Competition

This year’s selection of documentary shorts combine themes of family and self expression told through beautifully imagined visual storytelling. Each one a snippet of personal history that brings focus to the present in order to imagine a future shared by all— both onscreen and offscreen. – Donna Kosloskie

A Head Shorter Sasha Sivan Bortnik • CA, USA • 23 min.

A Head Shorter is a 2D animated documentary short narrated by Naftali Deutsch. The film begins in the spring of 1944 when Naftali and his entire family are forced to leave their home in Kimyat, a village in the CarpathoUkraine region, and sent to Auschwitz.

Ang Meron sa Wala (Beyond Nothing) Arby Laraño • Philippines • 13 min. 53 sec. A resolute man unapologetically abandons his first-born, believing that it was the right thing to do. Many years later, an inquisitive documentary filmmaker interrogates him.

And Don’t Forget I Love You Taylor Walker • USA • 2 min. A young Black girl navigates family, romance, and emerging adulthood in a segregated California as captured through home footage of Ernest Beane, a Pullman Porter.

As You Can See Ghada Fikri • Egypt • 4 min. The grooves, cuts and lines engraved on a woman’s hand tell the story of how she raised her five children, mostly on her own as seen through her daughter’s eyes.

@oxfordfilmfest Hashtag: #oxff #off21 22

March 24-28, 2021

婦人 (Fujin)

Jim McDonough • USA • 8 min. 40 sec. In 1969, two young brothers ordered a monkey from an ad in the back of a monster magazine. After the postal carrier delivered the box — things got weird.

Rachel Makana’aloha O Kauikeolani Nakawatase • USA • 6 min. 婦人 (Fujin) /foo-jeen/ noun/plural noun, can be translated as a more formal or polite way to refer to a woman, such as “lady” or “madam” and in some contexts can mean “sisterhood” or “womenfolk.” This footage of my great-grandmother and aunties getting ready for a night out is a glimpse into femininity and womanhood among aging Indigenous Asian women, free of the western ethnographic gaze that has haunted many portrayals of bodies of color.

Dieorama Kevin Staake • USA • 10 min. By day, she visits morgues, observes autopsies, and studies pictures of crime scenes. By night, she turns nightmarish imaginings into precise, red-splattered miniatures.

Girl With The D Earring Lamar Landers • MI, USA • 14 min. 45 sec.

Girl With the D Earring is a play on Dutch a Painter, Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring” painting, deemed the most beautiful painting in the Netherlands.

Smile Y’all Photo Booth ...where to find the photos!

Dixie Caroline Rumley • USA • 14 min. How much of who you are is where you come from? A woman and her daughter interrogate their Southern roots.

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Documentary Short Competition

Darling Pet Monkey

Documentary Short Competition

Modern Whore Nicole Bazuin • Canada • 12 min.

God’s Plant

University student by day, escort by night, Andrea Werhun led a secret life under the alias “Mary Ann.”

Jeremy Seifert, Malek Asfeer• KY, USA • 14 min. In Raywick, Kentucky, there is a farm where Father God and Mother Nature work in harmony, and where farmers have a part to play as well. Though until very recently, growing hemp could get a person serious jail time, Scott Essex of Bluegrass Organic Hemp considers cannabis “God’s plant.”

Shaun Leonardo: The Freedom to Move Nick Ravich • USA • 11 min. • Regional Premiere

GRAB MY HAND: A Letter to My Dad Camrus Johnson, Pedro Piccinini • NY, USA • 5 min.

Born to Latino parents in Queens and recruited to play football at a private New England college, artist Shaun Leonardo experiences a seminal moment on the playing field.

Camrus Johnson’s gift to his grieving father and a message to all to cherish every second you have with loved ones while you still can.

Snowy Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis • PA, USA • 12 min. 56 sec.

Maroon Bomber, The

Snowy, a four-inch-long pet turtle, has lived an isolated life in the family basement. With help from a team of experts and his caretaker, Uncle Larry, we ask: Can Snowy be happy, and what would it take?

Joshua Thomas • USA • 10 min. Four siblings delve into the love they share for the family’s old, beat up truck. This love gets tested.

March 24-28, 2021

Vanishing Louisiana

Sophy Romvari • Canada • 17 min.

Adam Chitayat • LA, USA • 8 min.

A box of stunning family photos awakens grief and lost memories as they are viewed for the first time on camera. Filmmaker Sophy Romvari documents her first-hand experience as an exploration into cinema as therapy in this nonfiction short.

The climate crisis is here. Despite global preventative efforts, our climate – and our relationship to it – faces inevitable and unprecedented change within the coming decade. There are communities around the globe that will become unlivable within the lifetimes of their current residents. Envisioned as a series, Vanishing Louisiana seeks to acknowledge these harsh realities and preserve the stories, ways of life and emotional truths of communities in existential danger.

Turf Nation Jun Bae • CA, USA • 13 min. 37 sec. Turfing is an Oakland-born dance form that combines roots in gang culture with elements of tutting, gliding and bone breaking. Turf Nation follows the street dancers perform on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains as they pave their own paths towards freedom and independence.

Water Walker, The James Burns • Canada • 13 min. 53 sec.

The Water Walker is the first project from Seeing Red 6Nations. It stars teenaged climate activist Autumn Peltier, who is Anishinaabe-kwe, from Wikwemikoong First Nation (Manitoulin Island, Ontario). The film is narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Graham Greene (Oneida, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory (Ontario).

Unmarked Chris Haley, Brad J. Bennett • VA, USA • 26 min. 47 sec. Throughout the South, there are many historic African-American and unmarked burials of the formally enslaved that are derelict and almost lost to time. However, recently, there has been a rise in active restoration and preservation efforts by those who have a personal history or appreciation for these historic sites.

OFF2021 MERCH! Check out the merchandise for sale at Tru Hotel or on our website. We ship to most countries! Shirts • Hats • Mugs • And more!

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Documentary Short Competition

Still Processing

Fest Forward Competition

This year’s Fest Forward line up is certain to grant exposure to a broad range of perspectives. Given the current festival format, the strongest/most creative films were selected without having to consider how they might all play together in one longer viewing block. As a result, this year’s Fest Forward selections feature a true mashup of styles and themes through Animation and Experimental Film. Viewers can expect to feel calm, concerned, frustrated, enlightened, shocked, and amused while enjoying this year’s program. – Valerie Guinn Polgar

A STEP INTO MY WALLPAPER Antoine Ceunebroucke • France • 2 min. This video was made in 2019-20. The end of the video was shot during the lockdown. It evokes the idea of escape using one’s imagination.

Crowded Nathania Rubin • Netherlands • 4 min. • Regional Premiere

Crowded is a hand-drawn erase and redraw animation featuring a disappearing and reappearing entity who continually changes form throughout the film. The figure emerges from a primordial chaos of circular marks as a girl in a bedroom where she meets a lover. From there, sci-fi and fantasy weirdness ensue as her identity grows even more fragmented and bizarre.

Beakmann Incident, The Jared D. Weiss • CA, USA • 3 min. Three housemates recount an unspeakable event that took place in their home.

Desert Air ANDiLAND • USA • 1 min. A dark journey down the rabbit hole of a turbulent adolescence.

CHOR(E)S Danielle Deadwyler • USA • 12 min. 59 sec. A lone woman chops and screws a domestic scene.

March 24-28, 2021

Onyenaturuchi Ogbonnaya, Charles obioha Ogbonnaya • CA, USA • 6 min. 40 sec.

Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit Eric Butler • FL, USA • 14 min. What is new, who profits from newness, and where does The New come from?

Haiku

In this video piece, Ije, I am exploring my relationship to my family, cultural language, and Western archives as a way to find my place within these contexts.

Lessons From My Nightmares

Martin Gerigk • Germany/Japan • 17 min.

Kira Bursky • NC, USA • 4 min.

Haiku | 俳句 is a symphonic audiovisual project for two Japanese performers, alternating percussion groups, soundscapes and rhythmicized video sequences. The film is an experimental approach to pay tribute to the beauty of Japan and the extraordinary art of Japanese haiku poetry of the 15th to early 20th century.

Lessons From My Nightmares is a machine-learned film that follows the story of a girl dealing with insomnia due to compartmentalized thoughts and feelings. When she does sleep, she is haunted by nightmares.

Hop Along Hang On

Luv U Cuz

Cobra Collins • 4 min. • Regional Premiere

Eric Pumphrey • USA • 15 min.

How do you take back a story you didn’t know was yours? How do you move forward while embracing and understanding your past? Follow Rose the rabbit on a journey as she seeks her way back home.

Set in a not-too-distant future, two cousins bond over the course of a night on the town, until their relationship is tested in more ways than one.

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Fest Forward Competition

Ije

Fest Forward Competition

Malinchista

Pleasant Valley Drive In

Flora Rees-Arredondo • CA, USA • 6 min.

Brian Zahm • IL, USA • 2 min. 39 sec.

A 2D animated short film reclaiming a Spanish slur to empower Latinx women by retelling the story of La Malinche.

Park your car under the stars and spend your evening at Pleasant Valley Drive In to watch Summer Awakenings. This coming-of-age film is radically altered when a projectionist come cinematic saboteur splices in some not-so-subtle subtext via drive in movie advertisements.

Nobody Gives a F*ck Asha Susan Alex • India • 5 min. The plight of the old in our modern society seen through a satiric lens.

RKLSS Tank Standing Buffalo • Canada • 5 min. Tank, a natural artist who is always drawing, runs into trouble with the law with his gang of friends. Tank is convicted, jailed, and subjected to solitary confinement and intense brutality. His art allows him to escape his terrible conditions. He discovers his own native spirituality while in jail, and through his art, finds a way to be in the world, and to reflect on his own reality.

Smile Y’all Photo Booth ...where to find the photos!

March 24-28, 2021

Snow Shelter Robertas Nevecka • Lithuania • 16 min. Freezing winter in a war-devastated town. A young man is banished from his own appartment by a bunch of troublesome strangers. He has to locate another shelter in an alienated society.

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Three Soyeon Kim • USA • 2 min.

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A visceral impression of a life in the society and one’s self-reflective memoir.

Winter, The Xin Li • Australia • 5 min. Walking in a snowy forest, a peasant sees an unusual deer and goes to follow it. The deer allures him and the peasant even wants to catch it.

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LGBTQIA+ Short Competition

More so than ever before, this year’s films portray LGBTQIA+ people in every facet of society -breaking the alphabet barrier while also not forgetting our queer roots. Edgy, romantic, funny, transparent – this has been the best year I have witnessed for independent queer cinema. – Brian Whisenant

Appetite Stacey Maltin • NY, USA • 13 min. • Regional Premiere Jack, an aging hedge fund CEO, hesitantly acquiesces when Ruby, his wife of 25 years, suggests they check out an open love party. Thrust into a new world, he is surprised to uncover the intimacy he actually desires.

DRIFTING Hanxiong Bo • USA/China • 16 min. Yan is an illegal second child born during the One-Child policy. To avoid government punishment, Yan’s parents hid their oldest daughter in the countryside and raised Yan as a girl. Now a young adult, Yan struggles with his gender identity and being treated as an outcast in a conservative society. His sole escape is drifting his father’s old taxi through abandoned parking lots.

Catfish Killer Gil Hizon, Seth Harrington • USA • 13 min. Three gay besties on a camping trip are thrust into danger when one of them inadvertently catfishes a serial killer. Now, they must come together to survive or get gutted… and not in a good way.

Forgotten Place, The Oscar Rene Lozoya II • CA, USA • 12 min.• Regional Premiere All Eric ever wanted was a friend. He just never knew how to find one.

Color Me Blue

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Lucas Camusso • USA • 11 min. • Regional Premiere A shy college boy chases his first true crush, but as his best friend drifts towards self-destruction, he is forced to choose between pursuing love and saving his friendship.

Hashtag: #oxff #off21 March 24-28, 2021

Good Night

Manuel Marmier • France • 25 min.

Eric Shahinian • USA • 11 min. When Aram, a newly out Armenian man, brings Jason back to his place after their first date, he must decide how far he’s willing to go in order to make sure they both have a good night.

Kiko, a Japanese illustrator on assignment in France, gets suddenly overwhelmed by a strange inspiration, while she realizes she’s been spying on a gay couple on the beach next to the chapel where she’s working. Obsessed by such a vision, she will spy on those men and draw them secretly. This will slowly push her towards an encounter that will change her life and breaks her social rules.

Just a Guy Shoko Hara • Germany • 15 min.

Just a Guy is an animated documentary film about love. Three women share glimpses of their affection, attraction and relationship with Richard Ramirez, a serial killer and rapist they contacted after his conviction in the ’80s. Through their perspective we revisit exchanged letters and emotions that are as obsessive as they are hauntingly familiar.

Kind Of Noah Schamus • USA • 8 min.

Kind Of follows two trans masculine folks in a newly-open relationship as they prepare to host brunch, while hashing out their insecurities about their relationship in the minutes before their friends arrive.

Kapaemahu Hinaleimoana Wong Kalu • HI, USA • 8 min. Long ago, four extraordinary beings of dual male and female spirit brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii and imbued their powers in four giant boulders. The stones still stand on Waikiki Beach, but the true story behind them has been hidden – until now.

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Light Daniel Talbott • CA, USA • 12 min. • Regional Premiere An intimate, raw character study of a conservative, gay young man, tormented by the unconditional love of his husband. After an unfathomable act of violence, he finds his way to a desolate church parking lot, and possibly to the end of his own road.

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

LGBTQIA+ Short Competition

KIKO’S SAINTS

LGBTQIA+ Short Competition

“Love” Andrea Ashton • MS, USA • 4 min. In this narrative art film bringing a modern poem to life, a series of touching vignettes show two women falling in and out of love – but not in any traditional way you’ve seen before.

My Own Courtney Hope Thérond • CA, USA • 12 min. 30 sec.

My Own tells the story of Bianca, a nonbinary person, struggling to find the place for gender fluidity within the very rigid world of ballet.

Paint Wizzard, The Making Samantha T Cooper, Allison Glock-Cooper • USA • 10 min. The documentary follows the music video about the story of one trans woman. It’s also the story of what it means to love and be loved.

Jessie Auritt, Jessica Wolfson • USA • 17 min. Millie, The Paint Wizzard, is a transgender housepainter who lives and works out of her bright yellow RV in Austin, Texas. Just a few years ago at the age of 58, Millie finally gained the courage to come out into the world as her true self.

POLTER Meaning of Daisey, The Max’ed Deeq • United Kingdom • 5 min.

The Meaning of Daisey is a LGBTQ+ romantic comedy. It follows Daisey and Matty who work in a florist, Daisey’s regular day at work takes an unexpected turn when she is swept off her feet by Owens.

Álvaro Vicario • Spain • 11 min. José faces a paranormal event that breaks into his home. As he fights for his life against the supernatural powers, Jose will have to discover the secret behind the phenomena if he wishes to regain control of his home.

March 24-28, 2021

Sarah Wisner, Sean Temple • GA, USA • 5 min. Stopping at a sketchy motel for some private intimacy, Gwen and Jade get the sense that someone’s watching them.

Remember That? Aella Jordan-Edge • United Kingdom • 11 min. A group of friends show concern when another friend goes AWOL after some bizarre text messages. Through a string of video calls, a friendship that had waned begins to show the embers of something more meaningful.

Vestirse John E. Kilberg • USA • 8 min.32 sec. Jacky is trying to get dressed to meet their mother one late afternoon.

S.A.M Eyre and Ely • United Kingdom • 16 min. The short film follows two teenage boys (played by Retford and Mencap ambassador George Webster). Both are named Sam, and they meet at the swings each week to escape their dysfunctional home lives, slowly falling in love.

Waffle Carlyn Hudson • CA, USA • 11 min. Kerry is at a sleepover with the socially awkward, mysteriously orphaned heiress Katie. Friendship--in a society that grows ever isolating--is explored as Kerry learns the hard way that Katie always gets what she wants.

Tell Me About Orange Robin Noonan-Price • USA • 6 min. 43 sec. When his best girl friend expresses her romantic feelings, a blind teenage boy struggles to express his. He realizes that sometimes love really is blind.

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

LGBTQIA+ Short Competition

Thorns

Mississippi Shorts Competition

Love, loss, and most of all, community. These short films depict ephemeral experiences, the moments between people that are fleeting and beautiful, but also historical journeys over time. As we all continue to live in a world isolated because of the pandemic, these pieces reflect what makes us all human: the stories we tell each other to make each other laugh, to incite action, and to connect on a deeper level. – Victoria Negri

10 Years Over the Horizon Elisabetta and Matteo Zengaro • USA • 10 min.

10 Years Over the Horizon is a journey of personal observation, with an eye on the future of the coast dealing with the fallout of the largest marine oil spill in history.

Dress to Impress Collin Surbeck • USA • 4 min. A boy has to figure out what to wear to go on his date.

Doll Lady, The Amile Wilson • USA • 12 min. 39 sec.

Genderf*ck Drag

A Mississippi artist finds national audience with a unique approach to dollmaking.

Christina Huff • USA • 5 min. Through a detailed visual demonstration, queer drag nun Mixed Greens explains why drag as an art form is important to them as a non-binary person living in Mississippi.

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March 24-28, 2021

Mori

Maggie Bushway • USA • 3 min. Nataly Najarro is one of thousands of COVID-19 survivors who have a condition now known as Long Covid.

Mending Mittie’s Tomb

Jonathan Breaux • USA • 13 min. • World Premiere Two men attempt to bury one’s mistake, ultimately falling into their own destiny.

Road to Step

Director and Editor • USA • 9 min. Mittie Manning died in 1875, aged 4. Her unique grave and story ensured she was not forgotten even as her grave crumbled and was rebuilt by a dedicated group of local volunteers.

Zaire Love • USA • 20 min.

Road to Step follows the step team of the Eta Beta chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. as they journey to defend their title of step show champions at the University of Mississippi. Engulfed in black southern culture, brotherhood, creativity, and determination audiences watch to see if these men will come home with a win.

SMOOT’S Silas Borelly, Greyson A. Welch • USA • 4 min. Three guys caught in a bar fight. Who’s telling the true story?

Mississippi Yearning Marcus Black • USA • 4 min. A lovesick writer falls in love with the wrong girl.

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Mississippi Shorts Competition

Long Haul, The

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Space We Make, The Tucker Robbins • USA • 13 min. This film explores the importance of LGBTQ+ safe spaces in Oxford/ Lafayette County, Mississippi, and why they exist.

TAHKSIC Anquanizia Hall • USA • 9 min. Two college students decide to film their closest friends for their final film project. Their friends are new entrepreneurs that have great intentions, but still have a lot of learning to do themselves.

We Travel Brian Foster and Ethan Payne • USA • 12 min. 57 sec.

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March 24-28, 2021

Canes Creek Michael Everett • CA, USA • 3 min. Canes Creek is about the artist Mitchell Tenpenny taking his friends to his favorite “secret” fishing creek. Telling them to keep it all a secret....

8 Minutes & 46 Seconds Aaron Strand, Cooper Bucha, Brady Dunn • USA • 3 min. • Regional Premiere A young black couple survives a night in Atlanta.

Confused Spencer Thomas • USA • 4 min. This is a music video for Spencer Thomas’ “Confused.” Filmed, animated, and edited by Drew McKercher.

All I Wanted Was You Randy Ferino • USA • 5 min. Ferino is a musician who is just getting back in town off tour with his band, headed home, excited to see his fiancé. As he talks to her on the phone and listens to the tone of her voice, he realizes that something is wrong, but he brushes it off. When his fiancé forgets to end their phone call before starting another, Ferino finds out that his fiancé may not love him as much as he loves her.

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Even The Rats Mike Hay • Scotland/UK • 6 min. • Regional Premiere

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A skull-like artefact is discovered in another time, in the outer reaches of space. Is it a weapon or is it something else…?

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Music Video Competition

Mississippi is the birthplace of American Music and on our hallowed grounds come the sounds of Blues, Jazz, and Rock ‘n’ Roll. In years past, the Oxford Film Festival only accepted Mississippi connected music videos. This year, we have added the additional categories, “Southern Music Videos” and “US/International Music Videos” to our already established “Mississippi Music Videos” category to celebrate even more music. – Newt Rayburn, Head Programmer Music Documentaries and Music Videos

Music Video Competition

Great Divide, The Official Music Video by The Shins Paul Trillo • CA, USA • 4 min. • Regional Premiere

The Great Divide takes us on an unwavering reverse-zoom journey through the big bang into the creation of life to a distant future all in one continuous camera move.

Memphis as F*ck by Tori WhoDat (feat. Lil Wyte, Frayser Boy & Al Kapone) Isaiah Conyers • TN, USA • 3 min. An upcoming “New Memphis” artist collaborates with a few of the originators of the city’s sound for a high energy performance visual that showcases how a melting pot of individuals come together to appreciate music and culture in true Memphis fashion.

Infected Alfonso Cronopio • USA • 4 min. A dystopian glimpse into the fall of contemporary western society.

Night Terrors Ellie Lee Stayner • AL, USA • 3 min. The official music video for Kudoz, “Night Terrors.”

Jane by Patrick Jennings Marsh Nabors • USA • 2 min. Animated music video for the song “Jane” by Patrick Jennings

Paw in the Honey Laura Jean Hocking • USA • 3 min. A burlesque troupe has had enough of the male gaze.

March 24-28, 2021

Thru My City by Tori WhoDat (feat. Miscellaneous) Isaiah Conyers • TN, USA • 4 min. Coming from different walks of life, two unique artists find common ground in the consequential emotions stemming from their struggles and express that mutual pain while moving through the city that molded them.

Top Knot Turn Up (Official Music Video) by Madame Gandhi Justine Raczkiewicz • CA, USA • 3 min. Madame Gandhi’s colorful and powerful video for “Top Knot Turn Up” is a visual embodiment of her electronic trap banger about putting your hair up in a bun, getting work done, and not being troubled by others when you’re focused.

Oxford's Favorite Twisted Cuisine

Bring the

Touch Tone Telephone Chris Spargo • United Kingdom • 4 min. A conspiracy theorist darts between reality and fantasy as he longs for recognition. Music video for “Touch-Tone Telephone” by Lemon Demon.

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Music Video Competition

Trouble with Angels, The Sam Chegini • United Kingdom • 6 min. • Regional Premiere The innate urge to reach out to a stranger, following a chance meeting in Monte Carlo. Combined with the monochrome memories of Wim Wenders’ Wings Of Desire, where a moment of crisis is redefined by something magical.

Vacant, The Greg Johnson • MS, USA • 4 min. Music video for “The Vacant” by American Automatic.

Wasteland Union Made Guillotine Crimson Spectre John Rash • USA • 2 min.

Lizbeth Calingasan • Australia • 12 min. In a dystopian world, an altruistic vagabond must prove his will to survive when he finds himself tested in a supernatural realm that lies between life and death, through the power of dance.

Crimson Spectre, although now defunct, were a staple in the North Carolina and South Eastern US punk scene in the early 2000’s. “Union Made Guillotine” resurrects these undead proletariat punks through archival live footage cut together with historical and public domain films in a poignant call for labor rights in the new south.

Hungry To Learn Film

When I’m Gone Kalob Adair • USA • 3 min. Based on one woman’s true life story of her fight with cancer.

Food insecurity is an issue throughout the globe, sometimes even in your own backyard. In Hungry to Learn, journalist Soledad O’Brian and Emmy-winning filmmaker Geeta Ghandbhir take a look at the growing issue on college campuses. As part of the screening, we will be collecting donations for Grove Grocery, the UM Food Pantry. Drop your donations at the door or learn how to give online.

March 24-28, 2021

A Cthulhu Story Zhidong Yi • GA, USA • 12 min. 56 sec. A young photographer buys an old camera from an antique shop and develops the film inside of it, the photo was taken 40 years ago and captured a horrific creature.

1-800-D-DIRECT Clare Macdonald • United Kingdom • 11 min. While working a mundane job selling Dishwashers in 1960’s Manhattan, Joyce and Frances hatch a secret business to give every woman the D they really want.

Beyond Saving Kryzz Gautier • CA, USA • 9 min. Salvation isn’t for everyone.

3:14PM I Fu Chen • 19 min. An 11 year-old boy Yi lives with his mother in a static world where time perpetually stops at 3:14 p.m. They move frequently to escape from the bad guys. Yi has a crush on a static girl in his temporary residence, and often visits her after his mother falls asleep. He wishes time starts moving again so the girl will play with him. As his mother finds out about his secret, they got into a big quarrel. All of a sudden, Dr. Cheng and his gang find them through the noise.

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BIRDIE Çagatay Ulusoy • Turkey • 20 min. • Regional Premiere The story of a lonely fisherman whose relationship with life, nature and human being is fair. For him, life is about living with a full belly until a goldfinch hits his window. Will his relationship with the goldfinch change the fate of the fisherman?

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Narrative Short Competition

Oxford Film Fest is excited (yet again!!) with this year’s submissions. We are fortunate to have returning OFF alum and new submitters. With all this talent, it’s made our jobs of programming difficult, but what an amazing problem to have. We enjoyed reviewing these films and hope you enjoy watching them. Thanks again for being part of the OFF Family! – Jennifer Murchison, Narrative Shorts Programmer

Narrative Short Competition

Brief Survey Dava Whisenant • NM, USA • 3 min. In this comedy short, written by Steve Young (Letterman, Simpsons) and directed by Dava Whisenant (Bathtubs Over Broadway), a good-hearted hiker finds himself overcome by nature’s majesty, only to be drawn into a cosmic nightmare.

Clave Alex Argiles • USA • 14 min. 40 sec. Though his family’s jazz club is the hub for Cuban culture in Ybor, Alfredo refuses to live in the past…until his father falls ill.

DAVID Zachary Woods • USA • 11 min. 40 sec. David needs help. So does David.

Brown With Blue Christian Nolan Jones • USA • 22 min. A handyman and his webcam vixen girlfriend struggle with an addiction to cope with their past mistakes.

Fenestra Jason Sheedy • GA, USA • 4 min. A heartbroken woman must contend with a cheating boyfriend - and an incoming alien invasion.

CHARON Yannick Karcher • France • 15 min. 56 sec. • Regional Premiere For fear of being killed by boredom, a man, freshly retired, gets involved in the crazy project of building a boat in the cellar of his suburban house.

FREEZE Maya Albanese • USA • 14 min. 5 sec. When Joy’s fairytale romance crashes and burns on the eve of her 35th birthday, the TICK-TOCK of her biological clock pushes her into a series of romantic misadventures and wild hallucinations.

March 24-28, 2021

Miss Fortunate

Tiffany Frances • CA, USA • 16 min.

Ella Jones • United Kingdom • 14 min. 53 sec.

A poetic drama about a Taiwanese American family who struggles to reunite across language and cultural barriers, told from a child’s perspective.

If luck is a lady, grief is a bitch. A young woman loses her mother and finds herself.

Narrative Short Competition

Hello From Taiwan

Imminent TOPHERSIMON • LA, USA • 8 min. A hardworking, everyday man is startled by an unknown, imminent threat that stands between him and his family.

Mother, The Hope Olaidé Wilson • NY, USA • 8 min. • Regional Premiere A young woman visiting a farmer’s market finds a lot more than she bargained for in a chance encounter with a local kombucha brewer.

Jack and Jo Don’t Want to Die Kantú Lentz • CA, USA • 20 min. Jack, a man disillusioned with life, works at a suspension facility where people choose to halt their lives. On the night of his own suspension, Jack’s life takes a turn when he meets Jo.

Mother Tongue Jessica Li • Australia • 12 min. 17-year-old Jane begins to embrace her background and rekindle her relationship with her mother when she becomes immersed in Chinese culture at her younger sister’s new language school.

LITTLE CON LILI Gabriela Garcia Medina • CA, USA • 9 min. Lili is a 10-year-old girl enjoying a leisurely afternoon listening to her favorite band. All’s well, until her mother comes home from work earlier than expected.

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Narrative Short Competition

Mountain Of Light Aashish Gadhvi • United Kingdom • 16 min. The British Crown Jewels contain an infamous diamond. Originating from India, the famed “Kohinoor,” or “Mountain Of Light,” is now the thing of legend. But a group of British Asian thieves wants it back.

Natives R Jason Rawlings • TN, USA • 12 min. Two years after Hurricane Katrina a claims adjuster returns home to The Delta to little fanfare.

Pharmacopeia Tania Taiwo • USA • 5 min. The story of a quirky, Black Pharmacist drowning in student loan debt, who rebels against the system and becomes a drug dealer.

Pieces of Me Julia Max • CA, USA • 14 min. 43 sec. A struggling young starlet uncovers a deadly secret which may be the key to the fame and fortune she so desperately craves.

Recess, The Navid Nikkhah Azad • Iran • 12 min.

One Sweet Night

Inspired by the tragic death of Sahar Khodayari, known as Iran’s “Blue Girl.”

Daniel Pfeffer • MI, USA • 19 min. 44 sec.

One Sweet Night tells the story of Ossian and Gladys Sweet, and how during the course of one night they changed Detroit and American history forever.

March 24-28, 2021

Narrative Short Competition

Standing Woman

Three Men Named Mantas

Tony Hipwell • United Kingdom • 15 min.

James Mackenzie • USA/Lithuania • 11 min.

In the near future an authoritarian government, rather than imprisoning criminals or deporting immigrants, turns them into trees as part of an insidious environmental campaign.

Standstill

A pregnant American tracks down the father of her child in the most foreign of places: Lithuania.

Untitled Post-Baby Project

Katia Shannon • Canada • 12 min. 35 sec. A fight to get through the gridlock becomes a fight for survival for Amanda as her body comes to a standstill.

Lorna Street Dopson • LA, USA • 15 min. A young woman struggles with postpartum depression while trying to adjust to motherhood.

Swim to Steven Amy French • CA, USA • 15 min. • Regional Premiere A depressed woman is pulled out of her funk when she takes her young son to his first swim class, where the handsome instructor, Steven, jogs a memory from her sexual adolescence that resurfaces over 20 years later, in her middle age.

Waves Agazi Desta • CA, USA • 11 min. • Regional Premiere A black, deaf teen wants “Waves” for prom night, but his haircut falls into the hands of an inattentive, rookie barber.

There Was Nobody Here We Knew

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Khaula Malik • VA, USA • 10 min. After spotting what they believe is a UFO outside their window, a middleaged Pakistani couple contemplates alien life and searches for answers during lockdown.

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Hashtag: #oxff #off21

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

PROJECTIONS

PROJECT(ion) at OFF is a curated installation of projected art works and looping experimental films exhibited outdoors as part of the festival. This small exhibition is an extension of the annual PROJECT(ion) event that transforms the architectural spaces of the Oxford square each fall as part of the Oxford Fringe Festival. All works exhibited as part of PROJECT(ion) at OFF have been selected by the curators Valerie Guinn Polgar and John Rash. This year, several projects have also been selected to be displayed as part of an indoor exhibition at the Powerhouse. – John Rash and Valerie Guinn Polgar

5000 Space Aliens Scott Bateman • NY, USA • 86 min. • World Premiere Meet 5000 space aliens in 5000 seconds in this animated experimental film packed with memorable visuals! Fest Forward Competition.

Chatbot Dialogs Marina Landia, Nick Landia, Holly Hudson, Natasha Stiven, Mike Freedman, Ben Dallimore. • United Kingdom • 5 min. • Regional Premiere

Chatbot Dialogs is a video based on real conversations with existing chatbots.

A Peculiar Week in My Dream Journal, May 1973 Rachel Nakawatase • CA, USA • 6 min. • Regional Premiere O sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams That bring to my remembrance from what state I fell.

Chattri (Umbrella) Sarvshrest Singh • USA/India • 1 min. • Regional Premiere An experimental reconstruction.

Chair, The Ronnie Cramer • USA • 7 min. A woman encounters a chair with strange properties, but can’t decide if the experience is exciting or annoying. Created old-school style, using only pen and paper, and made up of 2,700 individual drawings.

March 24-28, 2021

PROJECTIONS

Connexions Cendrine Robelin • France • 19 min.

Connexions is a film where everything that is incredibly big connects to the things thats are incredibly small, where materiality flows and energy circulates between animals, minerals and plants, driven by air, water, earth and fire.

Qausuittuq MIN BAE • Canada • 8 min. The industrialization of Qausuittuq disrupts the once peaceful and natural land that now contains abandoned machinery, melting polar ice caps floating on the crystal blue-violet sea, and white silent nights only are broken by the cries of local foxes.

Homage to Airway Sophia Ioannou Gjerding • Denmark • 12 min. 25 sec. • Regional Premiere

Six Positions on Uncertainty

Airway can be a reference to air travel and human respiration alike, but is also the name of a dog. Homage to Airway takes its starting point in a 1920s photograph depicting the dog Airway, who was part pet, part lab animal to two anaesthesiologists. Their tests on Airway led to the development of a device which serves to open the patient’s airways. The invention became known as Guedel’s Airway, named after both the doctor and dog involved.

Lionel Popkin • CA, USA • 6 min. 50 Sec. A meditation on isolation, this movement rumination posits six scenarios and gestures, resonating with metaphorical and associative readings, to find ways to bring solidity to the uncertainties surrounding us.

Whistling Bridge Sohee Kim • South Korea • 5 min.

Lullaby for a Pandemic Gwendolyn Audrey Foster • NE, USA • 1 min. • Regional Premiere Lullaby for a Pandemic is a cineaste’s pandemic lullaby for nodding off to dreamland. A Surrealist dream, filmed and edited under quarantine, made during the pandemic of Spring 2020.

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Whistling Bridge is an attempt to bring new life to motionless landscape pictures. The desperate desire aroused due to prolonged parting in the pandemic era ends up bursting through a peephole creating fragmented polyphonic space on the screen.

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Short Screenplay Competition

Life can be sad, funny, mundane, or transcendental, and film celebrates all those extremes. The authors of these screenplays explore the highs and lows of our shared experiences and help connect us in a disconnected time. – Meaghin Burke

Break-App, The Alison Zatta • CA, USA When a couple is woken up by an app counting down to their breakup, they have 13 minutes to figure out what’s wrong and save their relationship.

Cochebomba Kantu Lentz • CA, USA Rosa is a 13-year-old girl obsessed with aliens and the idea of traveling to a land far far away. She is forced to bond with her little sister Lu when a car bomb explodes on their street while their mother is out.

Lambing Katie McNeice • Ireland When his baby is born intersex a young dad must face the prejudice of his rural world, and the scars it has already left him.

My Friend Cedric Hill • USA Caeser is running for his life in Virginia in 1890. He runs through the woods, and just when he as outrun his pursuers, he missteps and tumbles down a steep hill and bumps his head and manages to get his ankle stuck in between two rocks.

Nascent State Beanie Barnes A six-year-old tries to ignore her growing awareness of her skin color in order to remain “normal,” which transforms a rather innocuous day into a painful rite of passage.

The audience determines which screenplay gets $1000. Vote online April 1-30! 48

@oxfordfilmfest Hashtag: #oxff #off21 March 24-28, 2021

Le Prince Oublié

EL TRISTE

Chloe Aguirre • USA • 17 min.

Manuel Del Valle • Mexico/USA • 14 min. • Regional Premiere A drama takes place on the backstage of a marionette show. El Triste, a poorly crafted marionette, is going through an existential crisis and decides to do all it takes to prove to himself and his fellow puppets that he is valuable and worthy of attention.

Through a series of time and fate, a young con artist is faced with the decision on whether or not to preserve the legacy of motion picture and its original inventor.

Foods For Coping

MILLENNIUM HOUR

Zoey Zhao • CA, USA • 18 min.

Adam Bohorquez • USA • 6 min.

After the shocking discovery of her teenage daughter’s pregnancy, a Chinese single mother must choose between ensuring her daughter’s future and respecting her agency in an act that may jeopardise their relationship forever.

A mysterious fella wanders a winter wasteland, in search of quarters.

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Misfits Ciani Rey Walker • CA, USA • 18 min. • Regional Premiere When they learn their friend has kidnapped a cop on the night of MLK Jr.’s assassination, two sisters and leaders of the Black Panther Party must set aside their differences to navigate one of the most turbulent nights in history.

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Student Short Competition

From gaining confidence to universal human experience of food, these student shorts illuminate now the early days of cinematography, racial strife of the 1960s and even imagine a time when American ran out of toilet paper (no, not 2020, but 1973). – Melanie Addington

Student Short Competition

Out of Stock

Toomsboro

Bryan Taira • CA, USA • 18 min.

Liam Tangum • USA • 14 min.

In 1973, the host of The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson, made a joke that toilet paper was going out of stock. By the next day, stores across the country were completely sold out.

Two brothers in a small Georgia town find a large sum of money in a crashed car and have different ideas about what to do with it.

Sackhead Strikes Out! Jon Sherin • NY, USA • 5 min. A depraved lemur causes trouble at a pizza and bowling joint and gets bowled into the bowels of a surreal hellworld. CW: Seizure inducing photo sensitivity.

Your Friend, Ranger Doug Claire Jantzen, Sara Rose Nell • CA, USA • 16 min. 47 sec. • Regional Premiere A 94-year-old Glacier National Park ranger confronts the decline of the park he calls home as he reflects on his life and the legacy he will leave behind.

Evolution of Film Representation On Display March 24-28 at the Tru Debuted at the National Association for Campus Activities National Conference 2019 (pictured right), this exhibit invites you to learn about the history and evolution of representation in American film, from the 1920s to the present day. This timeline exhibition showcases traditionally marginalized stories and characters decade-by-decade, providing critical insight into how certain identities have been depicted on the silver screen. Full Spectrum Features believes in the power of film and media to communicate consequential ideas about how we view ourselves and each other. This timeline will open up conversations about celebrated, as well as little known, films and the ways in which they may have shaped our perceptions of certain gender, racial, and sexual identities.

March 24-28, 2021

COMEDY! ACTION! DRAMA! ROMANCE!

CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS! SCHOOL BOARD AGENDA! HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL STATE CHAMPS!

L A C O L EWS... N ies r o t s the times. g n i l l te of our

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Awards

A New Award

After years of celebrating Ron Shapiro’s Hoka Theater with the naming of our annual awards, we thought long and hard in 2021 about who we are moving forward and realized it was time for a change. Introducing the new Ronzo’s, an award that celebrates the legacy of independent film in Oxford with a slight change from past. Now that we are 18, we feel all grown up so might as well change our look! Since its founding, Oxford Film Fest has used the award as a part of the festival to honor films in selected categories. The name for the original Hoka award originated with the Hoka Theater, founded by Ron Shapiro in Oxford in the 1970s, bringing the world of independent film to the small town of Oxford. Before losing Ron Shapiro in 2019, the festival announced that the Documentary Feature award will now be dubbed “The Ronzo” as his favorite subject of film. However with the reflection of 2020 behind us, we have now moved to all awards being named The Ronzo’s. Since the start of the Oxford Film Festival, the award has been awarded to the best of the festival and the tradition of the Hoka and Ron Shapiro will always live on through this award and festival. Prizes this year include: Narrative Feature: • $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision. • $500 cash prize sponsored by Steven and Gay Case. Documentary Feature: • $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision. • $500 cash prize • Documentary editing feedback from Joe Shapiro. Narrative Short: • $250 Cash prize sponsored by Steven and Gay Case. • Three days of audio post-production from Taproot Design in Oxford. Documentary Short: • $250 Cash prize sponsored by Steven and Gay Case. • Three days of audio post production from Taproot Audio Design in Oxford. Mississippi Short: • Cash prize sponsored by Beard & Riser. • One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society. Mississippi Feature: The Pat Rasberry Emerging Mississippi Filmmaker Award is named after our dear friend Pat Rasberry who ran the Tupelo Film Festival and was in charge of the Tupelo Film Commission. While she lost her battle with cancer in 2016, her legacy of supporting Mississippi filmmakers will continue through this award. • Cash Prize of $250 sponsored by Kat Phillips. • One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society. Music Video: • Cash prize of $100. • One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society.

LGBTQIA Short: • Cash Prize of $250 sponsored by Robbie Fisher Productions. LGBTIA Feature: • Cash Prize of $250. Best Music Documentary: • Cash Prize of $100. Fest Forward Animation & Experimental: • Cash Prize of $100 each. Student: • Cash Prize of $250 sponsored by Michael Johannson. In addition the Hoka awards, other special awards are given. • Angie Thomas Zeitgeist Award is given to a film artist from a diverse background each year who has exhibited a unique and clear voice through their work. • Reel South gives $500 and opportunity to screen on PBS networks for one short film from the south. • The Best Short Script winner will be awarded $1,000 and will be mentored by John Norris. A live reading of the play will also be held. • The Alice Guy-Blaché Filmmaker Award is awarded to a female director. It is named in honor of Alice Guy-Blaché (July 1, 1873 – March 24, 1968), who was the first female pioneer in early French cinema and is revered as the first female director and writer of narrative fiction films. It also includes a $1,000 cash prize by the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation and is selected by head programmers and staff and previous winners. • The Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award is given 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. It is selected by head programmers and staff. • The UM Department of Modern Languages sponsors $250 for Best Foreign Language Film.

March 24-28, 2021

R & B Feder Foundation

Interpreting Our History & Culture Fostering Civil Conversations Enriching Communities

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Jury

Narrative Feature/MS Feature BRIGHID WHEELER

Brighid Wheeler has been a willing slave to the film festival world for most of her adult life. Having run the gamut from volunteer to Head Lesbian In Charge (AKA Festival Coordinator), she currently serves as the Senior Programmer & Director of Operations for the Indie Memphis Film Festival, a role that embraces her love of the short films and her desire to create an amazing festival going experience for all attendees. This is her fourth year serving on the jury for Oxford, one of her favorite film festivals.

MILAN CHAKRABORTY

Milan Chakraborty is a 15-year veteran of the film industry after a career as an auditor/ Certified Public Accountant. He was recently an Executive Producer for the Sam Levinson directed film, Assassination Nation, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. He started his career at Warner Bros. (“WB”) and New Line Cinema (“NLC”), where he performed detailed reviews of 10 feature film productions with budgets ranging from $5 - $200 million. In 2008, Milan left the big studios to focus on independent films, and has since produced 13 features including the 2014 film Where Hope Grows, which won the Heartland Audience Award in 2014, 2013 Sundance competition film The Lifeguard starring Kristen Bell directed by Liz Garcia, and My Friend Dahmer directed by Marc Meyers, released in November 2017 and “certified fresh” by ROTTEN TOMATOES.

JENNIFER MERIN

Jennifer Merin is President of The Alliance of Women Film Journalists and is Editor-in-Chief of AWFJ.org, where she writes the Cinema Citizen blog. She has written for NY Press, About.com, Women’s eNews, USA Today, L.A. Times, Christian Science Monitor, US, Ms., Daily News, NY Post, SoHo News, and others. She is a Tisch SOA grad and has acted Off-Broadway and in regional theaters and Tokyo, where she was a member of the famed Tenjo Sajiki theater company and made films. She taught at University of Wisconsin and URI. She has reported for ABC, NBC, CBS Radio Networks, and Westwood One. Her syndicated culturally-oriented travel column originated at the Los Angeles Times in 1984.

Documentary and Music Documentary Features EDWARD DOUGLAS

Edward Douglas is the Associate Editor at Below the Line (BTLNews.com), the site dedicated to the crew since 2002. Before that, he wrote reviews and features for a plethora of outlets, including The NY Daily News and Film Journal after a 13-year stint at ComingSoon.net.

FARIDAH GBADOMOSI

Faridah is a pop culture obsessed lover of film working towards making the space more inclusive. In particular, her interests are in changing the space of tastemakers, both in what gets curated as well as who does the curating. She is currently the Director of Programming for Coven Film Festival, a festival that showcases the work of filmmakers from marginalized genders, the Programmer at Athena Film Festival, and the US Indies Programmer at Mill Valley Film Festival.

MARK RABINOWITZ

Create:Louisville founder Mark Rabinowitz has been a journalist, publicist, film festival staffer and producer for over 20 years. He is a co-founder of IndieWire.com and has written extensively on film and TV for CNN.com, Paste Magazine, Screen International, Variety, and many others. He served as a programmer and industry liaison at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was the head documentary programmer at the Oxford Film Festival from 2016-18. He serves on the Louisville Film Commission and has consulted for Metro Louisville on improving and expanding the city’s film and TV sector, including its production and exhibition infrastructure. Create:Louisville is a new nonprofit designed to help nurture a robust inclusive and sustainable moving image economy, culture and community in and around Metro Louisville, focusing on projects by and about women, people of color and economically disadvantaged members of the community.

Documentary and Narrative Shorts HAROULA ROSE

Haroula Rose is a filmmaker from Chicago who works in both fiction and non-fiction. Her feature debut as writer and director Once Upon A River was called “One of the Most Anticipated Films” by Time Magazine and Filmmaker, winning 19 awards at 40 festivals worldwide including Best Director at the Bend Film Festival, Red Nation, the Alice Guy Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award at Oxford, the Stubbornly Independent Award at Tallgrass, and only the second American film ever to win the Efebo d’Oro in Palermo, Italy. Her pilot Lost & Found, starring Melonie Diaz and Terence Nance, had its world premiere at Tribeca and was “not to be missed,” according to the New York Times. Her most recent short film As They Slept, starring Maya Hawke and Rachel Hilson, premiered on NOWNESS.

JAYE SARAH DAVIDSON

Jaye Sarah Davidson is thrilled to be joining the jury for the Oxford Film Festival. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in Film Production at the University of Mississippi. She has spent the last several years working in the film and commercial industry in Atlanta, Georgia. Jaye is also in post-production for a short film entitled “The Lady Edison,” which tells the story

March 24-28, 2021

JOHN BEIFUSS

John Beifuss has been a reporter in Memphis since 1981. He became a film critic for the daily newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, starting in 1996. His work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, TV Guide, USA Today, American Film, and – most important – Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. He contributed entries on horror and comedy to The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture (University of North Carolina Press). He is the author of the children’s book, Armadillo Ray (Chronicle Books).

LGBTQIA+ Shorts + Features BEARS REBECCA FONTÉ

Bears Rebecca Fonté is a transgender filmmaker, festival programmer, and journalist. She founded Other Worlds Film Festival after two years as the Director of Programming for Austin Film Festival. Her SciFi shorts Roadside Assistance, Prenatal, and The Secret Keeper have played 150+ festivals including Fantasia, SciFi London, Boston SciFi, FilmQuest, Austin Film Festival, and Dances With Films. Her feature thriller iCRIME, which she wrote and directed, was released on DVD, VOD and streaming by Breaking Glass/ Vicious Circle Films in 2011. Bears Rebecca also was one of the producers on the Sundance Jury-Award Winning short The Procedure. Her LGBTQIA Horror short Conversion Therapist made its world premiere at Inside Out in Toronto and US Premiere at aGLIFF. In 2021 she was appointed Artistic Director of aGLIFF, the oldest Queer festival in the southwest.

SAV RODGERS

Sav Rodgers is a filmmaker and the Founder of the Transgender Film Center. His work tends to center on the queer experience through a comedic or personal lens. He is the director of Chasing Chasing Amy, an upcoming feature documentary about the cultural impact of Chasing Amy (1997) on the greater LGBTQ+ community and the profound, lasting impression on his own life. Sav also delivered a TED Talk on the subject titled, “The rom-com that saved my life.” In 2019, he received the Filmmaker of the Year Award at the Austin Revolution Film Festival.

JAIME HARKER

Jaime Harker is professor of English and the director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at the University of Mississippi, where she teaches American literature, LGBTQ literature, and gender studies. She has published essays on Japanese translation, popular women writers of the interwar period, Oprah’s book club, William Faulkner, Cold War gay literature, and women’s liberation and gay liberation

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literature. She is the author of America the Middlebrow: Women’s Novels, Progressivism, and Middlebrow Authorship Between the Wars and Middlebrow Queer: Christopher Isherwood in America, and the co-editor of The Oprah Affect: Critical Essays on Oprah’s Book Club, 1960s Gay Pulp Fiction: The Misplaced Heritage, This Book Is an Action: Feminist Print Culture and Activist Aesthetics, and Faulkner and Print Culture. Her third monograph, The Lesbian South: Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon, was released in the fall of 2018 by the University of North Carolina Press.

Fest Forward and Music Video ALAN ARRIVEE

Alan Arrivée is a filmmaker, writer, and artist. He is Associate Professor of Film and head of the BFA in Film Production program at The University of Mississippi. His short film Silent Radio was awarded Best Foreign Film at The European Independent Film Festival 2007 in Paris, and his short The Original I.Q. Tester received the Founder’s Choice Award at the 2015 Queens World Film Festival. His short play The Original I.Q. Tester was a finalist for the 2007 Heideman Award and was published in The Tusculum Review. His memoir “The Appropriate Use of Hands” appeared in The Florida Review and was selected by editor and founder of The Best American Essays series Robert Atwan as one of the Notable Essays of 2012. Alan is also a founding member of the cinema and cinematic theatre group Cine Persona. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife, historian Frances Courtney Kneupper, and their two daughters.

LEAH SHORE

Leah developed a passion for fine art, music and a connection with people at a very young age. Their ability to use a wide array of mediums, incorporate style centric content, and mine human stories in a cinematic setting, while remaining accessible to a diverse audience, has made them a director to watch out for. Leah’s recognized for a confident, meticulous style, visually directed storytelling, mixture of humor, and emotionally driven content. They have been fortunate to have their films shown at film festivals, museums and galleries worldwide from Sundance, Sxsw to the Criterion and Vimeo, Vice, The Atlantic, Nowness, and more. When there’s spare time, they enjoy cooking elaborate meals, making ice cream, and attempting to play the Theremin (poorly).

DAN MOORE

Dan Moore is the Executive Director of the Indy Film Fest which just celebrated its 17th year, and was drawn to the fest by his love for film nearly a decade ago. He has served as executive director of the all-volunteer festival since 2016. By day, he’s a software engineer and lives with his two cats in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Student Film UT Arlington film/video class taught by Bart Weiss will review their peers.

Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Jury

of the inventor Margaret Knight. She is also an Executive Producer on the upcoming documentary, Snowland. Jaye is committed to telling stories about inspirational women overcoming adversity.

Panels & Parties

In-Person Panels All panels are presented free courtesy of OxFilm EDU.

Living History Panel

March 26 • 5:30 pm Oxford Conference Center Tent (Free with film ticket) The pandemic has caused a renaissance of archival filmmaking, a practice that brings the past into the present often to imagine the future. Join a selection of filmmakers as they explore the ways in which artifacts from the past are incorporated into the visual stories of today. https://2021oxff.eventive.org/schedule/600d7f48273224007516dc6f

Community Film Table Read March 27 • 4:30-5 pm Malco outdoor Theatre Free Event

Come meet Chasity Nicole, writer and director of Blind Date, the 2021 community film. Chasity Nicole is a native of Oxford, Mississippi. A graduate of Oxford High School, Chasity has been a part of the theater community from middle school all the way through high school, under the direction of John Davenport and the late Ava Bonds. She’s done numerous productions with Theater Oxford and she’s also ventured into the world of film, in which she starred in many independent films. She has taken the title of playwright, selling out two shows with her first stage play Her Mother’s Daughter. Her latest project is a suspense feature film that she wrote, and will be directing and starring called The Will, a thriller to be filmed March 2021.

A Play Is A Living Thing: Horton Foote

March 28 • 6-7 pm Malco Outdoor Theatre (Free with Film Ticket) Local legends Susan Mcphail and Johnny McPhail perform a scene followed by a screening of the documentary film Horton Foote: The Road Home, directed by Anne Rapp. Johnny has been involved with the Oxford Film Festival since the beginning and has been instrumental in promoting it through the years. He is an actor who is known for a variety of well-known works such as Ballast, True Detective, American Ultra, Free State of Jones, and Strange Weather. He was awarded a Hoka award several years ago for appearing in the most films in any film festival (7). He is a staunch supporter of the festival and fellow actors and is known for his encouragement and eagerness to help others. Susan has been involved with OFF since its beginning. She has worn many hats for the festival and is proud to now serve as an ambassador, screener, promoter, and number one fan! Susan has discovered a love of acting and has appeared in movies with Nick Nolte and Ben Mendelsohn, and has worked with directors Alison Eastwood and Sean Brosnan.

Parties: Passholders Only Game Night!

March 24 • 5-7 pm Oxford Conference Center Tent Bring your favorite board game to our VIP Meet and Greet where appetizers and cocktails will be provided and stay after to watch the sweetly dark comedy Murder, Bury, Win. Bonus: The real-life board game created by the filmmakers will be available to play! https://2021oxff.eventive.org/schedule/600cf1386e4407007e5dacc1

Spin Party

March 25 • 4:30-6 pm Oxford Conference Center Tent Long live the vinyl record! Get warmed up with a selection of Southern Music Videos followed by Vinyl Nation, then get into the groove with an after film dance party brought to you by The End of All Music.

Cosmic Party

March 26 • 7 pm to midnight Premier Lanes and Malco Outdoor Screen Join us with a variety of options indoors and outdoors. Premiere Lanes will be open for cosmic bowling with free food served outdoors at the fire pit while we host Zombie Karaoke at the Malco Outdoor theater. Projections will light up the alley between the two spaces making for a block party filled with aliens, zombies, and more. Blood, sweat, tears & laughs- the elements of all good Karaoke and all good Zom Coms! Zombie Costumes encouraged but not required. https://2021oxff.eventive.org/schedule/600d985e357fe300457d94db

Red Carpet Weed & Wine Party March 27 • 5-6:30 pm Malco Commons Outdoor theater

Join us on the red carpet before the premiere of Weed and Wine with samples of CBD, wine and appetizers. The film follows two captivating farming families as they grow [while sipping the wine of wine sponsor? and nibbling the treats of CBD sponsor?] in this nonfictino portrait of passion. Weed & Wine is preceded by the short film God’s Plant that follows a Kentucky cannabis grower forging his own path. Feature: Weed & Wine / Short: God’s Plant

Awards + Our 18th Birthday Party March 28 • 5-6:30 pm Malco Commons Outdoor Theater

Come celebrate Executive Director Melanie Addington’s birthday and Oxford Film Festival’s 18th while we give out deserving awards to filmmakers and learn more about the new Oxford Film Festival. https://2021oxff.eventive.org/schedule/600d91ac273224007516e50d

Learn more at 2021oxff.eventive.org

March 24-28, 2021

Conversation with Joe Atkins and Ace Atkins on the release of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel Hosted by Square Books March 18 • 6-7 pm

Enjoy hearing more about Joe Atkins new book all about the great actor Harry Dean Stanton. https://watch.eventive.org/2021oxff/play/6022f6103335d50098d9f8a7

Top 5 Table Read Our top five screenplays will be presented via a table read and available for audience vote April 1-30. The winner will be announced at the end of the virtual festival.

Visiting Documentarian Discussion: Alex Glustrom April 5, 2021, 6-7 pm The MFA Program in Documentary Expression welcomes filmmaker Alexander Glustrom as its Visiting Documentarian for Spring 2021. Glustrom has directed, shot, produced, and edited a wide variety of film projects ranging from commercial, music, and art videos that have reached hundreds of thousands online, to documentaries that have been featured in film festivals internationally. He has shot footage that has aired on HBO, CNN, Fusion, NYtimes.com, Great Big Story and Democracy Now. He has also created a number of fundraising videos that have raised thousands of dollars for New Orleans youth programs. Glustrom’s first feature film was the award-winning documentary, Big Charity which he directed, shot, produced, and edited.

Art of the Pitch

presented by Seed&Spark April 2 • 1-2:30 pm The Art of the Pitch will cover how to convey the specifics of your creative project in a dynamic, succinct way that can land you not only investors but also collaborators, audience members, and more. Skills learned in this workshop include how to prepare for a pitch meeting, how to adapt a pitch to a different audience, and how to follow up. https://watch.eventive.org/2021oxff/play/6009779d3f3eb020e9cb90d3

Activism On & Off Film April 3 • 1-2:30 pm

Can a film be a form of activism? Can a narrative film be a form of activism? Can a social issue documentary actually change the world? This panel talks with filmmakers about the ways in which filmmaking works to make a change in today’s society from behind the camera, to the creative expression, to the audience. https://watch.eventive.org/2021oxff/play/601b3097b4b9b80068d35eb8

My Pandemic Story: Filmmaking in the time of COVID

His second feature documentary and the one he will screen on Monday, April 5, Mossville has won more than fifteen awards at festivals around the world, is currently broadcasting nationally on PBS, and is scheduled to be shown to the United Nations in Geneva in Spring of 2021. Mossville, Louisiana, is a shadow of its former self – a community rich in natural resources and history, founded by formerly enslaved people, where neighbors lived in harmony, insulated from the horrors of Jim Crow. Today, however, Mossville no longer resembles the town it once was. Surrounded by 14 petrochemical plants, Mossville is the future site of apartheid-born South African-based chemical company Sasol’s newest plant – a $21.2 billion project and the largest in the western hemisphere. This event is co-sponsored by the Oxford Film Festival and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Join the Center’s talk with Alex Glustrom after watching Mossville. https://watch.eventive.org/2021oxff/play/600984db6a3f68212412a1f6/ 600987d7d858d70061023f5d

April 3 • 3-4:30 pm

Adaptation is key on any film set, even more so during a pandemic. Producers, directors, actors have all had to change their ways over the last year and the future of the industry remains unfocused. Listen & discuss your pandemic journey and your hopes for the future of the industry. https://watch.eventive.org/2021oxff/play/601b3111fd9fc600bb8626ed

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Films play in various blocks both virtually and in person. Use the online guide to find the best block for you: https://2021oxff.eventive.org/films

Panels & Parties

Virtual Panels + Parties

Index

FILM INDEX 1-800-D-DIRECT.......................................................... 41 3:14PM......................................................................... 41 8 Minutes & 46 Seconds .............................................. 37 10 Years Over the Horizon............................................. 34 5000 Space Aliens........................................................ 46 A Cthulhu Story............................................................. 41 A Head Shorter............................................................. 22 A Peculiar Week in My Dream Journal, May 1973 ........ 46 A STEP INTO MY WALLPAPER........................................ 26 All I Wanted Was You..................................................... 37 And Don’t Forget I Love You.......................................... 22 Ang Meron sa Wala (Beyond Nothing)............................ 22 Appetite........................................................................ 30 As You Can See............................................................. 22 Bastard’s Crossing........................................................ 20 Beakmann Incident, The............................................... 26 Beyond Saving.............................................................. 41 Birdie............................................................................ 41 Bleeding Audio.............................................................. 15 Break-App, The............................................................. 48 Brief Survey.................................................................. 42 Brown With Blue........................................................... 42 Canes Creek................................................................. 37 Castle on Red Mountain, The......................................... 15 Catfish Killer................................................................. 30 Chair, The .................................................................... 46 CHARON....................................................................... 42 Chatbot Dialogs............................................................ 46 Chattri (Umbrella).......................................................... 46 CHOR(E)S...................................................................... 26 Clave............................................................................ 42 Cochebomba................................................................ 48 Color Me Blue............................................................... 30 Confused by Spencer Thomas....................................... 37 Connexions .................................................................. 47 Crowded....................................................................... 26 Darling Pet Monkey....................................................... 23 DAVID........................................................................... 42 Desert Air..................................................................... 26 Dieorama...................................................................... 23 Dixie............................................................................. 23 Doll Lady, The............................................................... 34 Dramarama.................................................................. 20 Dress to Impress........................................................... 34 DRIFTING...................................................................... 30 Drought........................................................................ 20 El Triste......................................................................... 49 Even The Rats .............................................................. 37 Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit........................................................... 27 Fenestra....................................................................... 42 Foods For Coping.......................................................... 49 Forgotten Place, The .................................................... 30

FREEZE......................................................................... 42 婦人 (Fujin).................................................................. 23 Genderf*ck Drag........................................................... 34 Get The Hell Out............................................................ 20 Girl With The D Earring.................................................. 23 God’s Plant................................................................... 24 Good Night.................................................................... 31 Gossamer Folds............................................................ 21 GRAB MY HAND: A Letter to My Dad.............................. 24 Great Divide [Official Music Video by The Shins], The.... 38 Haiku............................................................................ 27 Hello From Taiwan........................................................ 43 Homage to Airway......................................................... 47 Hop Along Hang On....................................................... 27 Horton Foote: The Road To Home.................................. 12 Hungry to Learn............................................................ 15 Ije ............................................................................... 27 Imminent...................................................................... 43 In A Different Key.......................................................... 15 Infected........................................................................ 38 Jack and Jo Don’t Want to Die ..................................... 43 Jane by Patrick Jennings.............................................. 38 Just a Guy.................................................................... 31 Kapaemahu.................................................................. 31 Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story ....12 KIKO’S SAINTS.............................................................. 31 Kind Of......................................................................... 31 Labyrinth ..................................................................... 12 Lambing ...................................................................... 48 Le Prince Oublié........................................................... 49 Lessons From My Nightmares....................................... 27 Liberation Heroes: The Last Eyewitnesses .................... 12 Light............................................................................. 31 LITTLE CON LILI............................................................ 43 Long Haul, The ............................................................. 35 Look Away, Look Away.................................................. 16 “Love” ........................................................................ 32 Lullaby for a Pandemic................................................. 47 Luv U Cuz..................................................................... 27 Making Samantha......................................................... 32 Malinchista................................................................... 28 Mama Gloria................................................................. 16 Maroon Bomber, The..................................................... 24 Meaning of Daisey, The ................................................ 32 Memphis as F*ck by Tori WhoDat ................................. 38 Mending Mittie’s Tomb.................................................. 35 MILLENNIUM HOUR....................................................... 49 Misfits.......................................................................... 49 Miss Fortunate.............................................................. 43 Mississippi Yearning..................................................... 35 Modern Whore.............................................................. 24 Mori.............................................................................. 35 Mossville ..................................................................... 57

Mother, The................................................................... 43 Mother Tongue.............................................................. 43 Mountain Of Light......................................................... 44 Murder Bury Win........................................................... 21 My Friend..................................................................... 48 My Own ....................................................................... 32 Nascent State............................................................... 48 Natives......................................................................... 44 Night Terrors................................................................. 38 No Ordinary Man........................................................... 16 Nobody Gives a Fuck.................................................... 28 Nora Highland............................................................... 12 One Sweet Night........................................................... 44 Out of Stock.................................................................. 50 Paint Wizzard, The ........................................................ 32 Passing On, The ........................................................... 16 Paw in the Honey.......................................................... 38 Pharmacopeia............................................................... 44 Pieces of Me................................................................. 44 Pleasant Valley Drive In................................................. 28 Polter............................................................................ 32 Qausuittuq.................................................................... 47 Queens of Pain............................................................. 16 Rap Squad.................................................................... 16 Recess, The.................................................................. 44 Remember That? ......................................................... 33 Reunion........................................................................ 21 RKLSS.......................................................................... 28 Road to Step ................................................................ 35 S.A.M........................................................................... 33 Sackhead Strikes Out!.................................................. 50 Shaun Leonardo: The Freedom to Move........................ 24 Six Positions on Uncertainty.......................................... 47 SMOOT’S...................................................................... 35 Snow Shelter................................................................ 28 Snowy.......................................................................... 24 Space We Make, The.................................................... 36 Standing Woman........................................................... 45 Standstill...................................................................... 45 Still Processing............................................................. 25 Sublet........................................................................... 21 Surviving the Silence.................................................... 16 Swim to Steven............................................................ 45 Tahara.......................................................................... 13 TAHKSIC....................................................................... 36 Tell Me About Orange ................................................... 33 There Was Nobody Here We Knew................................ 45 They Found Me: Vengeance ......................................... 13 Thorns.......................................................................... 33 Three............................................................................ 28 Three Men Named Mantas............................................ 45 Thru My City by Tori WhoDat ........................................ 39 Toomsboro.................................................................... 50

March 24-28, 2021

SPECIAL SCREENINGS Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story ....12 Labyrinth ..................................................................... 12

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Liberation Heroes......................................................... 12 Nora Highland............................................................... 12 Tahara.......................................................................... 13 They Found Me: Vengeance ......................................... 13

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES Bleeding Audio.............................................................. 15 Castle on Red Mountain, The......................................... 15 Horton Foote: The Road To Home.................................. 12 Hungry to Learn............................................................ 15 In A Different Key.......................................................... 15 Look Away, Look Away.................................................. 16 Mama Gloria................................................................. 16 No Ordinary Man........................................................... 16 Passing On, The ........................................................... 16 Queens of Pain............................................................. 16 Rap Squad.................................................................... 16 Surviving the Silence.................................................... 16 Vinyl Nation.................................................................. 18 Weed & Wine................................................................ 18 Without Getting Killed or Caught................................... 18

NARRATIVE FEATURES Bastard’s Crossing........................................................ 20 Drought........................................................................ 20 Dramarama.................................................................. 20 Get The Hell Out............................................................ 20 Gossamer Folds............................................................ 21

Murder Bury Win........................................................... 21 Reunion........................................................................ 21 Sublet........................................................................... 21 Women is Losers.......................................................... 21 Documentary Shorts A Head Shorter............................................................. 22 Ang Meron Sa Wala...................................................... 22 And Don’t Forget I Love You.......................................... 22 As You Can See............................................................. 22 Darling Pet Monkey....................................................... 23 Dieorama...................................................................... 23 Dixie............................................................................. 23 Fujin............................................................................. 23 Girl With The D Earring.................................................. 23 God’s Plant................................................................... 24 Grab My Hand: A Letter to Dad...................................... 24 The Maroon Bomber..................................................... 24 Modern Whore.............................................................. 24 Shaun Leonardo: The Freedom to Move........................ 24 Snowy.......................................................................... 24 Still Processing............................................................. 25 Turf Nation.................................................................... 25 Unmarked..................................................................... 25 Vanishing Louisiana...................................................... 25 The Water Walker.......................................................... 25

Index

Top Knot Turn Up .......................................................... 39 Touch Tone Telephone................................................... 40 Trouble with Angels, The .............................................. 40 Turf Nation.................................................................... 25 Unmarked..................................................................... 25 Untitled Post-Baby Project............................................ 45 Uprooted - The Journey of Jazz Dance.......................... 18 Union Made Guillotine................................................... 40 Vacant, The .................................................................. 40 Vanishing Louisiana...................................................... 25 Vestirse........................................................................ 33 Vinyl Nation.................................................................. 18 Waffle........................................................................... 33 Wasteland..................................................................... 40 The Water Walker ......................................................... 25 Waves.......................................................................... 45 We Travel...................................................................... 36 Weed & Wine................................................................ 18 When I’m Gone ............................................................ 40 Whistling Bridge........................................................... 47 Winter, The .................................................................. 28 Without Getting Killed or Caught................................... 18 Women Is Losers.......................................................... 21 Your Friend, Ranger Doug............................................. 50

Index

FEST FORWARD A Step Into My Wallpaper.............................................. 26 The Beakmann Incident................................................ 26 Chor(e)s........................................................................ 26 Crowded....................................................................... 26 Desert Air..................................................................... 26 Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit........................................................... 27 Haiku............................................................................ 27 Hop Along Hang On....................................................... 27 Ije ............................................................................... 27 Lessons From My Nightmares....................................... 27 Luv U Cuz..................................................................... 27 Malinchista................................................................... 28 Nobody Gives a F*ck..................................................... 28 Pleasant Valley Drive In................................................. 28 RKLSS.......................................................................... 28 Snow Shelter................................................................ 28 Three............................................................................ 28 The Winter.................................................................... 29

LGBTQIA+ SHORT FILMS Appetite........................................................................ 30 Catfish Killer................................................................. 30 Color Me Blue............................................................... 30 Drifting......................................................................... 30 The Forgotten Place...................................................... 30 Good Night.................................................................... 31 Just A Guy.................................................................... 31 Kapaemahu.................................................................. 31 Kiko’s Saints................................................................. 31 Kind Of......................................................................... 31 Light............................................................................. 31 “Love”.......................................................................... 32 Making Samantha......................................................... 32 The Meaning of Daisey................................................. 32 My Own........................................................................ 32 The Paint Wizzard......................................................... 32 Polter............................................................................ 32 Remember That?.......................................................... 33 S.A.M............................................................................ 33 Tell Me About Orange.................................................... 33 Thorns.......................................................................... 33 Vestirse........................................................................ 33 Waffle........................................................................... 33

MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS 10 Years Over the Horizon............................................. 34 The Doll Lady................................................................ 34 Dress to Impress........................................................... 34 Genderf*ck Drag........................................................... 34 The Long Haul.............................................................. 35 Mending Mittie’s Tomb.................................................. 35 Mississippi Yearning..................................................... 35

Mori.............................................................................. 35 Road To Step................................................................ 35 Smoot’s........................................................................ 35 The Space We Make..................................................... 36 Tahksic......................................................................... 36 We Travel...................................................................... 36

MUSIC VIDEOS 8 Minutes & 46 Seconds............................................... 37 All I Wanted Was You..................................................... 37 Canes Creek................................................................. 37 Confused...................................................................... 37 Even The Rats............................................................... 37 The Great Divide........................................................... 38 Infected........................................................................ 38 Jane............................................................................. 38 Memphis as F*ck.......................................................... 38 Night Terrors................................................................. 38 Paw In The Honey......................................................... 38 Thru My City................................................................. 39 Top Knot Turn Up........................................................... 39 Touch Tone Telephone................................................... 40 The Trouble With Angels................................................ 40 Union Made Guillotine................................................... 40 The Vacant.................................................................... 40 Wasteland..................................................................... 40 When I’m Gone............................................................. 40

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS 1-800-D-Direct............................................................. 41 3:14 PM........................................................................ 41 A Cthulhu Story............................................................. 41 Beyond Saving.............................................................. 41 Birdie............................................................................ 41 Brief Survey.................................................................. 42 Brown With Blue........................................................... 42 Charon.......................................................................... 42 Clave............................................................................ 42 David............................................................................ 42 Fenestra....................................................................... 42 Freeze.......................................................................... 42 Hello From Taiwan........................................................ 43 Imminent...................................................................... 43 Jack and Jo Don’t Want To Die...................................... 43 Little Con Lili................................................................. 43 Miss Fortunate.............................................................. 43

The Mother................................................................... 43 Mother Tongue.............................................................. 43 Mountain of Light.......................................................... 44 Natives......................................................................... 44 One Sweet Night........................................................... 44 Pharmacopeia............................................................... 44 Pieces of Me................................................................. 44 The Recess................................................................... 44 Standing Woman........................................................... 45 Standstill...................................................................... 45 Swim To Steven............................................................ 45 There Was Nobody Here We Knew................................ 45 Three Men Named Mantas............................................ 45 Untitled Post-Baby Project............................................ 45 Waves.......................................................................... 45

PROJECTIONS 5000 Space Aliens........................................................ 46 A Peculiar Week In My Dream Journal, May 1973......... 46 The Chair...................................................................... 46 Chatbot Dialogs............................................................ 46 Chattri (Umbrella).......................................................... 46 Connexions................................................................... 47 Homage to Airway......................................................... 47 Lullaby for a Pandemic................................................. 47 Quasuittaq.................................................................... 47 Six Positions on Uncertainty.......................................... 47 The Whistling Bridge..................................................... 47

SHORT SCREENPLAY CONTEST (PAGE 48) The Break-App Cochebomba Lambing My Friend Nascent State

STUDENT SHORT FILMS El Triste......................................................................... 49 Foods for Coping........................................................... 49 Le Prince Oublié........................................................... 49 MILLENNIUM HOUR....................................................... 49 Misfits.......................................................................... 49 Out of Stock.................................................................. 50 Sackhead Strikes Out................................................... 50 Toomsboro.................................................................... 50 Your Friend Ranger Doug.............................................. 50

@oxfordfilmfest Hashtag: #oxff #off21 March 24-28, 2021

The party isn't over! Join us year-round either virtually or at the drive-in for great movies! Members receive discounts! Learn more at www.oxfordﬁlmfest.com

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18th Annual Oxford Film Festival Program

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18th Annual Oxford Film Festival Program