Oxford Film Festival

To educate and entertain....

2009-11-12T09:15:00.001-08:00

A video reminder of who we are, and what we do.

Oxford Film Festival Promotional from UM Media Documentary Projects on Vimeo.

The Oxford Film Festival is less than 90 days away. We are screening our entries, following up with potential sponsors, and applying for grants.

All donations to the Oxford Film Festival are tax deductible. Contact us today to learn more about our Sponsorship Packages, or check out our Sponsorship Page.

R.E.M.: This is not a show (ONE NIGHT ONLY @ The Lyric)

2009-10-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 30
8:pm
$5 at the door
60 min.
ONE TIME ONLY

The Oxford Film Festival is pleased to partner with The Lyric Oxford to bring the brand-new (dairy-fresh!) concert film, R.E.M.: THIS IS NOT A SHOW, for a one-time screening.

The film chronicles the band's “working rehearsals” at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 2007, where they played classics (These Days, Cuyahoga, So. Central Rain) and tested then-new material (from ACCELERATE) over five nights before sold-out crowds.

"R.E.M.'s music is ... the soundtrack to your life" -- actually, this is true, at least for me.

Hope you can join us....

OFF 2009 Alums have theatrical releases

2009-10-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

We always love to follow the progress of films and filmmakers from our fests and wanted to let you know about two OFF 09 films that are having theatrical releases currently.

"Trucker," starring Oxford's own Joey Lauren Adams, will open on Oct. 16 at the Laemmle in Los Angeles. Director James Mottern and star Michelle Monaghan will be there on Friday at the 7:20 screening for a Q&A. For more on the film and screenings, visit www.truckermovie.net

Also opening is a film from our summer series, "Adventures of Power," starring Ari Gold who sent us this e-mail with some updates on its theatrical run starting tonight:

NYC Sendoff Screenings tonight!
Those of you in New York, please send a crowd to "Adventures of Power" TONIGHT at the AMC Loews Village 7 on 3rd Ave. and 11th St.. We are finishing our one-week run there and moving to California tomorrow, so let's go out with a bang as we head into the wilds of America, with the movie Time Out NY praised for its fearlessness!

LA Opening tomorrow!
We begin our week in LA tomorrow, Friday at the Laeemle. I will be doing Q/As at all the weekend screenings, along with some cast members.

Charity Party Hotness, & Metallica and more in our online auction!
Our parties in NY (with the Prigs, World War, DJ Jonathan Taubin, and The Honey Brothers) and LA (with Ozomatli, Soko, the Ethan Gold Amoeba Records Employee Last-Minute Soundtrack Band, the Good Listeners, and DJ Mearii), have raised thousands of dollars to support music education for kids. The parties were also awesome. In LA, torrential rains, torrential love. Tomorrow, as our film opens in L.A., we're launching our online auction, with drums signed by Metallica, Rush, Judas Priest, Broken Social Scene, Brian Viglioni, artwork by Shepard Fairey, and more.

Next week, Austin and Salt Lake City! For more information on screenings and the online auction, visit www.adventuresofpower.com

See our photos from the Intruder in the Dust anniversary!

2009-10-07T13:01:00.001-07:00

Vintage cloth banner from original 1949 premiere at the Lyric Theater courtesy of Jo Ann Vick

Thanks to our photographers Brooke White and Katherine Rhodes Fields for taking such beautiful (and flattering!) photographs during our anniversary screening of Intruder in the Dust, which also served as our fall fundraiser.

Please refer to our Gallery Page for a slideshow (remember to click "start"!)....

These photos have also been posted to our Facebook page.

In praise of: The Center for Media and Documentary Projects

2009-10-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Matthew, Micah and Karen from MDP hard at work.

Inadvertently left off of our extensive thank-you letter following Friday's fundraiser, as published in Monday's Oxford Eagle, was the Center for Media and Documentary Projects at the University of Mississippi. This was a colossal failure to recognize on our part, so we want to show them some love.

Without MDP, we would not have the technical support necessary to put anything visual on the screen. Not only do they help us with the actual equipment, but they also put together the trailers and promos that we play before films. And as the home base for both our co-director Micah Ginn and filmmakers Joe York and Matthew Graves, they make it look so easy that we often forget how much work they actually do. Reigning them in is Andy Harper, who is always the voice of calm and reason during our stressful storms.

They are a big piece of the Festival's puzzle, and without them we would not be where we are today. We could not do this without them.

Intruder in the Dust: 60th Anniversary

2009-10-06T06:37:00.000-07:00

Photo by Bruce Newman for the Oxford Eagle

Thanks to all who attended and/or supported our 60th anniversary screening of Intruder in the Dust. We are anxiously awaiting the photos from our intrepid photographers, and hope to post them by/before the end of the week.

Highlights included: hearing stories from Lee Caplin (agent of the Faulkner literary estate), watching Claude Jarman, Jr. meet and greet those who had met him 60 years ago, laughing with the crowd about x-ray glasses during Joe York's documentary, When We Were Extras, and again during the Q&A, and eating mini salmon cakes and other delights from City Grocery.

This was our big fall fundraiser, and attendance was estimated to be between 350 and 400 people. We won't know the final numbers until we clear our expenses, but in the most general of terms, it was a successful evening on all levels. We still need your help, however -- we have a long way to go to make our budget -- but this is a great start.

Missed the Deadline? Extended Deadline still available on Withoutabox

2009-09-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

There's still time to send in your entry for the 2010 Oxford Film Festival.

An extended deadline is available until OCTOBER 1 for those who submit via Withoutabox.com.

Click here to link to our WAB profile.

Q&A with filmmaker Tate Taylor

2009-09-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

As part of our monthly catch up series with past Oxford Film Festival filmmakers, we introduce Tate Taylor (the guy on the right with actress Missi Pyle). One of our favorite filmmakers, Tate graduated from Ole Miss and is originally from Mississippi. He has since moved on and is a filmmaker in Los Angeles. You may recognize him from his stage and TV role in Sordid Series, but he first caught our eye with his short film "Chicken Party" and since has impressed us with "Pretty Ugly People" which opens in theaters on Sept. 18. See below for what Tate has been up to in his own words:

Q: Tell us about the films you screened at Oxford Film Festival and at the summer series?

A: We screened, Pretty Ugly People at the Summer series. We played to a packed crowd and the response was great.

Q: What has happened with the film since then?

A: Since then, we have won two additional festivals and got domestic distribution with Osiris Entertainment. The film will be available on DVD this coming January. A small theatrical release happens on Sept 18th.

Q: Why did you decide to submit to the Oxford Film Festival?

A: Well, I went to Ole Miss and felt that the southern slant to my film making would be well received in Oxford. I was right.

Q: Any favorite memories of your time at the festival?

A: Getting bombed with Melanie (film fest media coordinator) is one great memory. My family drove up from all over the state and we had a reunion of sorts before and after the screening. That was fun.

Q: Tell us more about Pretty Ugly People and how people can see it.

A: First, they should check out our web site. www.prettyuglypeople.com. We have lots of fun extras on the site. Actor interviews, trailer, and a naughty spoof music video.

Q: What influenced you to become a filmmaker Tate?

A: I came to L.A. to act. I eventually found myself attending classes at the GROUNDLINGS improv theater. During the third year, students are asked to start writing characters for themselves and to write scenes/skits to put up before a judging panel. I keep finding myself more interested in the other characters in my skits. I would act in them but in a very limited way. I was having more creative fun inventing the world within my skits. Loved creating other characters and casting them with my classmates. I enjoyed forming and manipulating these performances (directing) I eventually realized that film making was the best way for me to honor my true talents and desires... To write and then execute a made up world. I still act but much prefer Film making. It is the ultimate in creativity and control.

Q: What's next for you both?

A: I have just finished writing a Romantic Comedy set in India with my friend Charlie Stratton. Brunson (Green, Taylor's producer) and I just returned from India on a location scout. The project is call "My Name is Sara" We hope to film this January. After that I'm very excited to bring the Times Best selling Novel, "The Help." by Mississippi Author, Kathryn Stockett. It is a tale of triumph set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Everyone should go read the novel. I have the film rights and have just completed the screenplay. We hope to film in Mississippi, fall 2010.

Tickets Now On-Sale: Faulkner Anniversary Screening

2009-08-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Tickets are now on sale through the Lyric's website for what will surely be an unforgettable evening of food, film, and good times.

Friday, October 2
60th Anniversary Screening of William Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust
The Lyric Oxford, 1006 Van Buren Avenue.

7:00-7:30 pm Reception for sponsors and ticket holders, catered by John Currence
7:30pm Premiere of Joe York's documentary about the making of Intruder in the Dust
8:00pm Watch the film, Intruder in the Dust, with Q&A following with Claude Jarman, Jr.
9:45pm Musical performances, TBD

For more information, check out the Film Festival's events page -- to purchase tickets, stop by the Lyric or purchase online.

Summer Series, Final Week: The Night of the Loup Garou

2009-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

Oh, Summer 2009...how quickly you've passed! It is hard to believe that this Monday (August 3rd) will be our final installment of our Summer Series at the Lyric. But what better way to end our series than with a film from our very own Micah Ginn?

The Night of the Loup Garou, which premiered at the Amp in June and enjoyed a multi-week local run, will screen with many of the local cast members in attendance. Q&A will follow.

Show starts at 7:00pm -- $5.00 at the door (except for cast members, who get in for free!).

Join us!

OFF Catches Up with Filmmakers - #1

2009-07-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

The Oxford Film Festival is knee-deep in new submissions for the 2010 festival (call for entries is still going on strong though!) and while we wade through possible new films to bring to our audience, we thought we would check in with past OFF filmmakers about once a month.

Up first is one of our favorite former southerners (now a Utah transplant), Jamie Christensen Johnston. Her film "Forgotten Coast" screened at the fifth film festival in 2006.

Q: Tell us about the film you screened at Oxford Film Festival?

A: The film that I screened was Forgotten Coast, which looked at the recovery efforts along the coast of Mississippi and Alabama in the aftermath of Katrina. This film was made because of the fact that so much attention was focused on New Orleans after the hurricane, but no one else was really talking about the place where the storm actually hit. I focused the film on one strong Southern woman, who had the only remaining house within 4 blocks of the beach in Long Beach, Mississippi. The stories that she and others in the film told about the devastation were amazing, but what was best about the film was the fact that everyone focused on the prospect of moving forward instead of looking back. I mean, what else can you do when the K-Mart Coke Machine ends up in the middle of your bedroom!

Q: What has happened with the film since then?

A: I had some more screenings in Missouri, Mississippi and Alabama. I even had one in Fairhope, AL, where the news showed up because there were rumors that Brad Pitt was going to be there. There were a number of little girls hiding in the bushes in hopes of seeing him, but I never saw him there. Of course, there were a couple of people who left from an upstairs room before the end of the screening in a mysterious car, so you just never know! The film is also available for sale on Amazon.com and it is available for sale or rental through Amazon Video on Demand.

Q: Why did you decide to submit to the Oxford Film Festival?

A: I really wanted to focus on southern film festivals, since I felt that this would appeal to a Southern, and especially a Mississippi, audience. The Oxford Film Festival had a good reputation for showing quality work, and besides, who would ever turn down a trip to Oxford- it has to be the coolest small town in the US!

Q: Any favorite memories of your time at the festival?

A: Everyone in Oxford was so great. I enjoyed going to the various parties that people around town had for the filmmakers. It was so sweet of them to open their houses to us. I also really enjoyed the brunch that City Grocery fixed for us. Of course my favorite part was seeing the audience reaction to my film at the film festival. It is a great feeling when your film reaches people's emotions.

Q: Tell us about the new project "Bay Stimulus Package".

A: "Bay Stimulus Package" looks at what happens down the line when we try to help others. In May of this year, a church in south Alabama split $50,000 among those who attended church over one weekend. Each person was told to do something good with the money they received, but they were not allowed to use it for themselves or give it back to the church. They were supposed to really think about how to best put this money to use in order to do the greatest good with it. This film follows where that money went, and it looks at all of the consequences when we try to help others.

Q: How did you find out about the story?

A: This story was written about in many newspapers and internet sites when it first occurred, but I actually found it through Facebook. I had recently re-connected with an old high school friend who happens to go this church, and I read the story through a link that she posted about it. As soon as I read it, I knew that this would be something that would really appeal to people, especially considering the hardships that many people are facing now. We constantly hear so much "doom and gloom" that it is nice to hear about hope at times, even if it doesn't always work out like we want it too.

Q: You live in Utah now but seem fairly connected to your southern roots. What draws you to tell
these southern stories?

A: I love living in Utah because of the mountains and the tranquility, but I am still a Southern woman. I think that the South has the richest stories, and I believe that Southerners tell these stories best. My family still lives in Alabama, and I return to that area at least a few times a year; however, I think that living in Utah gives me a unique perspective of seeing the South as both an outsider and an insider.

Q: What influenced you to become a filmmaker?

A: I have always wanted to be a filmmaker, but it took me years before I was able to make my own films. My family was my greatest influence because they always told me to stop talking about it and just do it! They have been my greatest source of support, and now my oldest son has aspirations to be a director. As far as other sources of inspiration, there is a female author from Alabama who wrote a book in the 1930s that caused quite a stir. She is not well known today, but my passion for the last decade has been to make a dramatic film about this book. I will let you know how it goes.

Southern Studies Graduates' Films to be Screened at the Lyric Theatre

2009-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Fried chicken, authors and musicians come together on-screen during the Oxford Film Festival's Summer Film Series.
As part of the festival, on July 27, "Saving Willie Mae's Scotch House" and a documentary about the Thacker Mountain Radio Show both will be shown at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Oxford. Admission is $5.
Both films have been produced by graduates of the University of Mississippi's Southern studies program, sheltered in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
"Saving Willie Mae's Scotch House," produced and directed by Joe York, was completed in November 2008 after 18 months of filming and editing. It focuses on Willie Mae Seaton and the renovation of her New Orleans restaurant by a handful of volunteers after Hurricane Katrina. The film has received national attention via airings on public broadcasting around the country since December.
"In a way, this one restaurant, on this one corner, is a metaphor for the city as a whole. It's still there, they still serve good food, but it is different somehow," York said.
York and his documentary crew followed volunteers - many of whom had never even heard of the Scotch House before - as they worked to bring the restaurant back. It was a process that started as a moderate repair job but evolved to an extensive overhaul that took more than a year.
Among the many volunteers were Oxonians John Currence, a restaurateur and New Orleans native who recently won a James Beard Award; John T. Edge, director of the UM Southern Foodways Alliance and a recent inductee into the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America; and Mary Beth Lasseter, SFA associate director.
The Thacker Mountain Radio documentary was a master's thesis project for recent graduate Mary Warner, who won a Graduate Achievement Award from the UM Graduate School for her efforts.
Warner, who holds a bachelor's degree in art history from UM, worked as producer of Thacker Mountain Radio from 2007 to early 2009.
Started in 1997 as the brainchild of two Southern studies graduate students and Square Books owner Richard Howorth, the free weekly show won a 2005 Governor's Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. It is held in Oxford during fall and spring at Off Square Books and combines unscripted, unrehearsed live music with author readings.
Musical acts each week may be bluegrass, jazz, rock or folk and have included Peter Rowan, Elvis Costello, Gillian Welch, Victoria Williams and Olu Dara. Authors famous near and far such as poet laureate Billy Collins, Elmore Leonard, Roy Blount Jr., Kinky Friedman and Robert Olen Butler have offered spoken words from their books' pages.
As producer, Warner served as liaison between the front and the rear of the stage. She took over after Jamie Kornegay and Lyn Roberts had sustained the show for many years.
"You never know what you're going to get," said Warner, a Florida native who transferred to UM in 2001. "Thacker Mountain is a place you can experience live music and readings without distraction. It's all about what's happening on the stage. Curiosity is innate and that's what fuels the show - curiosity about seeing the person behind the work."
"Mary Warner is a good example of how students can study something they love," said Ted Ownby, director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. "She used her connections with Thacker Mountain Radio to get interviews from people that have been part of the show throughout its history, and she has put together the first history of the radio program."
Warner said she simply wanted to tell the story of how Thacker Mountain Radio came into existence, and she credits the Southern studies program for helping her follow through with her vision.
"It was really special, because I had a plan going into the program, and all of my professors helped me accomplish it. I gained a more thoughtful understanding of the South and where we are going, and I am proud to say I lived in Mississippi, because I miss it."
For more information on the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south/

By Rebecca Lauck Cleary, UM Staff

Summer Series, Week 6: Lightbulb

2009-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Join us at the Lyric on Monday, July 6 for the next installment in our summer series: LIGHTBULB. Show starts at 7:00pm -- $5 at the door.

LIGHTBULB is a story of hope and persistence in the face of hard times. Matt is a small-time inventor looking for his big break. He and his slick-talking salesman partner Sam keep plugging away after that one idea that will become a phenomenon and bring them riches. After years of failure, Matt's long-suffering wife Gina, who has always been supportive, is beginning to succumb to the reality of the growing debt and demanding that Matt look for steady employment. It doesn't help that Matt, with Sam's prodding, has a tendency to gamble away the money she has invested in the business. Will Matt be able to hold on for that burst of inspiration that makes his dreams come true and keep his wife by his side? Based on a true story (written by Mike Cram, based on his life); directed by Jeffrey Balsmeyer.

2009 Images

2009-07-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

The cast of Prom Night in Mississippi does a Q&A after the packed out (three theaters worth!) screenings at the 2009 OFF.

Although co-director (aka rock star) Michelle may not be willing to brag about herself on here, I am! Michelle worked all last weekend to resolve ongoing issues with our Web site in order to finally be able to post up our 2009 images. Thanks to her, from now on, images will go up much more often and in a much more timely fashion.

Co-director Molly Fergusson and filmmaker Craig Brewer at the awards ceremony.

Missing the film fest? Visit http://www.oxfordfilmfest.com/gallery.html and relive the moments. Remember when director and actor Giancarlo Esposito hung out at Donna Ruth Roberts house? Remember the great Q&A from Prom Night in Mississippi including Morgan Freeman and director Paul Saltzman? Remember some of the more zany late night antics? Remember Jason Ritter and James Rocchi breaking it down on the dance floor? Join us in remembering how great 2009 was by taking a trip down memory lane. And thank you, as always; it was because of all of you that participated that the film festival continues to be a success.

As our early bird deadline approaches (July 15!), we are gearing up for the 2010 film festival. Looking back fondly at 2009, we can't wait to see what happens next!

How not to enter a Film Festival

2009-06-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's submission season, and as our July 15th Early-Bird Deadline approaches, Austin's Decider publishes an interview with Kelly Williams, programming director for the Austin Film Festival.

Its title says it all: How not to enter the Austin Film Festival.

And while the AFF is a more seasoned festival with three times the entries we receive (as they are an Academy-qualifying festival, among other attributes), almost any Film Festival programmer I've ever met will tell you exactly the same advice.

Sample advice:
Tip #2: If you’re making a 10-minute short, don’t make your credit sequence five minutes.

Read more tips at the Decider's posting of the article. (Thanks, Kelly!)

Summer Series, Week 5: RIP, Remix Manifesto

2009-06-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Series at the Lyric continues with RIP: Remix Manifesto, a documentary we are pleased to present in partnership with B-Side.com.

Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. The film's central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. Is Girl Talk a paragon of people power or the Pied Piper of piracy? You decide. Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil's Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow are also along for the ride.

Is it art? Or is it copyright infringement? You decide...join us on Monday, June 29 at 7:00pm. $5 at the door.

Summer Series, Week 4: Splinterheads

2009-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Splinterheads Trailer from Atlantic Pictures on Vimeo.

Splinterheads comes to Oxford! After a premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March, Oxford is next on the film's brief list of pre-distribution screenings. Producer Darren Goldberg will be in attendance. Don't miss it!

Show starts at 7:00pm, $5.00 at the door. Bring your own snacks! The bar is open!

For Justin Frost, a typical day is rolling out of bed at one, practicing improvised karate, and mowing grass for his best friend's landscaping business. But when a traveling carnival lands in his small town, Justin falls for a sexy con-artist and wakes up to the life he has yet to begin living. Directed by Brant Sersen (Blackballed: the Bobby Dukes Story; Best Narrative Feature, OFF 2004), and featuring several familiar faces, including Lea Thompson and Frankie Faison.

Summer Series, Week 3: Motherland

2009-06-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

A return to documentaries for our next Movie Monday at the Lyric with Motherland.

Show starts at 7:00pm, $5.00 at the door. Bring your own snacks! The bar is open!

See this powerful film which debuted in March at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

Six diverse and remarkable women, each grieving the loss of a child, travel to rural South Africa to work as volunteers in an effort to find some positive meaning in the wake of their tragedies. The group, strangers to each other before the trip began but bound by the painful experience they share, contribute to and learn from a culture that deals with mourning in a way very different from what they're accustomed to in America. For 17 days on the other side of the world, these women cry and laugh, grieve and celebrate, and talk more openly than ever before about the kids they adored. And for the first time since their children's deaths, together in the Motherland, each woman finds hope and healing in the company of others who truly understand her experience. Directed by Jennifer Steinman.

Summer Series, Week 2: Adventures of Power

2009-06-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

Our Summer Series at the Lyric continues with Ari Gold's ADVENTURES OF POWER. Show starts at 7:00pm; tickets are $5.00 at the door.

A poor, misfit mineworker named Power sets out to change the world through his love of drums. The only problem is, he’s never learned to play – so has instead become an expert air-drummer, a skill which has yet to earn him the respect of his union-leader father or working-class town. Power soon discovers an underground network of people who play air drums competitively and his life changes forever. Directed by Ari Gold, who stars along with Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, and Adrian Grenier.

The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and screened at over 20 film festivals across North America, including some of our favorites: Indie Memphis, Sidewalk, Austin, and Toofy.

Unleash your inner (air) drummer, and join us at the Lyric!

SIDE NOTE: we will rescreen WE FUN for those who missed it on Monday night due to the baseball game. (Go Rebels!) Stay tuned for details....

Summer Series begins with WE FUN

2009-05-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Our expanded Summer Series -- this year at The Lyric Oxford -- kicks off on Monday, June 1 at 7:00pm with WE FUN, directed by Matthew Robison. We first met Matthew in 2008 when he brought the film Silver Jew, which he co-produced, to our 5th Annual Festival. We have been anxiously awaiting his new project, and here it is!

WE FUN is an insider's look at a small group of bands that have come to international prominence in the last year. Atlanta area bands like the Black Lips, Mastodon and Deerhunter that started playing at house parties and offbeat local venues are now playing festivals around the world. It is the story of the Peter Pan syndrome reaching critical mass and the creativity that follows. It is also a portrait of how a scene develops, in this case the Atlanta indie rock scene. It starts as simply with talented musicians who just want to play their music with no compromises, followed by venues that make themselves accessible to new and rising acts, and fans who take ownership and pride in helping to nurture a burgeoning community. Eventually, the rest of the world notices. There is fire, fireworks and still more fire, odd stories from the road, the how and why of performance, and all variety of what these artists call "fun."

Fittingly enough, the bar at the Lyric will be open during this film.

See the full series schedule here.

Admission = $5.00
Festival merchandise will also be on sale.

Get Your Own (Finally!): The Rough South of Larry Brown

2009-05-08T13:03:00.001-07:00

Gary Hawkins' film, The Rough South of Larry Brown -- which screened in the inaugural Oxford Film Festival in 2003, and again at the 2005 festival after Brown's untimely death -- is FINALLY AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE on DVD.

So please get your own copy....

Named one of the 13 Essential Southern Documentaries by Oxford American Magazine, The Rough South of Larry Brown weaves interviews of Brown and his wife, Mary Annie, with narrative adaptations of three of his short stories, “Boy & Dog,” “Wild Thing,” and “Samaritans,” brought vividly to the screen with performances by Will Patton (Remember the Titans), Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls), and Natalie Canerday (Sling Blade). The result is a unique and compelling examination of the life and works of the late Oxford, Mississippi, fireman-turned-writer.

Newly re-edited and re-mastered to encompass the aftermath of Brown’s death in 2004, and featuring an original score by Vic Chesnutt, The Rough South of Larry Brown is a rich exploration of the writer behind the words and the woman behind the writer.

Click here to go to the distributor's website.

Summer Series Schedule -- now posted!

2009-05-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Oxford Film Festival is working with the newly reopened Lyric Theater, to create a new summer film series. Films will screen on Mondays, one time only, as a way to bring independent films to the community outside of the festival experience.

The limited 2008 summer series showcased three well attended movies last May, June and July and showed that the local community is thirsty for good films year round.

Building upon last summer’s success, and in order to highlight films that may not be available on the festival circuit in time for next year’s festival the Oxford Film Festival is introducing the 10-week “Movie Mondays” beginning on June 1. The first film to appear is We Fun by Matthew Robison (producer, Silver Jew; OFF 2008).

The summer calendar is as follows:
June 1 = We Fun *
June 8 = Adventures of Power
June 15 = Motherland *
June 22 = Splinterheads
June 29 = R.I.P.: a Remix Manifesto *
July 6 = Lightbulb
July 13 = Mine *
July 20 = HottieBoombaLottie
July 27 = Documentary films by Joe York and Mary Warner, including Saving Willie Mae’s Scotch House and a NEW documentary about Thacker Mountain Radio *
August 3 = The Night of the Loup Garou

* = Documentary films

Tickets will be $5.00 at the door. Click here for film descriptions.

Call for Entries: 2010

2009-04-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

The 7th Annual Oxford Film Festival (February 4-7, 2010) is accepting entries in the following categories:

Animation
Documentary Feature
Documentary Short
Experimental
Narrative Feature
Narrative Short

Entries may be submitted online via withoutabox.com, or with a paper form (contact us).

Chasing Gus’ Ghost documentary screening in Oxford, Miss.

2009-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

CHASING GUS' GHOST, a film reflecting the life of Clarksdale, Miss. native, Gus Cannon and the influences of jug music will be showing at The Powerhouse in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, Apr. 14 at 7 pm.

Gus Cannon of Clarksdale, Miss. is recognized as one of the most renowned jug band musicians. Cannon moved to Memphis, Tenn. and began his career that span from playing the juke joints of Beale Street during the 1920’s to recording for Stax in the 1960’s. The strength of jug music was found in his hit song “Walk Right In” which has been covered by several famous artists from the The Rooftop Singers to Janis Joplin and was even included in the movie Forrest Gump.

Filmmaker Todd K. Wait has made a movie tracing the roots of jug band music and how it evolved into folk and rock music. The film include interviews and live performances by John Sebastian from the Lovin’ Spoonful, Maria Muldaur, Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead, and Charlie Musselwhite.

A free screening is being presented by Living Blues Magazine, The Oxford Film Festival and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council at The Powerhouse on Tuesday, Apr. 14 2009 at 7 p.m.

For more information on the Oxford Film Festival, call (877) 560-FILM or email Melanie Addington at melanie [at] oxfordfilmfest.com.

The Cake Eaters: Pre-Order Now!

2009-03-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

As seen in the 5th Oxford Film Festival (2008) -- soon to be available on DVD!

Before she was in TWILIGHT, Kristin Stewart was in another star-studded indie film called THE CAKE EATERS, directed by Mary Stuart Masterson.

Easy, the Kimbrough family patriarch, is grieving over the recent loss of his wife. His youngest son, Beagle, who was left to care for his ailing mother, falls in love with Georgia, a terminally ill, fifteen-year-old girl. His older brother, Guy, missing from the family for years while pursuing his rock star dream, returns home after missing the funeral. The Cake Eaters, the first feature from writer Jayce Bartok, is a sensitive and sweet story of losing and finding your family.

Click here to order your copy!