{"id":126613,"date":"2023-02-22T13:34:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T19:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=126613"},"modified":"2023-03-02T12:00:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T18:00:31","slug":"oxford-film-festival-20th-anniversary-events-begin-wednesday-march-1-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/oxford-film-festival-20th-anniversary-events-begin-wednesday-march-1-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxford Film Festival: 20th Anniversary Events Will Take Place March 1\u20135, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2023 Oxford Film Festival<\/strong> (March 1\u20135, 2023) announced the lineup of official selections and events for the 20th Anniversary annual edition of the popular film festival. Lisa Cortes<\/strong>\u2019 documentary Little Richard: I am Everything<\/em><\/strong> is the opening night selection, and Michael Stevantoni <\/strong>and Strack Azar<\/strong>\u2019s The Banality <\/em><\/strong>is the Closing Night selection. Special screenings and presentations include a restored print of Colin Campbell\u2019s silent historical drama The Crisis <\/em><\/strong>(1916), and a presentation of Greg Brownderville and Bart Weiss\u2019s groundbreaking multi-media project Fire Bones<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Little Richard: I Am Everything<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Banality<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The dynamic schedule will showcase 143 films and media projects, including 32 features (15 narrative and 18 documentary), 93 short films (narrative, documentary, LGBTQIA+, ambition and experimental, student, and Mississippi-based productions), 18 music videos, and 1 multi-media project. 
 
Executive Director Matt Wymer<\/strong>, who will be overseeing his first Oxford Film Festival as Executive Director, said, \u201cThis is our 20th Anniversary edition, and we\u2019re celebrating the audiences that allowed the Oxford Film Festival to inspire and entertain our community for the past two decades. To show our appreciation, we are providing more free screenings, more panels, and bigger parties than ever before.\u201c 
 
On Thursday, March 2 at 8 pm, Lisa Cortes<\/strong>\u2019 Little Richard: I am Everything<\/em><\/strong> officially opens the Oxford Film Festival. The film comes to Oxford following its debut at Sundance<\/strong> last month. The entertaining (and how could it not be, considering its subject) documentary gives a startlingly frank look at the life and career of the rock n\u2019 roll icon who still influences music artists today as it shines a light on the Black, queer origins of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, and profiles the man behind the music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Stevantoni<\/strong> and Strack Azar\u2019<\/strong>s Mississippi-shot and -produced thriller The Banality<\/em><\/strong> takes the closing night slot at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 4. Adapted from their short film of the same title, the film follows the harrowing journey of a priest as he investigates the mysterious death of “Feral Boy,” a local legend. As he gets closer to the truth,  he finds parallels between this grisly incident and his own recurring nightmares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Crisis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fire Bones<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A special screening of Colin Campbell<\/strong>\u2019s silent classic The Crisis <\/em><\/strong>(1916), which is the earliest surviving film to have been shot in Mississippi, will mark the film\u2019s first onscreen presentation in 100 years in Northern Mississippi. The film\u2019s story centers on a love triangle during the Civil War between a woman and her suitors\u2014one commited to the North and the other to the South. When one of the suitors is captured and charged with spying, the other must decide whether or not to intercede in his rival’s behalf. The screening will have live accompaniment with a special new score created specifically for the event which will be part of the Mississippi Film Commission<\/strong>\u2019s 50th Anniversary celebration this year. Produced by William N. Selig<\/strong>, founder of the Selig Polyscope Company<\/strong>, the oldest film production company in the United States. Some of the Selig family members plan to be on hand for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noted for its embrace of VR and experimental films and programming during its history, the Oxford Film Festival will offer a special presentation led by Greg Brownderville<\/strong> and Bart Weiss<\/strong> as they introduce audiences to their one-of-a-kind multi-media creation, Fire Bones<\/em><\/strong>. A whimsical Southern Gothic shaggy dog story told in ten chapters via multiple mediums including podcasts, short films, music videos, poems, and still images, Fire Bones<\/em> follows a poet and filmmaker who meet one crazy character after another as they investigate the mystery of a missing pilot and Pentecostal preacher who vanished on a transatlantic flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another theme running throughout this year\u2019s edition of the film festival is the commitment to local filmmakers, films shot and produced locally, and films with strong Mississippi themes. On that front, two screenings will top that effort including Merrick McCool<\/strong>\u2019s Belief: The Season Ole Miss Baseball<\/em><\/strong> which traces the journey the Ole Miss baseball team’s recent last-to-first championship run. Michael Modak-Truran<\/strong>\u2019s Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead<\/em><\/strong> looks at the Nobel Prize-winning author who will be forever associated with Oxford and Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shudderbugs<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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iMordecai<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Youtopia<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additional highlights among the narrative features include Mike Cheslik<\/strong>\u2019s Hundreds of Beavers<\/em><\/strong>, an epic tale set in the 19th Century where a drunken applejack salesman must face off against hundreds of marauding beavers. Johanna Putnam<\/strong>\u2019s award-winning Shudderbugs <\/em><\/strong>stars Putnam as a young woman who returns to her childhood home when her mother suddenly passes. In place of familiar spaces and memories, Sam finds herself isolated with the mystery of her mom\u2019s death and a scavenger hunt her mom had prepared for her upcoming birthday. The film won the Indie Spirit Award and Rising Star Award at the Naples International Film Festival. Marvin Samel<\/strong>\u2019s iMordecai<\/em><\/strong> stars Sean Astin<\/strong> as an ambitious cigar maker trying to support his own family while still being there for his aging parents, played by Academy Award-nominee Judd Hirsch<\/strong> and the beloved film icon, Carol Kane<\/strong>. When Mordecai\u2019s ancient flip phone breaks, he starts to take lessons on his new iPhone, opening him up to all kinds of novel experiences and adventures, making him feel like a kid again. Scout Durwood<\/strong>\u2019s Youtopia <\/em><\/strong>focuses on a woman who inadvertently forms a hipster cult after going though a devastating breakup. When members start to disappear, she realizes that she may be the trigger the end of civilization as we know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Body Parts<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Finding Her Beat<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oklahoma Breakdown<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Show Business Ia My Life (But I Can’t Prove It)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Split at the Root<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Among the particularly strong documentary selections are Kristy Guevara-Flanagan<\/strong>\u2019s Body Parts<\/em><\/strong> which traces the evolution of “sex” on-screen from a woman\u2019s perspective, uncovering the uncomfortable realities behind some of the most iconic scenes in cinema history and celebrating the bold creators leading the way for change. Dawn Mikkelson<\/strong> and Keri Pickett<\/strong>\u2019s Finding Her Beat<\/em><\/strong> is a certified hit on the regional festival circuit. The film follows the efforts of two women to assemble the world\u2019s best female Taiko drummers in a bold effort to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been reserved only for men. As the clock ticks toward their first performance, it becomes clear that their story has become much larger than Taiko. Christopher Fitzpatrick<\/strong>\u2019s Oklahoma Breakdown<\/em><\/strong> has also won many fans across the country as well as awards leading to the film\u2019s screening at Oxford. The film profiles Mike Hosty, a one-man band freak of nature who also tells jokes and happens to be responsible for the song “Oklahoma Breakdown”, which became the #1 hit of 2007. G.B. Shannon<\/strong>\u2019s Show Business Is My Life (But I Can’t Prove It) A Film about Gary Mule Deer <\/em><\/strong>puts the focus on comedy in his film looking at the unlikely career of comedian Gary Mule Deer\u2019s career who started performing Johnny Cash covers at a South Dakota brothel to being a regular presence on The Tonight Show among over 350 televised performances in his career. Linda Goldstein Knowlton\u2019s Split At The Root <\/em><\/strong>looks at what transpired when a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under Zero Tolerance Policy. A Facebook post by a mom in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the US refused to stand by quietly, eventually reuniting  more than 130 families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlights among the creatively themed and musically infused parties and special events include a 20th Birthday Party<\/strong> with kids’ party games, balloon animals, and a birthday cake contest on Wednesday, March 1, which will also include a free screening of Bradford Thomason<\/strong> and Brett Whitcomb<\/strong>\u2019s festival hit, Butterfly in the Sky<\/em><\/strong>. Thursday, March 2 will have a Music Video Block Party<\/strong> and some of Oxford\u2019s best night spots will feature live music performances from bands whose music videos are screening at the film festival. Friday, March 3, the party’s theme is \u201cFaulking Around Friday,\u201d<\/strong> which will include books and whiskey at the historic Ceder Oaks<\/strong>. Saturday, March 4 will be highlighted by the BLOXbuster Video Party<\/strong>. The days of enjoying films on VHS will be celebrated along with Laser Tag<\/strong>, music, and more. 
 
The Oxford Film Festival will also offer free Science on Screen<\/strong> events which are an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre<\/strong>, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation<\/strong>, as well as free sensory screenings sponsored by the Mississippi Commission of Developmental Disability<\/strong>.
 
The Oxford Film Festival would not be possible without the generous support from the following grants: Mississippi Arts Commission<\/strong>, the National Endowment for the Arts<\/strong>, South Arts<\/strong>, Visit Mississippi<\/strong>, and Visit Oxford<\/strong>.
 
To buy passes or tickets or find more information, please go to: www.ox-film.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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