‘Embers’
The 2016 Oxford Film Festival has announced the official lineup, featuring 25 features and 119 shorts and music videos. Highlights include Amy Berg‘s Hollywood sexual abuse doc An Open Secret, Claire Carré‘s subdued science fiction film Embers, and John Wildman‘s Ladies of the House.
This year’s festival will be taking place February 17-21 in Oxford, Mississippi. Take a look below for the full lineup and click here to check out the official website.
Feature Films
A Poem is a Naked Person (2015)
Director: Les Blank
Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min
An ineffable mix of unbridled joy and vérité realism, A Poem Is a Naked Person presents the beloved singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell as filmed by documentarian Les Blank between 1972 and 1974. This singular film about an artist and his community never got an official theatrical release and has attained legendary status. Now, after more than forty years, it can finally be seen and heard in all its rough beauty.
An Open Secret (2015)
Director: Amy J. Berg
Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min
An Open Secret is an expose of the systemic and ongoing sexual abuse of minors in Hollywood and the investigation into the now infamous Digital Entertainment Network (DEN).
Archie’s Betty (2015)
Director: Gerald Peary
Country: USA, Running Time: 79 min
An independent documentary search for the real-life characters behind Archie comics.
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT (2015)
Director: Abigail Disney
Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min
What price conscience? Abigail Disney’s directorial debut, The Armor of Light, follows the journey of an Evangelical minister trying to find the courage to preach about the growing toll of gun violence in America.
Babysitter (2015)
Director: Morgan Krantz
Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min
A dysfunctional L.A. family hires a mysterious babysitter who changes their lives.
Children of the Arctic (2015)
Director: Nick Brandestini
Country: Switzerland, Running Time: 93 min
Children of the Arctic is a portrait of Native Alaskan teenagers coming of age at America’s northernmost edge. As their climate and culture undergo profound changes, they strive to be both modern American kids and the inheritors of an ancient whaling culture.
Dixie (2015)
Director: Ryan Kelley
Country: USA, Running Time: 93 min
The song “Dixie” has haunted the United States for over 150 years. Written in 1859 by a blackface minstrel, the song became the national anthem for the confederacy during the American Civil War. Modern musicians, both black and white, have reinterpreted the song and offered new insights into what it means to be an American, and what the future holds for America’s most dangerous song.
Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015)
Directors: Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, Jon Salmon
Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min
Behold comedy troupe 5-Second Films’ hysterical twist on 1980’s slasher flicks. In the wake of two back-to-back mass murders on Chico’s frat row, loner Brent Chirino must infiltrate the ranks of a popular fraternity to investigate his twin brother’s murder at the hands of the serial killer known as Motherface.
Embers (2015)
Director: Claire Carré
Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min
After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory. Five interwoven stories explore how we might learn, love and communicate in a future that has no past.
FORCED MOVE (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Tony Bloodworth
Country: USA, Running Time: 79 min
A man discovers a series of brutal murders while on his daily jog. Realizing his home is next in the path of the killers, he races against time to save his family.
Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (2015)
Director: Joanne Grant
Country: USA; Running Time: 63 min
Documentary reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, played in shaping the American civil rights movement. By looking at the 1960s from the perspective of Baker, the “godmother of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,” Fundi adds an essential understanding of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi (2015)
Director: Neal Broffman
Country: USA; Running Time: 75 min
A family’s search for their missing son and the hunt for suspects in a terror attack tragically converge in Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi, a film about truth and community in the age of social media.
Jonathan Demme Presents Made in Texas (2015)
Country: USA; Running Time: 103 min
The film presentation is a series of six restored short films from Austin, Texas made during the high energy, punk rock ‘70s and ‘80s. Demme originally curated this program in 1981 and the films have been restored and presented as they were from the original screening.
THE KEEPERS (2015)
Directors: Sara Kaye Larson, Joann Self Selvidge
Country: USA, Running Time: 70 min
The Keepers is a portrait of the personalities and work of zookeepers shot with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access at the Memphis Zoo. A bittersweet, nonjudgmental look at what it means to find a place for yourself, working a job that you love.
Ladies of the House (2015)
Director: John Wildman
Country: USA; Running Time: 93 min
Film follows the events surrounding a birthday outing with two brothers and a friend which turns into a horrific fight for survival after they become trapped in a house with a “family” of malevolent women who enjoy a pin-up lifestyle and a special diet.
LongLeaf: The Heart of Pine (2015) – World Premiere
Director: Rex Jones
Country: USA; Running Time: 54 min
A cultural and natural history of the South’s ancient primeval forest. Towering stands of old-growth longleaf pine (pinus palustris) once covered over 90 million acres while stretching from southern Virginia to eastern Texas. Today, the total acreage is about two million, with only about two thousand of that considered old growth.
THE MISSING GIRL (2015)
Director: A.D. Calvo
Country: USA, Running Time: 89 min
The Missing Girl tells the story of Mort, the lonely and disillusioned owner of a comic book shop, and Ellen, the emotionally disruptive, aspiring graphic novelist he’s hired. The story involves the search for a girl who isn’t missing and the discovery that it’s never too late for late bloomers.
Saved by Grace (2015)
Director: Johnny Remo
Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min
A retired police officer (Joey Lawrence), despondent over the loss of his family, contemplates a dramatic decision which will change his life forever, until he meets a mysterious woman who, through her personal stories, gives him a reason to re-examine what is most important to him.
Searching for Hell (2015)
Directors: Pawel Nazaruk, Tomasz Adamski, Darek Barecki, Yuki Nakamura, Gloria Kurnik, James Kenney
Country: USA, Running Time: 77 min
Hell exists. It’s just not what you think it is. The world’s first full-length documentary film in virtual reality cinema.
THE SINKING OF SOZOPOL (2015)
Director: Kostadin Bonev
Country: Bulgaria, Running Time: 100 min
An aging man goes back to Sozopol and brings along his memories and ten bottles of vodka. It is clear that when the vodka is over, something must happen. Something that will change his life forever. Because when hope is gone, a miracle is the last resort.
Slip, Tumble and Slide (2015)
Director: Max Myers
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 min
A family struggles to help the father (Scott Wilson) stop drinking and regain the close ties he once had to his sons and to his wife (Katherine Ross). With love, faith and music the come together as a family.
Spaghetti Man (2015) – World Premiere
Director: Mark Potts
Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min
Clark doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t care about the world. He barely cares about himself. But after an incident with an old bowl of spaghetti and a malfunctioning microwave, he becomes a superhero that can fight crime with the power of spaghetti. However, you have to pay him.
Texas Heart (2015)
Director: Mark David
Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min
Film tells the story of Peter Franklin, a crooked lawyer who’s caught up in a loveless existence, loses a critical case for the mob, and runs off to hide out in a backwoods Texas town. There he encounters a compelling story involving a mentally-challenged young man who is accused of killing a beautiful girl. Frank soon faces an agonizing choice: ignore the case in order to remain anonymous and far from the prying eyes of the mob or reach out and try to save the young man.
THE WEEK (2015)
Directors: John W. Mann, Jon Gunn
Country: USA, Running Time: 97 min
Dick Romans is a washed up TV host whose wife leaves him the day before their ten-year anniversary celebration. Alone with his thoughts, his dog, and a ton of booze, Dick decides to go through with the week-long party… by himself. The seven event-filled days become his reluctant vision quest, filled with odd characters, awkward romance, and some long-overdue self-examination.
WHAT LOLA WANTS (2015)
Director: Rupert Glasson
Country: USA, Running Time: 81 min
17-year old Lola Franklin runs away from home but allows the world to believe she has been kidnapped. Intent on making her way across country, she meets a boy her age in a New Mexico diner. They fall instantly in love. But when Marlo learns of the reward for Lola’s safe return, he must confront his own past and decide whether to take Lola back home to collect the reward or help her continue her mysterious journey.
Short Films and Music Videos
A King’s Betrayal (2015)
Director: David A Bornstein
Country: USA; Running Time: 8:27 min
The final 24 hours in the life of a Piñata, as told from the Piñata’s perspective.
A Place Within a Place (2015)
Director: Edward Ramsay-Morin
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:22 min
Starting as a study in form and variability, this film soon developed into a meditation on isolation, transformation, presence and absence. It is composed from photographs of 400 exit holes from cicada nymph tunnels.
Actor Seeks Role (2015)
Director: Michael Tyburski
Country: USA; Running Time: 19 min
An aspiring method actor (Alex Karpovsky) in New York City resorts to medical acting, a part-time gig performing the symptoms of various illnesses for student doctors.
Affections (2015)
Director: Bridey Elliott
Country: USA; Running Time: 16:08 min
A comedy about isolation and loneliness, Affections follows a young woman, adrift, seeking intimacy in the most unlikely places.
American Virgin (2015)
Director: Tamzin Merchant
Country: USA; Running Time: 16:44 min
Allie is desperate to attend Juilliard summer school but her family can’t afford it. With the help of her older cousin Ty, she decides to sell her most valuable asset…her virginity.
Anatomical Gifts (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Michaela O’Brien
Country: USA; Running Time: 5:58 min
An intensely patterned silent film spanning three generations of palpable minds. All medical imagining is sourced from the related grandmother, mother, and filmmaker.
Araignee (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Jeremy Jensen
Country: USA; Running Time: 1:22 min
Two talented spiders compete against each other. Who will be the best weaving master?
Atchafalaya (2015)
Director: Brian C Miller Richard
Country: USA; Running Time: 21 min
With his marriage on the rocks, Game Warden Henri Judice is forced to investigate a mysterious call-out deep in the Louisiana swamp before a devastating hurricane tears through the area.
THE BESPOKE TAILORING OF MISTER BELLAMY (2015)
Director: Alexander Jeffery
Country: USA, Running Time: 16:14 min
At the integration of the job market in 1964 Louisiana, a posting for a janitorial position at a local law firm and the discovery of an old sewing machine ignites a buried passion in old Mister Bellamy.
THE BLACK DEFINITION (2016)
Director: Michael Fant
Country: USA, Running Time: 11:03 min
Seven black male students discuss the racial climate in America today, including stereotypes, police brutality and progression.
Blazing Sun (2015)
Director: Fred Castadot
Country: Belgium; Running Time: 24 min
Under the leaden sky of a summer day, Eric goes to work to defend a great issue. But, blinded by stress, Eric is forgetting the most important thing…
BOOKER WRIGHT’S MASHUP (2016) – World Premiere
Director: George Gross
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:50 min
A musical video mashup of Booker Wright’s infamous 1966 monologue on NBC News’ TV documentary, Mississippi: A Self Portrait.
Bookin’ (2015)
Directors: John Kirkscey and Billie Worley
Country: USA, Running Time: 18:03 min
Two Memphis jookers and two ballet dancers fuse their distinct dance styles to a soundtrack that mixes hip-hop beats and cello at a famous Memphis juke joint. Shot in Memphis, Tennessee at the historic Earnestine & Hazel’s.
Borrowed Time (2015)
Director: Lou Hamou-Lhadj, Andrew Coats
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:45 min
A weathered Sheriff returns to the remains of an accident he has spent a lifetime trying to forget. With each step forward, the memories come flooding back. Faced with his mistake once again, he must find the strength to carry on.
Bottle of Sunshine (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Damein Wash
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:58 min
A boy, all clean and dressed up, is denied ice cream and forbidden to get dirty by his mother. She leaves him on the bench as she goes into a shop. Then, a little girl appears.
Bottomless (2015)
Director: Véronique Vanblaere
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:03 min
A Belgian woman seeks citizenship in the United States, and finds that her experiences are bottomless.
THE BRAVEST, THE BOLDEST (2015)
Director: Moon Molson
Country: USA, Running Time: 16:53 min
A young mother in a Harlem housing project realizes the arrival of two uniformed soldiers brings news she can’t bring herself to accept.
Broke Dick Dog (2016) – World Premiere
Director: G.B. Shannon
Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min
Three newly acquainted brothers confront their long absent and indifferent father.
THE BUTTON KING (2015)
Director: Ava Lowrey
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:04 min
Dalton Stevens is a folk artist from Bishopville, South Carolina. An insomniac, he stumbled on his art by accident – developing a hobby of covering things with buttons when unable to sleep late at night. Now in his late 80’s, Stevens has been creating folk art with buttons for over 20 years, becoming known as “The Button King.”
Call Me Cappy (2015)
Director: Maja Holzinger
Country: USA, Running Time: 17:34 min
Wally, a bowling alley manager in his 60s, leads a perfectly uneventful life. One day, he receives a piece junk of mail informing him that he has won a tropical cruise. Wally slowly becomes more and more intrigued by the idea of seeing the ocean for the first time.
Cannot Predict Now (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Kimberly Burleigh
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:38 min
Cannot Predict Now is a short experimental 3D computer animation. It features a spherical form that continuously evolves to perform its function as a predictor of the future.
THE CUT (2016) – North American Premiere
Director: Jeroen Pool
Countries: UK, Netherlands, Running Time: 5:22 min
The Italian hairdresser Rodrigo has outspoken views on hairdressing and beauty. For him outer beauty, the sculpture, is inextricably linked with inner beauty, the soul. Anyone can cut hair, but hairdressing is about truly understanding and connecting with the person whose hair you are cutting.
Cut/Chop/Cook (2015)
Director: Joe York
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:37 min
CUT/CHOP/COOK profiles Rodney Scott of Scott’s Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, South Carolina. Says Scott, “We only cook with wood and I’m so sure that we only cook with wood because we go out and chop it ourselves.” This film was produced by the University of Mississippi’s Media & Documentary Projects Center & the Southern Foodways Alliance, with funding from the Union Square Hospitality Group.
cyberGenesis (2015)
Director: André Silva
Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min
CYBERGENESIS is a fantastical, animated journey (segments of which have been creatively crowd-sourced) that imagines a future creation myth, crafted by cyber consciousness from bits and pieces of humanity’s online legacy.
Delta Flavor (2015)
Director: Alison Fast
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
Artisan ice cream maker Hugh Balthrop of Sweet Magnolia Ice Cream Co. invents small-batch recipes like Delta Pecan, Muscadine Gelato and Sweet Tea Sorbet, linking small farmers with major markets, and mentoring youth into first time apprenticeships.
Down Down Down (2016)
Director: Coop Cooper
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:25 min
A music video by Steve Kolbus and the Clarksdale Blues Revue. Shot on location, live at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
El Portal (2015)
Director: J. Robinson
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:52 min
EL PORTAL is an experimental documentary about the Cedar Motor Lodge in El Portal, California (population: 474). Combining vintage analog home videos with footage shot this summer, the film spans twenty-five years, weaving together the complicated and tragic story of the lodge with the filmmaker’s family history.
Fallen Star AJC & THE ENVELPE PUSHERS (2016)
Director: Clay Hardwick
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
FALLEN STAR is what happens when you make it to the top. This music video combines three original songs into a cinematic narrative, following AJC into a world of bitter famedom. Of course, making a deal at the crossroads has its costs.
The Faucet (2016) – U.S. Premiere
Directors: Danny Klimetz, Samip Raval
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:28 min
A gentleman just wants to wash his hands…
THE FAVOR (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Eileen Myers
Country: USA, Running Time: 10:36 min
The film explores what it means to be a daughter, a husband and ultimately a partner. Ellen and Ralph have differing views on how to handle Ellen’s dying mother’s imminent passing. Finding a weathered photograph of her mother in happier times, Ellen is convinced this youthful love is what her mother needs to make her death easier.
FIDDLER’S GREEN (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Thad Lee
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:55 min
A song about a mysterious afterworld for people who are too bad for Heaven and too good for Hell.
FINDING CLEVELAND (2016)
Director: Larissa Lam
Country: USA, Running Time 12:24 min
Finding Cleveland is a documentary short film that follows Charles Chiu and his family on an emotional journey as they take a trip to Cleveland, Mississippi to visit the grave site of Charles’ father, KC Lou.
Fitting the Description in North Portland (2015)
Director: Jarratt Taylor (OFF Alum: The New Debutantes, 2012)
Country: USA, Running Time: 25:44
Recently, the students of Roosevelt High School received a wake up call after a fellow student was tased by the police in the St. John’s neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The stories they had been hearing about police violence weren’t just news stories from another town about people they didn’t know. These events were now happening in their backyard.
Flash (2015)
Director: Alberto Ruiz Rojo
Country: Spain, Running Time: 7 min
When a man looks at the photo strip he just took of himself in a photo booth, he cannot believe what he sees
Freedom Fighters (2016)
Director: Wade Patterson
Country: USA, Running Time: 16:53 min
The newest recruit of a right-wing militia finds himself at odds with the charismatic leader when the group tries to take a government official hostage.
Fulfilament (2015)
Director: Rhiannon Evans
Country: UK, Running Time: 7:33 min
Travel around the brain with a little, lost thought and discover what it takes to make a great idea.
The Gift (2016)
Director: Gabriel Robertson
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:48 min
To celebrate his eleventh birthday, a young boy selects his gift – little knowing that his choice will change the world.
Golden Shot (2015)
Director: Gokalp Gonen
Country: Turkey, Running Time: 8:40 min
Rusty machines, living in their small houses, imagine that the sun will come and take them to the sky someday. A small light keeps them alive and dreaming. But one of the machines wants to see the sun itself and has a plan for that.
THE GUESTS (2015)
Director: Shane Danielsen
Country: Australia, Running Time: 10:31 min
Alone in a strange new city, awaiting her husband’s return, a new mother has some unexpected visitors.
The Happy Song (2016)
Director: Coop Cooper
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:25 min
A music video by Blackwater Trio. Three lonely people having a bad day receive a mysterious invitation to an event which will change their lives.
Helen Turner, Pitmaster (2015)
Director: Joe York
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:01 min
Some folks think barbecue is a man’s world. But in Brownsville, Tennessee, it’s synonymous with a woman named Helen Turner. Mrs. Turner was the winner of the SFA’s 2012 Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award.
High Water Mark (2015)
Director: Tom Varisco
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:12
This short film contrasts sound recordings of the media’s dire Hurricane Katrina coverage with stunning views of a rebuilt New Orleans 10 years after.
Hit & Run (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Jordan Liebowitz
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:40 min
After a car accident disrupts their plans, two low level drug dealers scramble to dispose of the evidence only to discover their unwitting victim may be far more dangerous than they first imagined.
Honey and the Hive (2015)
Director: Austin Alward
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min
An adopted child uses her imagination to carve out a place for herself in the family where she feels she doesn’t belong.
THE HOUSE IS INNOCENT (2015)
Director: Nicholas Coles (OFF Alum: Town Planner 2005)
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:15 min
Meet Tom and Barbara, the proud new owners of a serial killer’s house — the most infamous residence in Sacramento, California. The middle-age couple soon realizes it’s going to take more than a fresh coat of paint to whitewash their home’s macabre history.
Hum (2015)
Director: Tom Teller
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:30 min
A solitary dish-washing robot living out his life in the back room of a restaurant is enlightened to the world that exists beyond his four walls. With the help of a small friend he breaks free of confinement to pursue his dream of exploration.
Hut Hut (2015)
Directors: Michael Allmon and Courtney Sandifer
Country: USA, Running Time: ???
Mike, a pre-teen scruffy loner, meets his neighbor, Bubba, who interrupts his solitude with unexpected companionship and life lessons.
Intersection (2015)
Director: Brendan Beachman
Country: USA, Running Time: 19:40 min
Two road construction workers flag for non existent vehicles on a remote intersection. The monotony of their day is smashed by the violent arrival of an object from the sky.
The Iraqi Superman (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Sajad Abbas
Country: Iraq, Running Time: 6 min
A tormented young man constructs an ingenious device to rescue his father from Abu Ghraib prison. What he finds there is far from his expectations, revealing the mistreatment and torture of prisoners. His hopes and dreams for a brighter future are dashed upon finding his father.
Jackdaw (2015)
Director: Travis Champagne
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:50 min
A father mourns on the one-year anniversary of his wife’s disappearance.
Kingdom of Garbage (2015)
Director: Yasir Kareem
Country: Iraq, Running Time: 9 min
Zahraa dreams of going to school. Instead she and her brother, Hassan, must scour a landfill site for valuable materials to provide for their poor family, competing against the other scavengers. When a trade between Zahraa and the self proclaimed ‘King of Garbage’ goes wrong, the sibling’s relationship is tested to breaking point – can the two overcome Zahraa’s innocent mistake?
Kudzu Kings 20th Anniversary (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Tate Moore
Country: USA, Running Time: 17:34 min
Kudzu Kings celebrate 20 years as a band at a special one night show at the Lyric Oxford.
Last Night (2016)
Director: Michael Ewing
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:42 min
A late night bar “conversation” among three friends reveals, in surprising ways, that actions have consequences.
LAYERS (2016)
Director: Christina Huff
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:45 min
Two Mississippians talk about their lives as artists. Claire Whitehurst talks about her art and her stylistic choices, while Jonathan Kent Adams talks about his struggles with his homosexual identity within his art. Using layers within their art is a very big theme for both artists, connecting these two talented artist’s stories into one narrative.
Life is Super Gr8 (2015)
Director: Wade Vanover
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:58 min
LIFE IS SUPER GR8 provides a glimpse into the history and workings of the Super Gr8 Film Festival in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The first festival of its kind, each year Super Gr8 gives over 40 local filmmakers the rare opportunity to shoot either a color or black/white super 8mm film using vintages cameras. Features interviews with festival founders and a diverse cast of filmmakers, including Elwood “Trip” Madison, the poster designer for the 2016 Oxford Film Festival.
THE LIGHT THIEF (2015)
Director: Eva Daoud
Country: Spain, Running Time: 19 min
What’s left of love if its soul is stolen? What’s left of a person if love is stolen? The bitter tale of victims and their executioners, as they all exchange turns.
THE LIONS MOUTH OPENS (2015)
Director: Lucy Walker
Country: USA, Running Time: 28 min
A courageous young Scottish actress takes the boldest step imaginable to confront her risk of having inherited the fatal, incurable Huntington’s Disease.
Little Sticker (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Michael Jackson Chaney
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
A couple arrives home after a tragic loss. As they process their situation they engage in very different methods of grieving and struggle over how to address the remnants of a kitschy family icon. Ultimately they come to terms with the possibility of reconciliation and remembrance.
LIVING WITH HIV (2014)
Director: Kathryn A. Rodenmeyer
Country: USA, Running Time: 28:09 min
Mississippi, the ‘buckle’ of the Bible Belt, ranks 7th in the U.S. for prevalence of HIV infection. Young African American men are the fastest growing group to become infected with HIV. In “Living with HIV,” those infected with HIV share their stories and how they are living with this incurable condition.
LOCKED OUT: A MISSISSIPPI SUCCESS STORY (2015)
Director: Sean W. Malone
Country: USA, Running Time: 26:53 min
Locked Out chronicles the struggles and success of Melony Armstrong, an entrepreneur who fought state restrictions to become the first professional African hair braider in Mississippi. Her victory struck down laws which required aspiring natural hair professionals to endure years of expensive licensing that only benefited the cosmetology schools and didn’t teach anything about hair braiding or natural hair.
Losing It (2015)
Director: Nathaniel Katzma
Country: USA, Running Time: 19:32 min
Mackenzie and Alexander discover they are pregnant while on tour with their band and are forced to make a decision that feels far beyond their years.
MO’ BOUT JOE (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Tim O’Grady
Country: USA, Running Time: 24:51 min
“Outsider” artist Joe Wrenn of Charleston, Mississippi is featured in this 25-minute documentary. We glimpse into his life and his amazing and storied paintings.
Mother’s Day (2015)
Director: Jeff Tan
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:51 min
Tragedy forces Mary (Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo) and her son Jay (Gabriel Furman) to say goodbye forever.
Needle Town (2015)
Director: Kaspar Synnevåg, Henrik Hylland Uhlving
Country: Norway, Running Time: 3 min
Heroin addict Cato is stealing books to fund his drug habit. He has fallen in love with Goth Girl, who works at the local book shop. But the mall cop Crab Claw is about to make his life difficult.
THE NEW ORLEANS SAZERAC (2016) – World Premiere
Director: James Martin
Country: USA, Running Time: 20:28 min
Film is a short documentary that explores the expansive history and modern applications of the classic cocktail through interviews with historians, authors, experts, and bartenders.
Night of the Slasher (2015)
Director: Shant Hamassian
Country: USA, Running Time: 11:16 min
A ‘shot-in-one-take’ slasher film about a teenage girl who must commit horror movie sins by drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and having sex in order to lure a masked killer and exact revenge.
Nirvana: A Short Film About Lung Cancer (2015)
Director: J. Michael Hicks
Country: USA, Running Time: 15:54 min
Inspired by the director’s own personal journey. After running away from her home, a young cancer patient meets a grieving widower in a dilapidated cemetery. Lost in their own tragedies, the two converse about life, death and the spiritual self.
Ole Miss Rebel Blues (2016) – World Premiere
Directors: Nancy Maria Balach, Katie McLaughlin
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:52 min
The “Ole Miss Rebel Blues” celebrates music, football, and the social culture of Oxford, Mississippi. This Mississippi music video was created, produced, and performed by established artists (University of Mississippi faculty and alumni), who worked side by side with current UM students and children from the Oxford community.
Olilo (2015)
Director: Ao Li
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:40 min
Olilo is a 2D animation that tells the story of an introverted girl held captive by her own semi-transparent personal space. Created through a combination of traditional frame-by-frame and digital drawing as well as key frame animation, the film focuses on love and its capacity to transform all things.
On Surgery (2015)
Directors: Russell Sheaffer, Aaron Michael Smith
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:36 min
The visuals for On Surgery are an attempt to replicate the physical process of bone surgery on the body of 16mm film stock. By wetting raw, unprocessed 16mm color negative film and then separating out the photosensitive emulsion from the base of the film using a medical scalpel and then reapplying the layers, the only images visible are representative of the scars left on the film.
Once A Month (and Behind the Scenes documentary) (2015) – World Premiere
Director: Alice Walker
Country: USA, Running Time: 25 min
Tom and Tina have their friends Bob and Betty over once a month for dinner, but this is the first time they have gotten together since Bob’s death. When Betty arrives, Tom and Tina realize that the evening may be a little more “lively” than expected.
One Minute for Katrina (2015)
Directors: Serafima Serafimova, Max Halley
Country: UK, Running Time: 1 min
One Minute for Katrina marks the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The animation offers people a chance to reflect and remember those who lost their lives and many who continue to be affected.
One Star Delta Night (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Jason Rochelle
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:40 min
A love story in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. A night where everything is just right. Where a romantic night turns into a beautiful relationship.
Oxford Canteen (2015)
Directors: Brett Mizelle and Heather Richie
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:44 min
Oxford Canteen profiles the Oxford eatery of the same name. Working in a 10×15-foot kitchen (a converted storage closet) in the Lyric Theater, chef-owner Corbin Evans turns out lunch specials like brisket grilled cheese, seasonal salads, and New Orleans–style ya-ka-mein. He serves the fare through a window, and diners can take their orders to go or sit at cantilevered tables drilled into the exterior wall of the building.
Paperous (2015)
Director: Miles Carby
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:11 min
Michael, unnoticed, but ever-observant, is going through a transformation brought on by the divorce of his parents. In this coming of age adventure, he fights to preserve the only life he knows.
Perfect Houseguest (2015)
Directors: Ru Kuwahata, Max Porter
Country: USA, Running Time: 1:35 min
A house is visited by a clean, organized, well-mannered guest.
Phantom Limbs (2015)
Director: Reed O’Beirne
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:44 min
A cameraless film created from animated MRI scans to evoke an enveloping world of light breaking upon the mind. Peering deep into our psychic home, Phantom Limbs engineers a link between inner space and the human spirit. Set to music by Seattle band, St. Kilda.
THE PLASTIC BAG (2016) – US Premiere
Director: Jørgen Johansen
Country: Norway, Running Time: 1 min
Two strangers share a moment with a plastic bag.
Preacherman (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Calum Macdiarmid
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:04 min
Music video featuring Melody Gardot, based on the story of civil rights hero Emmett Till.
PREGGO (2015)
Director: Kristin Slaysman
Country: USA, Running Time 7:52 min
Sam is thirty, single, broke and nine months pregnant in NYC. So… everything is fine.
THE PRESENT (2015)
Director: Jacob Frey
Country: Germany, Running Time: 4:20 min
Jake spends most of his time playing video games indoors until his mum decides to give him a present.
THE PUDDLE (2015)
Director: Serdar Yilmaz
Country: Turkey, Running Time: 9:51 min
A man in the flea market (Mihran Tomasyan) walks while checking walls covered with old posters and counters full of stuff with prying eyes. Due to the incarnating object that he sees on one of the counters just carries him away into another reality.
Put Down (2015)
Director: Rick Limentani
Country: UK, Running Time: 10 min
John is a socially awkward man in a downward spiral of debt, until a lucky accident propels him into a new career as a black-market pet exterminator. In these difficult times, some families can no longer afford a pet. John has some inventive ways to help them.
Ready to Roll (2015)
Directors: Molly Nemer and Alexandra Lampert
Country: USA, Running Time: 1:39 min
In READY TO ROLL you’ll meet Earline Hall, formerly of the beloved Biscuit Pit in Grenada, Mississippi, and now the biscuit maven at My Guys in Oxford. It’s hard to describe Ms. Hall’s biscuits except to say that they are just right in every way, albeit petite enough that you’re going to want at least two. She attributes their taste to a mixture of sweet milk and buttermilk.
THE RED THUNDER (2015)
Director: Alvaro Ron
Country: Spain, Running Time: 6:26 min
Sarah (Allie Grant), a nerdy teenager, needs her mom’s brand new car to go on a date with Danny (Miles Heizer), the boy she is in love with. Her mom, Dr. Thun (Karen Strassman), an absent minded podiatrist, is concerned about Sarah driving by the dangerous streets of downtown Los Angeles. She tells her daughter she may need her car if one of her patients has an emergency, but Sarah decides to disobey her mom and steal the car. Little does she know the vehicle is actually part of a secret Dr. Thun keeps and this discovery will change Sarah’s life forever.
River Moon Black Birds (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Gloria Chung
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:20 min
An experimental documentary on recent hurricane landfalls (2009-2014, eastern seaboard of the United States). “An alarm sounds over a quiet river. Supermoons are burning. Blackouts across the city. Storm winds carry tropical birds.”
Rock Me Slow (2016)
Director: Edward Valibus
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:40 min
Alone with her just her thoughts, a bottle of bourbon, and her music, Faith Evans Ruch dwells on heartbreak and sorrow.
Roots (2015)
Director: Alison Fast
Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min
Holly Springs conservationists awaken magic, history and a sense of “place” during the Strawberry Plains Audubon Hummingbird Festival, only to uncover the startling roots of ecological resilience in the heart of community.
Roubado (2015)
Director: Erica A. Watson
Countries: France, USA, Running Time 18 min
ROUBADO tells the story of Alain Castelo, an introverted Afro-Portuguese teen growing up in the south of France. As he suffers his parents’ recent breakup, the only solace he can muster is his penchant for photography. When his mother’s new live-in boyfriend crosses the line, his eyes are opened to the world and he can no longer hide behind the viewfinder of his vintage camera.
Ruremarm (2016)
Directors: Melvin Robinson (Theca Jones), Joecephus Martin
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:12 min
Skipp Coon makes the street his congregation.
SCRABBLE (2015)
Director: Cristian Sulser
Country: Switzerland, Running Time: 11:25 min
Scrabble addresses the secret desire to break out of the routine of a loveless relationship and illuminates with irony the depths of humanity behind a traditional façade – using a simple board game.
THE SEAFARER AND THE MOONLIGHT (2015)
Director: James Dastoli
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:30 min
An ancient mariner does battle with a behemoth from the deep.
SI (2015)
Director: Samantha Smith
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:34 min
A magical tale that follows Si, a temperamental 6-year old, who gets a goldfish from her parents after begging for a puppy.
THE SIBLING CODE (2015) – World Premiere
Director: Roberta Munroe
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:45 min
In the midst of choosing between a traditional Miyazaki funeral and letting the ashes be one with the wind, Austin and Sheryl duke it out.
Snow Day (2015)
Director: Drew Smith
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:06
Nothing’s more exciting to a kid in Memphis than the one snow day they get a year. But when a bully tries to ruin it for one five-year old, he decides to get even.
Spare Rooms (2015)
Director: Matthew T. Bowden
Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min
1985. The rural Midwest. When a same-sex family’s teenage son, Will, invites his friend Walker to stay overnight, Will’s parents, Rae and Marie, create elaborate plans to appear in the closet. But when those plans backfire, they discover the key to a good lie is in its details.
Spearhunter (2015)
Directors: Adam Roffman, Luke Poling
Country: USA, Running Time: 13:50 min
Deep in the wilds of rural Alabama, a spear-hunter proclaims himself the world’s greatest and erects a museum dedicated to his own obsession. In this atmospheric and darkly funny documentary, an offbeat cast of lovers, acolytes, and critics of the megalomaniacal spear-hunter remember his distinctive tactics both for killing and for leaving a legacy.
Stargrassle Paranormal (2016)
Director: Glenn Payne
Country: USA, Running Time: 27:50 min
Welcome to Stagrassle! Meet the Colonel, Penny, Enzo and Bernice, their friends and foes, the ghosts that haunt them and Larry, the man that documents their misadventures.
Stitch (2014)
Director: Alison Fast
Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min
An Oxford-Tupelo company specializing in bespoke, custom-raw-denim, helps to revive the garment industry in northeast Mississippi, tapping local talent, and promising growth and job creation for Mississippi.
Stockholm (2015)
Director: Álvaro Martín
Country: Spain, Running Time: 9 min
Writing a school report about your father’s occupation can be a challenge, especially when his work is disturbing.
Swallowed Whole (2015)
Director: Heidi Kumao
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:06 min
Swallowed Whole is a somber, animated, experimental film about surviving extreme isolation and physical limitations as a result of traumatic injury.
Sweetly Broken (2015)
Director: Chung Lam
Country: Czech Republic, Running Time: 5:25 min
It’s what happens when a boy puppet gets separated from the girl puppet of his love and the lengths he goes to to reunite with her.
Take the Bus on a Hot Summer Day (2016) – World Premiere
Director: Gloria Chung
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:40 min
A bus ride through Midtown. A reverie of blurred colors, kaleidoscopic movements and muffled sounds on a hot summer day in the city.
Take with Water (2015)
Director: Tara O’Sullivan
Country: USA, Running Time: 9:55 min
After her first one night stand, Emma navigates the awkward and unfamiliar world of casual sex and learns to embrace her sexuality.
THEY CRAWL AMONG US! (2015)
Director: Sihanouk Mariona
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:30 min
A stop-motion documentary about life in New York City — as told by its pests!
THREE FINGERS (2015)
Director: Paul D. Hart
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:30 min
A young female Marine war veteran navigates her disintegrating life until there is nothing left but to make a choice.
Til Death (2016)
Director: Matthew Graves
Country: USA, Running Time: 10:05 min
On the dark and stormy night of his fiancée’s funeral, a grieving man, so overwhelmed at the thought of never seeing the love of his life again, decides to bring her home.
TUMBLE DRY LOW (2015)
Director: Jefferson Stein
Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min
A little girl and her father deal with loss in East Texas.
TWISTED (2015)
Director: Stuart Bowen
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:53 min
The Good, The Bad and the Inflatable. School reunions are strange for anyone, but especially our socially awkward hero. When the girl of his middle school dreams makes her appearance known, he will stop at nothing to win her over…even if it means going into a unique and totally bonkers balloon battle with his old bully and school nemesis one last time.
VANCOUVER ZOETROPE (2016) – North American Premiere
Director: Jeffery Chong
Country: Canada, Running Time: 5 min
Vancouver’s iconic Burrard Bridge is recognized for its monumental design and aesthetic details. This film reveals a hidden architectural feature of the bridge that is only visible to motorists.
VIOLA: A MOTHER’S STORY OF JUVENILE JUSTICE (2015)
Directors: Sarah Fleming, Joann Self Selvidge
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:55 min
A mother shares personal stories about her life and her struggles with her son Edward, who has been involved with the juvenile justice system in Memphis, Tennessee.
VISH (2015)
Director: Danny Klimetz
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:30 min
Vish was shot and edited by Danny Klimetz. Danny is a photographer based in Oxford, Mississippi and his skills transferred impressively to video in this profile of chef Vishwesh Bhatt of Snackbar.
WEST OF ELVIS (2015) – Audience Awards Winner
Director: Louis Bourgeois
Country: USA, Running Time: 8:05 min
West of Elvis is the last documentary made of Paul MaCleod, the curator of Graceland Too, arguably the largest and strangest collection of Elvis memorabilia in the world.
WHAT’S IN A NAME (2015)
Director: Daniel Robin
Country: USA, Running Time: 12:15 min
What’s in a Name is about sculpting identities, both in terms of how the world sees us and how we view ourselves. These themes are woven into the juxtaposition of two stories that form a dialogue across generations. The question of Jewish identity and authenticity of culture is examined through home movies, archival footage, interviews and abstract recreations.
Women and Work (2016)
Director: Jonathan Pekar
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:23 min
A music video that celebrates the great Southern band Lucero’s music and character.
XO (2015)
Director: Brian Ratigan
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
Fearing her own memories, a girl begins the cerebral journey of longing for escape before completely fading away.
YALO (2015)
Director: Alison Fast
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min
A small town craft brewery hits it big, producing bold new tastes like Miss-iss-IPA, River Ale and small-batch, bourbon barrel-aged stout, in what is formerly a dry county. YALO showcases the persistent rise of creative entrepreneurs in Water Valley, and the importance of small businesses to revitalize Main Street.
YOU CAN STAY HERE (2016)
Director: John Veron
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:59 min
In a school that is no longer a school, a man is pursued by a boy who is no longer a boy.
ZERO (2015)
Director: David Victori
Country: Spain, Running Time: 29 min
A boy and his father are emotionally and physically separated on the day earth intermittently loses gravity. The boy is wrestling with questions about his mother’s death, while his father desperately tries to find his son as the world is rising and collapsing around him.
ABOUT OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL
The Oxford Film Festival was founded in 2003 to bring exciting, new and unusual films (and the people who create them) to North Mississippi. The annual four-day festival screens short and feature-length films in both showcase and competition settings, including narrative and documentary features and shorts; Mississippi narratives, documentaries and music videos, and narrative, documentary, animated and experimental shorts. The festival is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization.
For Media specific inquiries, please contact:
John Wildman, 323.600.3165
