FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: Cassidy Friedman’s CIRCLES previews with 2018 Oxford Film Festival Announces Contest winners, a special work-in-progress screening and Mississippi-produced films in preview of 15th Anniversary edition
At a special preview party on Sunday, December 3, the Oxford Film Festival announced initial details of next year’s 15th Anniversary edition, including a special work-in-progress screening of Cassidy Friedman ‘s CIRCLES, the winners of OFF’s inaugural screenplay competition and Artist Vodka contest, as well as this year’s Magnifying Glass Fellowship recipient.
The festival also announced the official selections in the feature film, short film, and music video categories produced in the state of Mississippi.
Cassidy Friedman ’s CIRCLES previews with 2018 Oxford Film Festival
In addition, a Seed & Spark Fundraising campaign for $8,000 has been launched to complete the funding for the 2018 edition of the popular film festival.
More information can be found at https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/oxff#story.
Melanie Addington, executive director of the Oxford Film Festival, said, “In our fifteenth year, the Oxford Film Festival will continue to put our best foot forward when it comes to inspiring the discussion of important and timely socio-political issues and topics through our films. We have become a rallying point not just for artists in the state of Mississippi, but also for speaking out on the issues and on behalf of the underserved people of our state and elsewhere. CIRCLES is a great example of a film that provides a wonderful jumping off point for precisely that type of talk. We are also thrilled to debut our screenplay competition and partner with Artist Vodka to continue to not just inspire filmmakers, but offer significant cash rewards for their wonderful work, as well.”
Friedman’s CIRCLES, tracks a Hurricane Katrina survivor who is a pioneer of the Restorative Justice movement in Oakland schools working to keep black teenagers in school. However, when his own son is wrongfully accused, he suddenly finds his personal and professional lives collide. The screening will be co-presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council, and following the screening will be a discussion with Friedman and film subject Eric Butler, in partnership with the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.
The first winner of the Oxford FF’s inaugural screenplay competition is John Matthew Tyson’s “Twirling at Ole Miss,” and the runner up is John Bateman’s “Not Everything Was Burning.” Both scripts will have a live table read on Wednesday, February 7 at the festival, with the writer of “Twirling at Ole Miss” receiving $1000, a flight and hotel accommodations at Oxford, and mentorship from John Norris, film producer of such films as GET ON UP, THE HELP, and the upcoming AMERICAN PAIN.
Magnifying Glass Fellowship winner Robbie Fisher and co-director Jenni Smith will world premiere their micro-short with the working title DEAR MR BRYANT on Wednesday, February 7. Fisher received $1,000 to assist with production costs. In the film, Mississippi religious leaders share their informed and heartfelt thoughts in telling Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant why he was wrong to fight for and sign into law the controversial and extreme piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation known simply as H.B. 1523.
Liam Hendrix Heath’s NATION DOWN, which depicts a nightmarish world ruled by a manipulative king risking his rule in a warped bid for companionship, won the Artist Vodka competition. Heath will receive a grand prize of $5,000, along with flight and hotel covered to attend the festival. Tracy S. Facelli’s FAVORITES, about a man coping with the sudden death of his wife via the happy memories brought about by eating his favorite dessert that she had made for him prior to her death, was the runner up in the contest. Facelli received hotel accommodations to attend the Oxford FF as part of her prize package. In order to be eligible for the competition, the films were required to be less than 25 minutes and must incorporate one of the following:
Artist Vodka mentioned verbally, a character wearing an Artist Vodka t-shirt, placement of Artist Vodka bottle in foreground in a scene, or the Artist Vodka logo in the opening credits.
Addington added, “The Oxford Film Festival has always had a clear and dedicated objective to promote and celebrate the work of filmmakers local to Mississippi. Giving those filmmakers an opportunity to show their work and be discovered by our audiences, as well as make connections with other filmmakers leading them to future work has been one of most important aspects of this film festival for going on fifteen years now.”
Four feature films will lead the way for Mississippi-based productions chosen as official selections for the 2018 Oxford Film Festival. Those films include Jeff Dennis’ THE PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA about a potter, baker, and horseman who lived in Yocona, Mississippi. Born in Spain, Sierra came to Ole Miss on track scholarship, eventually becoming the man he is today. Astin Rocks.’ LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM uses avant-garde storytelling to reveal the psyche behind young women navigating their relationships. Timothy Givens and Mark K. Brockway’s MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON profiles an African-American woman born into poverty in Possum Corner, Mississippi, who opened a brothel in Natchez, Mississippi and ran it for more than 60 years with full knowledge of police and Natchez officials until a fiery end one hot July night in 1990. Frances Causey’s THE LONG SHADOW features two daughters of the South who look beyond their white privilege to discover the troubling and hidden history of their area, exposing the long and powerful reach of Southern politics.
Special Work-in-Progress Screening
CIRCLES
Director: Cassidy Friedman
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min
A Hurricane Katrina survivor who works to keep black teenagers in school in Oakland, California finds his personal and professional lives colliding when his 15-year-old-son goes to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
Artist Vodka Films
NATION DOWN
Director: Liam Hendrix Heath
Genre: Narrative
Country: USA, Running Time: 14:57 min
On a strange world locked in a dystopian nightmare, an oppressive regime is met with riots and rebellion. Desperate to suppress chaos, the king triggers a perverse manipulative scheme before risking his dominance in a warped bid for companionship.
FAVORITES
Director: Tracy S. Facelli
Genre: Narrative
Country: USA, Running Time: 17:24 min
Steve and Natalie are pretty happy together, until it all comes crashing down when Natalie dies unexpectedly. After the funeral, Steve is having some trouble processing until he finds that the last thing Natalie did before she died was to make his favorite dessert. With this last push from Natalie, Steve starts the grieving process.
Magnifying Glass Fellowship winner
DEAR MR BRYANT
Directors: Robbie Fisher, Jenni Smith
Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min
Mississippi religious leaders share their thoughts regarding Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant’s anti-LGBTQ legislation, H.B. 1523.
2018 Oxford Film Festival Screenplay Competition Winners
“Twirling at Ole Miss”
Screenwriter: John Matthew Tyson
“Not Everything Was Burning”
Screenwriter: John Bateman
Mississippi Films – Feature length
THE PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA
Director: Jeff Dennis
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA, Running Time: 66 min
A film about a potter named Pablo Sierra who lives in Yocona, MS. Born in Spain, he came to Ole Miss on track scholarship. He became a world-class runner, and is now a potter, baker, and horseman. For Pablo, the process is everything.
LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM
Director: Astin Rocks.
Genre: Experimental
Country: USA, Running Time: 31 min
Distorting the perception of true events, LOVE SOLILOQUY uses avant-garde storytelling to reveal the psyche behind young women navigating their relationships. Astin Rocks. doubles as the band’s vocalist, lyricist and film director.
MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON
Director: Timothy Givens and Mark K. Brockway
Genre: Documentary
County: USA, Running Time: 81 min
In 1902 Nellie Jackson, an African-American woman born into poverty in Possum Corner, Miss., travels north to Natchez and opens a brothel she ran for more than 60 years with full knowledge of police and Natchez officials until a fiery end one hot July night in 1990
THE LONG SHADOW
Director: Frances Causey
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min
Two daughters of the South look beyond their white privilege to discover a history that’s been hidden, exposing the long and shockingly powerful reach of Southern politics from slavery through to today’s racial imbalance.
Mississippi Films – Shorts
CAUTION
Director: Thomas Haffey
Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min
A concerned citizen shares her young thoughts on the orange invaders that have enveloped her town.
CLOSED
Director: Samuel Cox
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:17 min
A typical closing shift for a barista turns as he is preparing to leave for the night.
COWGIRL UP
Director: Nathan Willis
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:17 min
A cowgirl from Mississippi pursues her lifelong dream of becoming the first African-American female in the National Finals Rodeo.
CUBICLE CITY
Director: Glenn Payne
Country: USA, Running Time: 16:42 min
Missing lunches, maniacal villains, monster detectives, and mechanical men: When office life gets boring you can always escape to the streets of Cubicle City.
DAYFALL
Director: Tony King
Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min
A man with a gun wakes up alone on a cliff. Out of boredom, he shoots at a tree filled with birds, who attack him in response, before leaving him isolated on the cliff, after he shoots and kills several of them. Realizing his actions were wrong and that the birds were his only company, he seeks to regain their trust once again.
FLAG FLAP OVER MISSISSIPPI
Director: Rex Jones
Country: USA, Running Time: 27 min
Does Mississippi’s state flag, adopted in 1894 and the last in the United States to incorporate Confederate imagery into its design, represent hospitality or hostility? To some it depicts history and heritage; to others it stands for a history of hate and injustice. The discourse over the flag often becomes so contentious that the debate quickly devolves into a shouting match. FLAG FLAP OVER MISSISSIPPI is a filmic conversation between all sides that will hopefully generate more civil discussion in the public sphere.
HAND MADE
Director: David Ross
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:55 min
Greg Harkins has lived in Vaughan Mississippi for all of his life. At an early age he began studying the craft of woodworking and since that time he has never worked for anybody else. His techniques are passed down from the mid-1800s and he is preserving a virtually lost craft.
MOMBIE
Director: N.T. Bullock
Country: USA, Running Time: 9:57 min
Little Kevin watches his dad try to keep the family together after mom comes home… changed.
PART OF IT
Director: Victoria De Leone
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:20 min
Joseph Hosey delves into the history, both natural and societal, of his home through wild foods. Foraging offers both a method of understanding and a way of belonging in Jones County, Mississippi.
PAY THE PIPER
Director: Maggie Bushway
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:29 min
The piper takes revenge on a town that owes him for his services, but soon realizes he has made a grave mistake.
THE PIZZA MAGAZINE
Director: Daniel Perea
Country: USA, Running Time: 15:48 min
The behind-the-scenes story of how a newsletter written on a coffee table grew to become a multinational publication read by tens of thousands all over the globe.
RIVER MADE
Director: David Ross
Country: USA, Running Time: 7:09 min
John Ruskey came to Mississippi to discover the blues. After repeatedly seeing the town of Clarksdale on most of his blues records, he packed his bags and went south, guitar in hand. After years of living in Clarksdale as a blues historian, he suddenly had another calling. This time, it was the Mississippi River (or the “gut of America” as he likes to say). John and his lead guide, former college All-American and NFL linebacker, Mark “River” Peoples paddle down the Mississippi River on exploratory adventures year round. Their goal is to change the misconceptions of the river while leaving their fellow explorers with lifelong lessons.
TRUTH RISES
Director: E. J. Carter
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:40 min
A brother and sister talk about getting in trouble after mistakes are made in the family business
WE BELIEVED WE WERE IMMORTAL
Directors: Kathleen Wickham, Larry Wells
Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min
On the 55th anniversary of the 1962 crisis at Ole Miss, author Kathleen Wickham traces the footsteps of twelve American journalists and examines the unsolved murder of Paul Guihard, a French reporter, the only journalist killed during the civil rights movement.
WINSTON COUNTY MIRACLE MAN
Director: Rick Guy
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:25 min
Jimmy Gregory survived being hit in the head with an ax as a teenager.
Mississippi Music Videos
“A Hard Rain” by Stacie and Cassie
Director: J.B. Lawrence/Stace and Cassie
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:55 min
“All I Know” by Jake Wood
Director: Rex Harsin
Country: USA, Running Time: 2:56 min
“Damaged” by American Automatic
Director: Greg Johnson
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:28 min
“Glory Glory” by Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band
Director: Jeff Dennis
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:01 min
“God Bless America” by Effie Burt
Director: Effie Burt
Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min
“Make Me Want You” by Shayne Weems
Director: J.B. Lawrence
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:28 min
“Manna” by King Woman
Director: Vincent Jude Chaney
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:12 min
“My City” by Adam “AJC” Collier
Directors: Philip Scarborough, Tom Beck
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:40 min
“Randy Weeks: Mississippi Songwriter”
Directors: Keerthi Chandrashekar, Je’Monda Roy, Jimmy Thomas
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:15 min
“Royal” by Lost in Constellation
Director: Michael Williams
Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min
“Spinning” by The Fuzzy Crystals
Director: Justin Possenti
Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min
“Stomping Ground” by Robert King
Director: J.B. Lawrence
Country: USA, Running Time: 5:54 min
“Trust and Believe”
Director: Andre Hill
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:40 min
“World Gone Crazy” by 61 Ghosts
Director: Coop Cooper
Country: USA, Running Time: 6:03 min
“Your Mistress” by Mersaidee Soules
Director: Michael Williams
Country: USA, Running Time: 4:16 min
Cassidy Friedman’s CIRCLES previews with 2018 Oxford Film Festival Announces Contest winners, a special work-in-progress screening and Mississippi-produced films in preview of 15th Anniversary edition