Oxford Film Festival 2023 announces films and events for 20th Anniversary edition next month

The 2023 Oxford Film Festival (March 1-5) announced the lineup of official selections and events for the 20th Anniversary annual edition of the popular film festival. Lisa Cortes’ documentary Little Richard: I am Everything is the Opening Night selection, and Michael Stevantoni and Strack Azar’s The Banality is the Closing Night selection. Special screenings and presentations include a restored print of Colin Campbell’s silent historical drama The Crisis (1916), and a presentation of Greg Brownderville and Bart Weiss’s groundbreaking multi-media project Fire Bones.

LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING
The Banality, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
THE BANALITY

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, who will be overseeing his first Oxford Film Festival as Executive Director, said, “This is our 20th Anniversary edition and we’re 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. “ 

Opening the 2023 Oxford Film Festival will be Lisa Cortes’ Little Richard: I am Everything. The film comes to Oxford folowing its debut at Sundance 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’ roll icon who still influences music artists today as it shines a light on the Black, queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, and profiles the man behind the music. Michael Stevantoni and Strack Azar’s Mississippi shot and produced thriller The Banality takes the Closing Night slot. 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.

The Crisis, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
THE CRISIS

A special screening of Colin Campbell’s silent classic The Crisis (1916), which is the earliest surviving film to have been shot in Mississippi, will mark the film’s first onscreen presentation in 100 years in Northern Mississippi. The film’s story centers on a love triangle during the Civil War between a woman and her suitors – one 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’s 50th Anniversary celebration this year. Produced by William N. Selig, founder of the Selig Polyscope Company, the oldest film production company in the US. Some of the Selig family members are planning to be on hand for the event.

Fire Bones, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
FIRE BONES

Noted for its embrace of VR and experimental films and programming during its history, the 2023 Oxford Film Festival will offer a special presentation led by Greg Brownderville and Bart Weiss as they introduce audiences to their one-of-a-kind multi-media creation, FIre Bones. 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 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.  Created  with  smartphones  in  mind, the project includes  podcasts,  short  films,  music  videos, poems,  and  still  images. 

Faulkner: The Past is Never Dead, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
FAULKNER: THE PAST IS NEVER DEAD

Another theme running throughout this year’s 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’s Belief: The Season Ole Miss Baseball which traces the journey the Ole Miss baseball team’s recent last-to-first championship run. Michael Modak-Truran’s Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead looks at the Nobel Prize-winning author who will be forever associated with Oxford and Mississippi.

Shudderbugs, 2023 Oxford Film Festival
SHUDDERBUGS
I MORDECAI
YOUTOPIA

Additional highlights among the narrative features include Mike Cheslik’s Hundreds of Beavers, an epic tale set in the 19th Century where a drunken applejack salesman must face off against hundreds of marauding beavers. Johanna Putnam’s award-winning Shudderbugs 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’s 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’s iMordecai stars Sean Astin stars 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 and the beloved film icon, Carol Kane. When Mordecai’s 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’s Youtopia 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.

BODY PARTS
FINDING HER BEAT
OKLAHOMA BREAKDOWN

Among the particularly strong documentary selections are Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s Body Parts which traces the evolution of “sex” on-screen from a woman’s 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 and Keri Pickett’s Finding Her Beat is a certified hit on the regional festival circuit. The film follows the efforts of two women to assemble the world’s 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’s Oklahoma Breakdown has also won many fans across the country as well as awards leading to the film’s 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’s Show Business Is My Life (But I Can’t Prove It) A Film about Gary Mule Deer puts the focus on comedy in his film looking at the unlikely career of comedian Gary Mule Deer’s 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’s Split At The Root 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.

Highlights among the creatively themed and musically-infused parties and special events include a 20th Birthday Party with Kid Party Games, Balloon Animals and a Birthday Cake Contest on Wednesday, March 1 which will also include a free screening of Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb’s festival hit, Butterfly in the Sky. Thursday, March 2 will have a Music Video Block Party and some of Oxford’s best night spots and will feature live music performances from bands whose music videos are screening at the film festival. Friday, March 3’s party theme is “Faulking Around Friday”, which will include books and whiskey at the Historic Ceder Oaks. Saturday, March 4 will be highlighted by the BIOXbuster Video Party. The days of enjoying films on VHS will be celebrated along with Laser Tag, music and more.

The 2023 Oxford Film Festival will also offer free Science on Screen events which are an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, as well as free sensory screenings sponsored by the Mississippi Commission of Developmental Disability.

The 2023 Oxford Film Festival would not be possible without the generous support from the following grants: Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), South Arts, Visit Mississippi, and Visit Oxford.

To buy passes or tickets or find more information, please go to: www.ox-film.com.


2023 Oxford Film Festival ’s Official Selections

Opening Night

Little Richard: I am Everything

Director: Lisa Cortes

Country: United States; Running Time: 98 min

Like a quasar burning past the gaslight, director Lisa Cortés’ eye-opening documentary explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Little Richard: I Am Everything shines a clarifying light on the Black, queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, and establishes the genre’s big bang: Richard Wayne Penniman.

Closing Night

The Banality

Directors: Michael Stevantoni, Strack Azar

Country: United States; Running Time: 78 min

A small town reels from the sudden and mysterious death of “Feral Boy,” a local legend since his discovery in the woods as a child. Father Moss, a priest with a loose grip on the faith, attempts to counsel the forlorn couple that raised the boy. As the answers are revealed, he finds parallels between this grisly incident and his own recurring nightmares, haunted in both sleeping and waking hours.

Special Screenings

Belief: The Season Ole Miss Baseball

Director: Merrick McCool

Country: United States; Running Time: 103 min

In 2022, only one thing could propel the Ole Miss baseball team through a roller-coaster season: unwavering belief. Belief: The Season Ole Miss Baseball gives an unprecedented look at the sport of baseball documenting the Ole Miss baseball program’s last-to-first championship run.

The Crisis (1916)

Director: Colin Campbell

Country: United States; Running Time: 100 min

Stephen Brice, a young lawyer in Civil War-era St. Louis, falls in love with Virginia Carvel, the daughter of his benefactor. But she is loyal to the South and Brice is committed to Lincoln’s cause. In the course of the war, their convictions separate them, and Virginia becomes engaged to her cousin Clarence Colfax, a Confederate officer. Brice becomes an officer under General Sherman, and eventually finds himself faced with the captured Colfax, facing execution for spying. Brice must decide whether or not to intercede in his rival’s behalf.

Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead

Director: Michael Modak-Truran

Country: United States; Running Time: 93 min

William Faulkner was one of the greatest writers and one of the most influential, winning the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. Faulkner’s novels have challenged generations of readers and inspired generations of writers around the world.

FIre Bones

Directors: Greg Brownderville, Bart Weiss

Country: United States; Running Time: N/A

Fire Bones is a whimsical Southern Gothic story told in ten chapters via multiple mediums including  podcasts, short films, music videos, poems, and still images. Fire Bones follows the  journey of discovery  that a poet and filmmaker  make as they are introduced  to  the  tale  and  mystery  of  a  missing  pilot  and  Pentecostal  preacher who  vanished  on  a  transatlantic  flight.  The   two  men  encounter  one  colorful  and eccentric character  after another  as their trip brings them closer  to  the  truth of her story and ultimate destination. Created  with  smartphones  in  mind,  a  go-show  tells  a  story  episodically  via multiple  mediums.  ”Fire  Bones””  includes  podcasts,  short  films,  music  videos, poems,  and  still  images.  Each  episode   of  a  go-show   should   use  whichever medium  works best for that part of the  story. Chapters and episodes are  meant to  be experienced  in  order.


2023 Oxford Film Festival Additional Narrative Features

Bolan’s Shoes

Director: Ian Puleston-Davies

Country: UK; Running Time: 97 min

This story takes us on a tumultuous journey from the height of T. Rex mania in 1970s Liverpool to the present-day poignancy of what would have been Marc Bolan’s 75th birthday. It captures the heady exhilaration of glam rock mania through the experiences of a group of over-excited kids from a local children’s home before a devastating road accident changes their lives forever. Years later, and still clinging to the adoration of her childhood idol, survivor Penny takes best friend and fellow Marc Bolan fan to visit his shrine in London but a chance encounter there catapults her back to the horror she had tried so hard to forget.

Country Gold

Director: Mickey Reece

Country: United States; Running Time: 82 min

George Jones has invited Troyal Brux  to Oklahoma for an intimate chat, something the latter takes as validation for his more focus-grouped, crowd-pleasing school of pop country. It’s not long after arriving, however, that he learns the true reason for Jones’ invitation: after their night together, Jones plans to cryogenically freeze himself so he can outlive his enemies and detractors. Before he goes, he wants to see what world he’s leaving behind for country music. 

Daddy

Directors: Neal Kelley, Jono Sherman

Country: United States; Running Time: 98 min

In a dystopian society where the state has the power to determine who can and cannot father children, four men attend a government-sanctioned retreat in the remote mountains of California. When they show up at the site, only to find no guide or instructions, they are left to their own devices and must prove to themselves—and each other—that they’re ready for fatherhood.

Dogleg

Director: Al Warren

Country: United States; Running Time: 82 min

A balding director loses his dog and his whilts in an attempt to complete his film.

Hundreds of Beavers

Director: Mike Cheslik

Country: United States; Running Time: 108 min

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

iMordecai

Director: Marvin Samel

Country: U.S.; Running Time: 102 minutes

Sean Astin stars as Marvin is an ambitious cigar maker trying to support his own family while still being there for his aging parents, Mordecai (Judd Hirsch) and Fela (Carol Kane). When Mordecai’s 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.  

Loren & Rose

Director: Russell Brown

Country: United States; Running Time: 82 min

Rose is a legendary actress trying to revive her career. Loren is a promising filmmaker. Over the course of their many encounters, a deep friendship evolves as their love of art, understanding of grief, and faith in life’s potential guide them through personal and creative transformations. Kelly Blatz and Jacqueline Bisset star with a chemistry that is at once authentic and intoxicating.

Maybe Someday

Director: Michelle Ehlen

Country: United States; Running Time: 91 min

Jay, a non-binary 40-something photographer, attempts to move across the country to start her life over again in the midst of separating from her wife. Along the way, she takes a detour to stay with her high school best friend who she used to be secretly in love with, and befriends a charismatic gay man who adds humor and levity to her life. Struggling to move forward with the next chapter of her life, memories of the past resurface as Jay grapples with the inevitable cycles of love, loss, and letting go.

Provo

Director: Emma Thatcher

Country: United States; Running Time: 88 min

A rakish ex-Mormon gets a jolt when an estranged step-sibling comes to tell her that her father, an abusive hardcore Mormon, is dying and hopes to reconcile. A friend-with-benefits offers to go with her on, if not prods her towards, a road trip to seek some closure.

quantum cowboy

Director: Geoff Marslett

Country: United States; Running Time: 99 min

Two hapless drifters, Frank and Bruno, team up with Linde to recover her land and trek across 1870’s Southern Arizona to find an elusive frontier musician. The complex quantum time theory is blended with philosophical musings about art as the way we understand our history and memories, with gunfights, horses, dance halls, cacti, and saloons.

Shudderbugs

Director: Johanna Putnam

Country: United States; Running Time: 105 min

Samantha Cole returns to her childhood home when her mother suddenly passes. In place of familiar spaces and memories, Sam finds only uneasiness and confusion. Things are missing, the environment seems unnatural and the neighbor, Noah, is suspiciously obtuse. Isolated with these mysteries, a scavenger hunt her mom had prepared for her upcoming birthday and rising red flags from Noah, Sam wrestles with her sanity and certainties. On her journey to untangle the truth, she finds herself at a dangerous crossroad: How far can she trust instincts that may be clouded by grief, guilt, and desperation?

Youtopia

Director: Scout Durwood

Country: United States; Running Time: 90 min

After a devastating break up an elder millennial inadvertently forms a hipster cult. When members start to disappear, the leader is confronted with the knowledge that her journey of self-discovery may trigger the end of civilization as we know it, forcing her to face her most challenging enemy yet: herself.


2023 Oxford Film Festival Additional Documentary Features

Body Parts

Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan

Country: United States; Running Time: 86 min

Body Parts traces the evolution of “sex” on-screen from a woman’s 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.

Butterfly in the Sky

Directors: Bradford Thomason, Brett Whitcomb

Country: United States; Running Time: 86 min

​​Two seconds into the bubbling synth sounds of its theme song will have a child of the 1980s or ‘90s exclaiming “Reading Rainbow!” Such is the beloved nature of the classic children’s literary television show that introduced millions of kids to the wonder of books. Not only did the series insist on having kids speak to kids about their favorite stories, Reading Rainbow introduced the world to one of the most adored television hosts of all time, LeVar Burton. Thanks to his direct, non-patronizing and, most importantly, kind delivery, Burton became a conduit to learning for children of every background—delving behind the pages to the people, places, and things each new story explored.

Dusty & Stones

Director: Jesse Rudoy

Countries: United States/Swaziland; Running Time: 83 min

Dusty & Stones is a continent-crossing hero’s journey told through country music. The documentary chronicles the remarkable ride of cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi, a driven duo of struggling country singers from the tiny African Kingdom of Swaziland longing for their big break. When they are unexpectedly nominated to compete in a Texas battle of the bands, the duo embarks on their long-awaited first pilgrimage to the ancestral heart of country music, determined to win big. Over a momentous ten-day road trip through the American South, Dusty and Stones explore the storied locales of their favorite country songs and engage with the culture they’ve long felt part of from afar. But when they arrive in Jefferson, Texas for the battle of the bands, the competition is anything but what they’d imagined. A shell-shocked Dusty and Stones take the stage and fight to bag an award for Swaziland.

Educational Divide: The Story of East Side High

Director: David Ross

Country: United States; Running Time: 65 min

Featuring East Side alumnus and professional basketball player Johnny O’Bryant III, the documentary takes the audience on a tour of Cleveland, Mississippi, to see how his hometown is moving forward and to attend the graduation ceremony for the students of the consolidated high school, Cleveland Central High. The film boasts a cast of characters, including academic historians, local politicians, professional athletes, education experts, as well as former teachers, students, coaches, and more. With the help of these voices, the film explores the complex history and culture that surrounds public education in America. The issue of racial segregation in our education system isn’t limited to the deep South. These problems are found across the country.

Finding Her Beat

Directors: Dawn Mikkelson & Keri Pickett

Country: USA, Japan; Running Time: 89 min

In the midst of a frozen Minnesota winter, a Japanese drum master and Korean adoptee from North Dakota join forces to assemble the world’s best Taiko drummers in a bold effort to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been reserved only for men. Their rhythm revolution includes rock stars from the world of Taiko: Tiffany Tamaribuchi, Kaoly Asano, Chieko Kojima, Megan Chao-Smith, and Jennifer Weir. Through grueling rehearsals, Jennifer weaves together their disparate voices and styles. Vulnerability, pain, and joys are shared—and we quickly see the bonds of friendship form as these talented women navigate their way through differences in culture, age, language, and performing styles. As the clock ticks toward their first performance, it becomes clear that their story has become much larger than Taiko.

In the Bones

Directors: Kelly Duane de la Vega, Zandashé Brown

Country: United States; Running Time: 96 min

An intimate and immersive journey through Mississippi, filmed in the year leading up to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, revealing the culture that overturned Roe V. Wade. This lyrical film shines a light on the weight women live under in this country, and the resilience expressed in their everyday acts of survival through the unfolding lives of a cast of characters who live within a system that is not built with their well-being in mind.

Oklahoma Breakdown

Director: Christopher Fitzpatrick

Country: United States; Running Time: 92 min

Mike Hosty is a one-man band freak of nature who also tells jokes. His musical talents are world-class and his improv skills produce original performances on the fly. When Stoney LaRue turned Hosty’s “Oklahoma Breakdown” into the #1 hit of 2007, few knew who wrote it or what genre it came from. This documentary reveals why a legend of the underground has reservations on chasing the limelight, when he could be a millionaire.

Once Upon a Time in Uganda

Director: Cathryne Czubek

Country: USA, Uganda; Running Time: 94 min

A brick maker in Uganda becomes an Internet sensation when he tries his hand at making action movies.

Present Tense: Andrew Bryant and the making of PRODIGAL

Director: Gerard Matthews

Country: United States; Running Time: 61 min

When Andrew Bryant started writing the music for PRODIGAL, he thought it was completely about the past. It turns out the past is always with us. Bryant’s music evokes a cinematic vision of his boyhood, past friendships, family struggles, religious trauma, and Southern identity. In this hauntingly personal documentary, we see a young artist struggle with his place in time (the past and the present) and space (what it means to be an artist in the South). But we also see how processing these themes through music brings a tremendous sense of hope, relief, and joy. 

Show Business Is My Life (But I Can’t Prove It) A Film about Gary Mule Deer

Director: G.B. Shannon

Country: United States; Running Time: 96 min

Comedian Gary Mule Deer’s career has always taken an oddball path. From his start in “show business” at a South Dakota brothel, performing Johnny Cash covers for the awaiting johns, to his over 350 televised performances, his career has been as strange as his comedy itself. He’s odd, he’s got crazy hair, and his metronomic timing is legendary. He’s a friend to the biggest names in comedy and music and he may just be the funniest comedian you’ve never heard of.

Silent Beauty

Director: Jasmín Mara López

Country: US, Mexico, Malta; Running Time: 87 min

When director Jasmín Mara López sees a photo of her niece with her grandfather, she is flooded by painful memories of her own childhood sexual abuse at his hands—and the following 24 years of her silence. In this cinematically striking and poetic documentary, López bravely films her story as a willful act to accept difficult truths while finding beauty in the process of healing. As she defies the cultural silence that pervades her family and confronts her abusive grandfather, who is a Baptist minister, a world of generational abuse unfolds, and she quickly discovers she is not alone.

Song of the Cicada

Directors: Aaron Weiss, Robert Weiss

Country: United States; Running Time: 74 min

In the coastal town of Galveston, Texas, Dale Carter lives as a mortician in his Victorian home with his protege and friend. Over the course of a decade, this observational documentary chronicles his daily life with friends, family and strangers alike, as he navigates the mortuary profession and his attempts to realize his dream of renovating a historic home in Beaumont, Texas. Song of the Cicada explores the philosophies and motives behind the macabre obsessions that define this eccentric mortician.

Split At The Root

Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Country: United States; Running Time: 101 min

Families separated at the border made headlines in 2018, prompting protests and policy changes. 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. Immigrant Families Together was born as a rapid response group committed to doing what the government couldn’t – or wouldn’t do: reunite parents with their children separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy. Over four years, IFT reunited more than 130 families.Over 2,000 children’s reunification status are still unknown and thousands of people impacted by separations are still suffering the effects of pursuing asylum.

Two Lives in Photography

Director: Thad Lee

Country: United States; Running Time: 90 min

Two Lives in Photography is a film about married photographers Maude Schulyer Clay and Langdon Clay. It It is based on their joint exhibition at the University Museum in Oxford, Mississippi and is structured by the Clays walking to key works hanging on the walls in a dance of sorts. The subjects range from the Mississippi Delta landscape to New York City in the late 1970s to cemeteries in Paris. During the course of the 90 minute walk through the galleries and both of their careers, we learn about as much about the Clays and their marriage as we do about their rich subjects.

Unrivaled

Directors: David Crews, Norman Jetmundsen

Country: United States; Running Time: 87 min

In 1899 a small college in Tennessee, the University of the South in Sewanee, had the most amazing season in college football history.  They were the first team in the South to play 12 games, and the first team anywhere to travel long distances to play games.   They played 12 games in six weeks and went 12-0.  Only one team scored upon them.  The reason they are famous, however, is that they traveled 2,500 miles by train and played 5 games in 6 days — beating Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU and Ole Miss.  The team is truly Unrivaled.


2023 Oxford Film Festival Narrative Shorts

30/900

Director: Shirin Maleki

Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min

A Body Appeared at the Lake Today

Director: Brian Ratigan

Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min

A Psychogeography of Mourning

Director: Shayna Connelly

Countries: US/UK/France; Running Time: 8 min

Aaron With 2 A’s

Director: Michael Goldburg

Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min

Ambitus

Director: Louise Mejstelman

Country: France; Running Time: 14 min

Angle of Attack

Director: Russell Leigh Sharman

Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min

Behalf

Director: Michelle Sui

Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min

Bleep

Director: Ben S. Hyland

Country: UK; Running Time: 8 min

Blue Hour

Director: Stacey Rushchak

Country: Poland; Running Time: 27 min

Boifriend

Directors: Rebecca Marquardt, Lane Michael Stanley

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Bring Back My Bonnie

Director: Mark Waters

Country: UK; Running Time: 19 min

Canal

Director: Will Rahilly

Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min

Convection

Director: Stacey Davis

Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min

Coup de Grace

Directors: Amanda Fallon Smith, Colin Babcock

Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min

Dateleap

Director: Jack Evans

Country: UK; Running Time: 14 min

Demi-Gods

Director: Martin Gerigk

Country: Germany; Running Time: 6 min

Doll on a Shelf

Director: Payton Williams

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

Don’t You Go Nowhere

Director: Bryan Poyser

Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min

Everybody Goes to the Hospital

Director: Tiffany Kimmel

Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min

For Paloma

Director: Suraj Savvkor

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Graveyard Spiral

Director: Evelyn Lee

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Great Grandfather’s Wishes

Director: Chih-Chung Wang

Country: Taiwan; Running Time: 7 min

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

Director: Steve Collins

Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min

Inner Wound Real

Director: Carrie Hawks

Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min

Intimacy Workshop

Director: Eddie Prunoske

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Julia

Director: Jack Donnelly

Country: UK; Running Time: 8 min

Keep/Delete

Director: Kryzz Gautier

Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min

Look Like You

Director: Snigdha Kapoor

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

Maggie

Director: James Kennedy

Country: UK; Running Time: 16 min

Moving or Being Moved

Director: Sabine Gruffat

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

My Dear Son

Director: Wing Yan Lilian Fu

Countries: Hong Kong/United Kingdom; Running Time: 8 min

New Moon Dissolved

Director: Lucinda Roberts

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min

Non-Negotiable

Director: Mike Doxford

Country: UK; Running Time: 9 min

Our Language Is Chaos

Director: Cory Byam

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

Ousmane

Director: Jorge Camarotti

Country: Canada; Running Time: 25 min

Peggy Blue Eyes

Director: Reece Roark

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

People Like More

Director: Laura Asherman

Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min

Piercing

Director: Nate Gualtieri

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min

Points

Director: Tony Glynn

Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min

Rear

Director: Edward Worthy

Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min

retire.ai

Director: Charles Dillon Ward

Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min

Revelation to the Disembodied

Director: André Silva

Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min

Shelf Life

Director: Luke Roulstone

Countries: England/UK; Running Time: 19 min

Swat

Director: Sam Coombes

Country: UK; Running Time: 9 min

The Blackbird Mother

Director: Oksana Mirzoyan

Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min

The Brad Particle

Director: Douglas Cole Berry

Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min

The Diamond

Director: Vedran Rupic

Countries: Sweden/Portugal; Running Time: 14 min

The Errand

Director: Amanda Renee Knox

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

The Fourth

Director: Johnny Kirk

Country: United States; Running Time: 12 min

The Name

Director: Aaron Strand

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min

The Perfect Fit

Director: Meinardas Valkevičius

Country: Lithuania; Running Time: 11 min

The Spirit God Gave Us

Director: Michael Donte

Country: United States; Running Time: 20 min

The Trick

Director: Jackson Strickland

Country: United States; Running Time: 2 min

The Well

Director: Peter Stanley-Ward

Country: UK; Running Time: 9 min

this little house i planned

Director: Summer Baldwin

Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min

Time Tourists

Director: Ian Sweeney

Country: New Zealand; Running Time: 6 min

What’s Her Name?

Director: Tony King

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min


2023 Oxford Film Festival Documentary Shorts

A Relationship with a Camera

Director: Tony King

Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min

American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton

Director: Andrew Abrahams, Herb Ferrette

Country: United States; Running Time: 40 min

An Army Rising Up

Directors: Pablo Correa and Brian Graves

Country: United States; Running Time: 23 min

Belle River

Director: Guillaume Fournier, Yannick Nolin, Samuel Matteau

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

Brotherness

Director: David Power

Country: Romania; Running Time: 8 min

CANS Can’t Stand

Director: Matt Nadel, Megan Plotka

Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min

Defending the Dark

Director: Tara Roberts Zabriskie

Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min

Down South Diaspora: An Ancestral Memory

Director: Jai Williams

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

Dry Bones 1

Director: Jeremey Lavoi

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Dry Bones 2: Grandfather’s Waltz

Director: Jeremey Lavoi

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

Escape Artists: The Tale of Mike, Mike Jr, and Freddie

Director: Nancy Siesel

Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min

Gateway Toys

Director: Olivia Whittington

Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min

Heartbreak Henry: The Show Must Go On

Director: Michael Fagans

Country: United States; Running Time: 22 min

How to Rat

Director: Madison Cavalchire, Laura Asherman

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

In the Weeds

Director: Laura Asherman & C.G. Watson

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

It’s in the Voices

Director: Field Humphrey

Country: United States; Running Time: 23 min

Jamia

Director: John Reyer Afamasaga

Country: United States; Running Time: 15 min

Krush The Wrestler

Director: Alex Megaro

Country: United States; Running Time: 14 min

Land Before Land

Director: Steve Bransford

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Mississippi Creates: Andrew Bryant

Director: Sandip Rai

Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min

Mississippi Creates: Big Clown

Director: Christina Huff

Country: United States; Running Time: 19 min

Slice

Director: Zaire Love

Country: United States; Running Time: 16 min

Tapping into Our Past, Tapping into Our Future: Ayodele Casel

Directors: Jennifer Burton and Ursula Burton

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

The Defenders: How Lawyers Protected the Movement

Director: Roderick Red

Country: United States; Running Time: 40 min

The Foundry

Director: Robert Machoian

Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min

The Hollidays in Mississippi

Director: Christina Huff

Country: United States; Running Time: 36 min

The Journey of Tiak Hikiya Ohoyo

Director: Mark Williams

Country: United States; Running Time: 48 min

The Long Haul: Jessica

Director: Maggie Bushway

Country: United States; Running Time: 9 min

Wiley’s Last Resort

Director: Evan Mascagni and Shawn Lind

Country: United States; Running Time: 17 min


2023 Oxford Film Festival Music Videos

Christmas at Midnight – Robby Grant

Director: Ben Siler

Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min

Cornbread & Black-Eyed Peas Music Video

Director: Brett Ball

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min

Determination of a Butterfly.

Director: Lohn Lenoir

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

Dyke Plumage

Director: Alexandra Gascón

Country: Spain; Running Time: 3 min

Ed McMed’s Vacation – Rev Neil Down

Directors: Edward Valibus, Steph Bennett

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

Emily White – Early Monday

Director: Hunter Heath

Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min

Guru$$

Directors: Chris Johnson, Erik Passoja

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

Heart in a Notebook

Directors: Rory Ledbetter, Danny Klimetz

Country: United States; Running Time: 5 min

Hope You Don’t Dream

Director: Kell Kellum

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

I Made It

Director: Patti Price

Country: United States; Running Time: 7 min

Imagine That

Director: Zaire Love

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

Jeff Hilliard – Abandon

Director: Jeff Hilliard

Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min

Mellows by Saturn Velvet Club

Director: Saturn Velvet Club

Country: United States; Running Time: 4 min

Outta Here: Escape the Simulation

Directors: Danielle Ellesse Smith, Avitiuh

Country: United States; Running Time: 8 min

Ray Kincaid: Scatter Brain Freestyle

Director: Kira Cummings

Country: United States; Running Time: 2 min

Top Notch Goddess

Director: Mya-Bre

Country: United States; Running Time: 3 min

Vegas Full Video and Short Film

Directors: Stace Shook, Cassie Shook, J.B. Lawrence

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

What I Want Full Video and Short Film

Directors: Stace Shook, Cassie Shook, J.B. Lawrence

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min


Project(ion)

Florida, You’re A Dream

Director: Ivette Spradlin

Country: United States; Running Time: 1 min

Galaxias tou Gala (Milk Galaxy)

Director: Colette Copeland

Country: United States; Running Time: 6 min

Haven

Director: Geiger

Country: United States; Running Time: 10 min

Lydia Panas – various Works

Director: Lydia Panas

Country: United States; Running Time: various

Resonance

Director: Raquel Salvatella de Prada

Country: United States; Running Time: 11 min

sequence

Director: Taoyuan Jin

Country: United States; Running Time: 18 min

The Hour Coat

Director: Amy Kravitz

Country: United States; Running Time: 13 min

2023 Oxford Film Festival (March 1-5) announced the lineup of official selections and events for the 20th Anniversary annual edition of the popular film festival.