Melanie Addington

David Midell’s THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN leads Oxford Film Festival filmmaker awards for best 2020 films

By John Wildman 6 years ago

The 2020 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of this year’s films and filmmakers with a virtual awards ceremony on Saturday, June 6, highlighted by the announcement of Hoka awards for David Midell’s THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN for Best Narrative Feature, which included a $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision, and Pailin Wedel, and Nina Ijas’s HOPE FROZEN for Best Documentary Feature. The Best Documentary Feature prize included a $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision as well as documentary editing feedback from Joe Shapiro

Theodore Collatos and Carolina Monnerat’s QUEEN OF LAPA featured at Oxford Film Festival’s 5th Weekly Virtual Fest is topped by docs, films focusing on the black experience, and experimental film

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“Our audiences have become accustomed to the Oxford Film Festival bringing the world to them via the documentary films we program,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “QUEEN OF LAPA and LIFE IN SYNCHRO are vastly different films, but share that sense of discovery, whether it be a transgender sex workers community in Brazil or the amazing women that make synchronized skating a sport that will surprise and excite you. It’s also exciting to give a platform to the filmmakers and stories delving into the black experience in Mississippi, Memphis and this country through our Black Lens Narrative shorts program and the expected, yet unexpected cinematic visions our Fest Forward programs always deliver.”

Christopher Wesley Moore’s, A STRANGER AMONG THE LIVING: Oxford Film Festival’s 4th Weekly Virtual Fest delivers the horror, a silly superhero, LGBTQIA+ stories and panels for filmmakers

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“Ghostly scares, silly superheroes, LGBTQIA+ stories, Americana, animation and experimental cinema is all on tap this week,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “This week will be a fun, adventurous slate of programming for our audiences, as well as having a great pair of panels and presentations courtesy of Seed&Spark for truly valuable information on crowdfunding and distribution for filmmakers to soak up, and then a chance to seriously look at the reality of getting our filmmakers back on the set here in Mississippi the following day.”

Steve Collins’ I’VE GOT ISSUES, Garin Hovannisian’s I AM NOT ALONE : Oxford Film Festival rolls out lineup for 3rd Weekly Virtual Fest and adds Virtual Art House titles too

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“This week’s films as well as the featured panels share a universal idea and experience of dealing with a new situation or in some cases – a new world order,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “Sometimes the effort to sort things out can be wryly and darkly funny and sometimes it can surprise us and inspire us to reach goals we never previously thought we could attain. And sometimes, just talking about it and hashing things out can do us a world of good.”

Daniel Lafrentz’s THE LONG SHADOW showcases at Oxford Film Festival; part of lineup for 2nd Weekly Film Festival

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“The importance of curating this weekly mix is to showcase the versatility of our filmmakers and highlight how global cinema unites us,” Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “Whether through a music documentary about fighting a conservative government with art, or Queer cinema from southern filmmakers, to gorgeous animation from Oxford Film Fest alumni like film professor and fest circuit favorite Geoff Marslett, this week’s virtual film festival again allows us to narrowly focus in on these great films and engage much longer detailed conversations about filmmaking.”

Brian Whisenant’s THE GOLDEN YEARS launches Oxford Film Festival Weekly Virtual Film Festival

By John Wildman 6 years ago

Executive Director Melanie Addington, said, “The Oxford Film Festival has become a vital showcase for independent film and filmmakers for close to two decades now, so rather than reducing the number of the films that routinely receive the benefits of having that platform, we decided to create these weekly presentations in lieu of a one-week online virtual film festival. We’re excited by the idea that we can give each film that much more of a focus. It is important for festival organizers to adapt in this pandemic to do what is best for their filmmakers as they are our partners and the only reason our industry exists.

Allan Moyle’s THE GUN IN BETTY LOU’S HANDBAG Opens 2020 Oxford Film Festival Announces Special Screenings and Film Events Adding to Jam-packed schedule in March

By John Wildman 6 years ago

Addington, said, “Each year, after we initially set our schedule, exciting films will pop up and potentially be available for us to show to our Oxford Film Festival audiences. This year, we were fortunate enough to grab a few great ones. The Female Filmmaker Retreat is a very exciting addition to offer some real assistance and push to a group of women working on their next films. Project(ions) is another step forward for film as art that we think will add to the fest-going experience. And we’ll see everyone at our Secret Screening for the big reveal!”

Mindy Bledsoe’s THE IN-BETWEEN led awards at Women Texas Film Festival 2019 announces Filmmaker Awards after big year for the fest

By John Wildman 7 years ago

Women Texas Film Festival Founder and Artistic Director Justina Walford said, “I am in love with this jury. Each juror added wisdom and gravitas, but most importantly used their love of filmmakers to be the focus of their decisions. As always, we want to not simply screen films envisioned and created by women, but to push forward the risk takers. And this group of films and the filmmakers that created them earned the right to be singled out via these awards.”

Executive Director Melanie Addington leads 2019 Oxford Film Festival; Filmmaker Awards Red Carpet was nothing short of EPIC!

By John Wildman 7 years ago

In person, the Oxford Film Festival is a comfort zone, an oasis for filmmakers to connect with each other and see each other’s films and enjoy that shared camaraderie while bowling on opening night (literally) or hanging out at a longtime sponsor’s southern mansion, listening to each other and discussing topics during filmmaker panels that very much feel like personal “airing-out” sessions, and, of course, watching each other’s films.

FILMS GONE WILD: 10 Film Festival Programmers to Watch

By John Wildman 7 years ago

In the meantime, now that I have probably exhausted everyone’s patience by blathering on and ranting like an old man carrying a crumpled paper bag and out of date newspaper outside a deli, here is a quick list of ten people that I work with and for that I would suggest filmmakers, film industry types, and people reading the movie industry tea leaves SHOULD be paying attention to: