The 2018 Oxford Film Festival (February 7-11) has announced the full schedule of films for this year’s 15th Anniversary edition. On opening night, writer/director Adam Rifkin will present his latest effort, THE LAST MOVIE STAR, starring Burt Reynolds and Ariel Winter, while Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s intense drama, ALLURE, starring Evan Rachel Wood, will screen at the festival’s Centerpiece Selection and Robert Mullan’s 60s biopic MAD TO BE NORMAL, starring David Tennant Elisabeth Moss and Michael Gambon, serves as the closing night selection.

THE LAST MOVIE STAR

THE LAST MOVIE STAR

A total of 204 films (35 features, 169 shorts and music videos), including 29 world premieres and 6 U.S. premieres, were selected for OFF’s 15th Anniversary edition, marking an increase of more than 30 films from last year’s lineup. In addition, more than 60 female filmmakers directed or co-directed this year’s films, aided in part by the festival’s decision to offer a 50% discount for submissions by female filmmakers and the continuing Alice Guy Blaché Award for Emerging Female Filmmaker.

BERNARD AND HUEY

BERNARD AND HUEY

Narrative feature films in competition this year include: Dan Mirvish’s BERNARD AND HUEY, Mark Potts’s COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE, Billy Chase Goforth’s DOOR IN THE WOODS, Arturo Perez Torres and Aviva Armour-Ostroff’s THE DRAWER BOY; Akiyo Fujimura’s ERIKO, PRETENDED; and Catherine Eaton’s THE SOUNDING.

SERENADE FOR HAITI

SERENADE FOR HAITI

Documentary features in competition include: Skye Borgman’s FOREVER ‘B’; Aaron and Amanda Kopp’s LIYANA; Nick Taylor’s THE ORGANIZER; Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, and Jeff Springer’s RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE; and Owsley Brown III’s SERENADE FOR HAITI.

ALASKA IS A DRAG

ALASKA IS A DRAG

The LGBTQ Juried Feature Competition will include Shaz Bennett’s festival favorite ALASKA IS A DRAG, along with Jill Salvino’s BETWEEN THE SHADES, and Itako’s BOYS FOR SALE, and highlights the Oxford Film Festival’s commitment to support our LGBTQ filmmakers and offer a more positive reaction to the passage of Mississippi’s “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act.”

“This year we’ve struck a wonderful balance between films that are thoughtful, provocative, reflect the world we live in, and address the issues of the day without blinking, with films that are just pure, fun, entertainment,” said Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington. “The festival continues to increase in size and scope and that growth can also be seen in the work of our local Mississippi filmmakers, whose exceptional work continues to impress. This year’s festival includes 18 films from Mississippi artists, the most to date, and they will be highlighted right next to the best films we could find from all around the world.”

Rifkin’s THE LAST MOVIE STAR (formerly titled, DOG YEARS) stars Burt Reynolds as a former box-office king, who many years later, is invited to receive an honor at a film festival that turns out to be beyond dubious. Therefore, he instead opts to go on an impromptu road trip with the sister (Ariel Winter) of one of the fest’s organizers. A bittersweet journey follows as the odd pairing visit some memorable spots – and people – from the old man’s past. The film screens Thursday, February 8 at 7:30PM at the Gertrude C. Ford Center (351 University Ave.).

ALLURE

ALLURE

Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s ALLURE stars Evan Rachel Wood as a woman struggling to re-establish her life and meet someone as she continues to recover from past abuse. However, there seems to be hope when she meets Eva, a young, talented pianist disillusioned by the life her mother imposes upon her. As Laura become increasingly obsessed with Eva, she convinces the girl to run away with her and they soon find themselves caught up in an intense relationship that can’t be sustained. The film screens Saturday, February 10 at 8:45PM at the Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.)

MAD TO BE NORMAL

MAD TO BE NORMAL

Mullan’s biopic, MAD TO BE NORMAL, stars “Jessica Jones/”Dr. Who” star, David Tennant as RD Laing, a radical psychiatrist who rewrote the rules on mental health treatment. He became a 60s counterculture hero for challenging the status quo of pills and electro shock therapy, instead opting for a holistic treatment without drugs, group therapy, and communal healing. The films impressive cast also includes Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne, and Michael Gambon. The film screens Sunday, February 11 at 6:00PM at the Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.)

Two of OFF’s special events directly address issues that concern women and are currently at the forefront of society today.

Cady McClain

Cady McClain

Daytime television legend (“All My Children”) Cady McClain’s documentary SEEING IS BELIEVING: WOMEN DIRECT will screen on Friday (February 9), followed by a panel featuring several attending female filmmakers as they discuss some of the myriad issues that have been in the news this past year regarding female filmmakers and women in general.

I AM EVIDENCE

I AM EVIDENCE

Saturday sees the Mississippi premiere of Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir’s award-winning HBO documentary, I AM EVIDENCE, produced by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay, about the tens of thousands of unprocessed rape kits across the country. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and special guests.

“Given the recent and continuing avalanche of sexual harassment and assault revelations in almost every area of society,” Added Addington, “we felt it was important that the issues raised in these two films, as well as others in this year’s festival, be highlighted and discussed in our community.”

Previously announced was a special work-in-progress screening of Cassidy Friedman’s restorative justice documentary, CIRCLES, followed by a panel featuring Friedman and subject Eric Butler.

BASEKETBALL

BASEKETBALL

Providing a reminder that the Oxford Film Festival also has fun on its mind, Saturday will feature a 20th Anniversary screening of David Zucker’s cult comedy favorite BASEketball, starring South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The screening will feature an appearance by cast member Dian Bachar and an actual BASEketball tournament in the parking lot of the Malco theater in conjunction with the screening.

COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE

COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE

Another comedy will make its world premiere at OFF, as filmmaker Mark Potts returns to the festival with his latest, COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE. The film follows two police officers, as they take on an evil mastermind, while working through some personal partnership issues. Potts’ indie comedy, SPAGHETTIMAN, was an audience favorite two years ago.

MERKAT MOONSHIP

MEERKAT MOONSHIP

Making its bow as a fully-formed section is the 2018 Kid Fest Film Festival, which features Brian Michael Stoller’s THE AMAZING WIZARD OF PAWS, Hanneke Schutte’s MEERKAT MOONSHIP, and a special screening of Niki Caro’s classic adventure film, WHALE RIDER, marking Kid Fest’s official entry as an entire new fest just for kids after Oxford FF tested it last year in a smaller scale.

EXIT STRATEGY

EXIT STRATEGY

The impressive short film lineup boasts no fewer than 26 world premieres and 6 U.S. premieres, underscoring the Oxford Film Festival’s international reputation as a “discovery” film festival, featuring and promoting new filmmaking talent. The festival will also once again feature the top finishers from last year’s Louisiana Film Prize, including the winner of that celebrated film competition’s $50,000 grand prize, Travis Bible’s EXIT STRATEGY.

John Norris

John Norris

Previously announced were the winners of the Vodka Artist competition, the Magnifying Glass Fellowship winner, as well as the winners of Oxford FF’s first screenplay competition, who, in addition to other prizes, will receive mentorship from John Norris, film producer of such films as GET ON UP, THE HELP, and the upcoming AMERICAN PAIN.

 

2018 OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL FILMS AND DESCRIPTIONS

Feature Films

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION

THE LAST MOVIE STAR

Director: Adam Rifkin

Cast: Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase

Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min

An aging former movie star is forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him. On its surface, THE LAST MOVIE STAR is a tale about faded fame, but at its core, it’s a universal story about growing old.

 

CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION

MAD TO BE NORMAL

Director: Robert Mullan

Cast: David Tennent, Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne, Michael Gambon

Country: UK, Running Time: 105 min

During the 1960s, a renegade Scottish psychiatrist courts controversy within his profession for his approach to the field, and for the unique community he creates for his patients to inhabit.

 

CENTERPIECE SELECTION

ALLURE

Directors: Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Julia Sarah Stone, Denis O’Hare

Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min

Plagued by the abuse of her past and the turmoil of failed intimate encounters, Laura struggles to find a lover and a sense of normalcy.

 

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY SCREENING

BASEKETBALL (1998)

Director: David Zucker

Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy

Country: USA, Running Time: 103 min

Two childhood friends are pro athletes of a national sport called BASEketball, a hybrid of baseball and basketball, and must deal with a greedy businessman scheming against their team.

 

SPECIAL WORK-IN-PROGRESS SCREENING

CIRCLES PRESENTED BY MISSISSIPPI HUMANITIES COUNCIL

Director: Cassidy Friedman

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 is accused of a crime he didn’t commit.

 

 

NARRATIVE FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

BERNARD AND HUEY

Director: Dan Mirvish

Cast: Jim Rash, David Koechner, Sasha Alexander, Eva Darville , Richard Kind, Nancy Travis, Bellamy Young, Mae Whitman

Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min

Based on characters from Jules Feiffer’s Village Voice comic strip dating back to 1957, roguish Huey, and nebbishy Bernard are unlikely friends in late 1980s New York. 25 years later, and now Bernard is a successful bachelor, and Huey arrives on his doorstep looking old and washed up. As the two reconnect, Bernard starts a relationship with Huey’s estranged daughter Zelda. Huey slowly gets his mojo back and tries to seduce various women in Bernard’s life, while reconnecting with his family. At least one of them is in danger of marrying a woman old enough to be his wife.

 

COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS:              WORLD PREMIERE

LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE

Director: Mark Potts

Country: USA, Running Time: 83 min

Action. Suspense. Death. Love. Hot men. Etc. COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE tells the story of two wild police officers, Higgs and McGraw, and their chase to take down Samir, an evil mastermind hell bent on making the world bow down to him.

 

DOOR IN THE WOODS

Director: Billy Chase Goforth

Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min

A young family encounters paranormal forces and face a devastating choice after they install a mysterious vintage door in their home.

 

THE DRAWER BOY

Directors: Arturo Perez Torres, Aviva Armour-Ostroff

Country: Canada, Running Time: 98 min

Set in Ontario, 1972, the film follows Miles, a naive actor from Toronto, who turns up at a remote farm run by two men: the ruggedly practical Morgan and the simple-minded Angus. However, when the farmers let the city-boy into their home, Miles’ search for a story gradually unearths a devastating truth that threatens to destroy the tranquil lives of his hosts forever.

 

ERIKO, PRETENDED

Director: Akiyo Fujimura

Country: Japan, Running Time: 93 min

Ten years have gone by since Eriko moved to Tokyo to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. However, things haven’t gone like she expected, and for Eriko, there was no hope in sight. She receives the news about her older sister’s sudden death. Eriko returns home to attend her sister’s funeral her relatives question Eriko’s pretend life as a successful actress. On a whim, Eriko declares that she will take care of Kazuma, her sister’s 10-year-old son, while finding out that her sister worked as a mourner-for-hire at funerals.

 

THE SOUNDING

Director: Catherine Eaton

Country: USA, Running Time: 93 min

On a remote island off the coast of Maine, Liv, after years of silence, begins to weave a language out of Shakespeare’s words. A driven neurologist, brought to the island to protect her, commits her to a psychiatric hospital. She becomes a full-blow rebel in the hospital; her increasing violence threatens to keep her locked up for life as she fights for her voice and her freedom. At a tipping point for otherness in our current climate, THE SOUNDING champions it.

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

FOREVER ‘B’

Director: Skye Borgman

Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min

FOREVER ‘B’ is a twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction story of the Broberg’s, a naïve, church-going Idaho family whose daughter, Jan, was kidnapped by the family’s best friend and neighbor. Twice.

 

LIYANA

Director: Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp

Country: Swaziland, USA, Running Time: 77 min

A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated African tale is born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in Swaziland who collaborate to tell a story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams.

 

THE ORGANIZER

Director: Nick Taylor

Country: USA, Running Time: 101 min

THE ORGANIZER is a portrait of Wade Rathke, the controversial founder of ACORN, as well as an exploration of that much maligned and misunderstood occupation – community organizing.

 

RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE

Directors: Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer

Country: USA, Running Time: 71 min

Hard headed Louisiana fisherman Thomas Gonzales doesn’t know what will hit him next. After decades of hurricanes and oil spills he faces a new threat – hordes of monstrous 20-pound swamp rats. Known as “nutria”, these invasive South American rodents breed faster than the roving squads of hunters can control them.

 

SERENADE FOR HAITI

Director: Owsley Brown III

Country: USA, Running Time: 110 min

A classical music school in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti thrives despite decades of entrenched poverty and political strife. When a catastrophic earthquake completely destroys the school in 2010, a stunned and devastated faculty and student body must pick up the pieces and find a way to move forward.

 

MISSISSIPPI FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

THE LONG SHADOW

Director: Frances Causey

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.

 

LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM

Director: Astin Rocks.

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         WORLD PREMIERE

JACKSON

Director: Timothy Givens and Mark K. Brockway

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 PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA    WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jeff Dennis

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.

 

MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES JURIED COMPETITION

CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE

Director: Zack Taylor

Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min

CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE is, in fact, a documentary mixtape about a musical format that refuses to die. Through a series of one-on-one interviews, Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette, confronts 50 years of mixed emotions about his creation. He is joined on his journey by Henry Rollins, Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye, Rob Sheffield, Burger Records, and many more.

 

DO U WANT IT?

Directors: Sam Radutzky, Josh Freund

Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min

DO U WANT IT? is an exploration and celebration of the musical culture of New Orleans. The film chronicles the rise of beloved New Orleans’ band Papa Grows Funk and uses their illustrious thirteen-year career, from formation up to the band’s emotional final shows, as a vehicle to explore the nuances of success and struggle in the greatest musical city in the world.

 

HOW THEY GOT OVER

Director: Robert Clem

Country: USA, Running Time: 87 min

HOW THEY GOT OVER explores the evolution of black gospel quartet music and its contributions to the emergence of rock & roll. The film includes performances by the Blind Boys of Mississippi and Alabama, the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Davis Sisters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sensational Nightingales and many more.

 

WORD IS BOND

Director: Sacha Jenkins

Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min

Word Is Bond is a documentary film by Sacha Jenkins that examines the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop music. What was born on the streets of the South Bronx has now taken root globally, and the young poets of New York have helped to spawn regional dialects everywhere.

 

LGBTQ FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

ALASKA IS A DRAG

Director: Shaz Bennett

Country: USA, Running Time: 89 min

A fish out of water story – literally. Our hero Leo is an aspiring superstar stuck working in a fish cannery in Alaska. Leo and his twin sister Tristen hang out at the one gay bar in a hundred miles, owned by their surly surrogate mom Jan (Margaret Cho). After years of getting beat up by his former best friend, Leo has learned to fight back, catching the eye of his cannery boss, an amateur boxer who offers to train him to be a fighter.

 

BETWEEN THE SHADES

Director: Jill Salvino

Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min

BETWEEN THE SHADES seeks to put faces to the letters that make up
LGBTQI and how those letters have evolved. The film examines the immense power of labels and the transcendence of love.

 

BOYS FOR SALE

Director: Itako

Country: Japan, Running Time: 76 min

Boys are selling sex in Japan. Who is buying? In the Tokyo district of Shinjuku 2-chome there are bars that specialize in “Urisen”, young boys who have sex with men.

 

 

KID FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE FILMS

THE AMAZING WIZARD OF PAWS

Director: Brian Michael Stoller

Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min

What happens when you find out the family dog is actually six-hundred years old and was once owned by a great and powerful wizard? In this charming and magical adventure, young Bobby Spade and his faithful therapy dog, Ozzy, stumble upon an ancient wizard’s mystical book of spells.

 

MEERKAT MOONSHIP

Director: Hanneke Schutte

Country: South Africa, Running Time: 97 min

Timid, wildly imaginative 13-year-old Gideonette de La Rey learns that the name she was given comes with it a horrible curse. After her father dies, Gideonette is paralyzed by fear and is sent to live on a farm with her grandparents where she befriends a young deaf boy who is “training” to become an astronaut and preparing to fly away in a Moonship that Gideonette’s grandfather built for him.

 

WHALE RIDER (2002)

Director: Niki Caro

Country: Running Time: 101 min

A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.

 

 

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL SCREENINGS

I AM EVIDENCE

Directors: Trish Adlesic, Geeta Gandbhir

Country: USA, Running Time:

An investigation into the way sexual assault cases are handled by police departments across the United States and an examination of how there came to be a backlog of tens of thousands of untested rape kits.

 

LIVING ON SOUL

Directors: Jeff Broadway, Cory Bailey

Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min

LIVING ON SOUL is a hybrid docu-concert film featuring the late Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley and the rest of the Daptone Records family. Filmed largely during Daptone’s December 2014 three-night, sold-out residency at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, the documentary features a mixture of live performances and verité scenes that paint a robust picture of the Daptone family and culture.

 

SEEING IS BELIEVING: WOMEN DIRECT

Director: Cady McClain

Country: USA, Running Time: 57 min

SEEING IS BELIEVING Is an in-depth investigation into the challenges faced by women directors. The film focuses on the journeys of four articulate filmmakers – Lesli Linka Glatter (HOMELAND), Sarah Gavron (SUFFRAGETTE), li Lu (THERE IS A NEW WORLD SOMEWHERE), and Naima Ramos Chapman (AND NOTHING HAPPENED) who provide a wonderful mix of perspectives.

 

URANIA DESCENDING

Director: Tav Falco

Country: Austria, Running Time: 69 min

An American girl, Gina Lee is an alienated and disaffected female who has become disenchanted with hometown strip malls, sleaze bars, and rides along the river-side in her BMW. Impulsively she buys a discount airline ticket in a shopping mall travel agency. Destination: Vienna, the merry/sinister imperial city on the Danube. Gina Lee quickly slips into discreet, yet decadent dalliances at Cafe Central and at the notorious Hotel Orient, where she becomes embroiled in an intrigue to uncover buried Nazi plunder. Her tragic liaison with rakish Karl Heinz Von Riegl results in her submersion beneath the dark waters of Lake Atter, yet her ultimate fate remains unresolved.

 

 

Oxford Film Festival Short Films

(For full film descriptions, please visit oxfordfilmfest.com)

BEST OF THE LOUISIANA FILM PRIZE

CANDYLAND

Director: Taylor Bracewell

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

EXIT STRATEGY

Director: Travis Bible

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

MY FATHER’S SON

Director: Kyle Clements

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

SCOUNDRELS

Director: Mark Blitch

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

STAG

Director: Jonnie Stapleton

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

 

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (DRAMA SHORTS BLOCK)

AN ACT OF TERROR

Director: Ashley Paige Brim

Country: USA, Running Time: 16 min

 

BLACK CANARIES

Director: Jessee Kreitzer

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

BLOOD WOLF                                                             WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Diana Cignoni

Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min

 

THE BLUE CAR

Director: Henrik A. Meyer

Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min

 

HOME                                                                          WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Clark Duke

Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

 

LAWMAN

Director: Matthew Gentile

Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

 

RUNNING EAGLE

Director: Konrad Tho Fiedler

Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

 

 

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (COMEDY SHORTS BLOCK)

BITCHES LOVE BRUNCH

Director: Sasha Leigh Henry

Country: Canada, Running Time: 11 min

 

THE FINAL SHOW                                                       WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Dana Nachman

Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min

 

GLORIA TALKS FUNNY                                               WORLD PREMIERE    

Director: Kendall Goldberg

Country: USA, Running Time: 19 min

 

LAST WORDS

Director: Andre LeBlanc

Country USA, Running Time: 9 min

 

M.A.M.O.N. (MONITOR AGAINST MEXICANS OVER NATIONWIDE)

Director: Alejandro Damiani

Country: Mexico, Running Time: 5 min

 

SANS RESPONSE

Director: William Papadin

Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

 

TEMPORARY

Director: Milena Govich

Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min

 

THAT SMELL

Director: Kyle Lavore

Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min

 

 

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (INTERNATIONAL SHORTS BLOCK)

ALZHAÏMOUR

Director: Pierre Van de Kerckhove

Country: Belgium, Running Time: 14 min

 

FLIEGEN

Director: Marcus Hanisch

Country: Germany, Running Time: 18 min

 

SAVE ME!

Director: Mohsen Nabavi

Countries: Iran/Malyasia, Running Time: 10 min

 

SAY NO                                                                       WORLD PREMIERE    

Director: Samuel Clemens

Country: UK, Running Time: 9 min

 

SPACE GIRLS                                                             WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Carys Watford

Country: UK, Running Time: 10 min

 

SPINOSAURUS

Director: Tessa Hoffe

Country: UK, Running Time: 15 min

 

THE VEST

Director: Lesley Manning

Country: UK, Running Time: 7 min

 

THE WEIGHT

Director: Garrett Detrixhe

Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min

 

A WHOLE WORLD FOR A LITTLE WORLD

Director: Fabrice Bracq

Country: France, Running Time: 15 min

 

 

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (LATE NIGHT SHORTS BLOCK)

ALFRED J. HEMLOCK

Director: Edward Lyons

Country: Australia, Running Time: 15 min

 

THE APOCALYPSE WILL BE AUTOMATED                WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Melanie Killingsworth

Country: Australia, Running Time: 8 min

 

EINSTEIN-ROSEN

Director: Olga Osorio

Country: Spain, Running Time: 9 min

 

HEARTLESS                                                                WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Kevin Sluder

Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min

 

IT BEGAN WITHOUT WARNING

Directors: Santiago C. Tapia, Jessica Curtright

Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min

 

LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Director: Jocelyn Statmat

Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min

 

PESSIM                                                                       U.S. PREMIERE

Director: TAKCOM

Country: Japan, Running Time: 11 min

(NOTE – PESSIM is a Fest Forward selection screening in this block)

 

REAL ARTISTS

Director: Cameo Wood

Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min

 

TRANSMISSION

Directors: Varun Raman & Tom Hancock

Country: UK, Running Time: 17 min

(NOTE – TRANSMISSION is a Fest Forward selection screening in this block)

 

 

NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

FAVORITES

Director: Tracy S. Facelli

Country: USA, Running Time: 17:24 min

(ARTIST VODKA runner up)

(screens with Winning Short Films block)

 

THE MELANCHOLY MAN

Director: Samantha Smith

Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min

(screens with ERIKO PRETENDING)

 

NATION DOWN

Director: Liam Hendrix Heath

Country: USA, Running Time: 14:57 min

(ARTIST VODKA winner)

(screens with Winning Short Films block)

 

THE PERFECT FIT                                                       WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Emory Parker

Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min

(screens with THE DRAWER BOY)

 

ROBERT

Directors: Sarah Fleming, Joann Self Selvidge

Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min

(screens with CIRCLES)

 

SURROGATE

Director: Olivia Hamilton

Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

(screens with BERNARD & HUEY)

 

TIMBRE                                                                       U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Gareth Peevers

Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min

(screens with THE SOUNDING)

 

TOND

Directors: Josh Ruben, Vince Peone

Country: USA, Running Time: 21 min

(screens with COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE)

 

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS

$30 TO ANTARCTICA

Director: Joey Chu

Country: USA/Hong Kong, Running Time: 18 min

 

A LIFE’S WORK                                                           U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Ben Spilling

Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min

 

ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN

Director: Daniel Robin

Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min

 

ALTIMIR

Director: Kay Hannahan

Country: Bulgaria/USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

JOHNNY’S GREEK AND THREE

Director: Ava Lowery

Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min

 

NEWPORT GUN GIRLS                                               WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Lauren Orme

Country: UK, Running Time: 11 min

 

OUR GHOSTS

Director: Hannah Ruddle

Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min

 

WASHED AWAY

Director: Dana Nachman

Country: USA, Running Time: 18 min

 

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING

Director: Matteo Servente

Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min

(screens with LIYANA)

 

JESSZILLA

Director: Emily Sheskin

Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min

(screens with SERENADE FOR HAITI)

 

MONSTER IN THE BAYOU

Director: Victoria Greene

Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min

(screens with SERENADE FOR HAITI)

 

THE NATURE OF MASS DEMONSTRATIONS  WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Nate Lavey

Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min

(screens with THE ORGANIZER)

 

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND BEATING HEARTS

Director: Peter Byck

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

(screens with RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE)

 

YOU SEE ‘EM

Director: Emma Landeche

Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min

(screens with RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE)

 

 

MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS (COMMUNITY FILM BLOCK)

#FIFTEEN

Director: Melanie Addington

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

BIRTHING VIDEO

Director: Christina Huff

Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

 

CLOSED

Director: Samuel Cox

Country: USA, Running Time: 3:17 min

 

DAYFALL

Director: Tony King

Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min

 

DEAR MR BRYANT                                                      WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Robbie Fisher, Jenni Smith

Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min

(MAGNIFYING GLASS FELLOWSHIP WINNER)

 

FIFTEEN

Director: Julia Mitchell

Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min

 

THE PIZZA MAGAZINE                                                WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Daniel Perea

Country: USA, Running Time: 15:48 min

 

THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO HOUR: 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Director: Christina Huff

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

 

MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS (MISSISSIPPI SHORTS BLOCK)

CAUTION

Director: Thomas Haffey

Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min

 

COWGIRL UP

Director: Nathan Willis

Country: USA, Running Time: 5:17 min

 

CUBICLE CITY

Director: Glenn Payne

Country: USA, Running Time: 16:42 min

 

FLAG FLAP OVER MISSISSIPPI

Director: Rex Jones

Country: USA, Running Time: 27 min

 

HAND MADE

Director: David Ross

Country: USA, Running Time: 4:55 min

 

MOMBIE

Director: N.T. Bullock

Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min

 

PART OF IT                                                                 WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Victoria De Leone

Country: USA, Running Time: 7:20 min

 

PAY THE PIPER

Director: Maggie Bushway

Country: USA, Running Time: 6:29 min

 

RIVER MADE                                                               WORLD PREMIERE

Director: David Ross

Country: USA, Running Time: 7:09 min

 

TRUTH RISES                                                              WORLD PREMIERE

Director: E. J. Carter

Country: USA, Running Time: 2:40 min

 

WE BELIEVED WE WERE IMMORTAL

Directors: Kathleen Wickham, Larry Wells

Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min

 

WINSTON COUNTY MIRACLE MAN

Director: Rick Guy

Country: USA, Running Time: 6:25 min

 

 

MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

COLETTE

Director: Royce Swayze

Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min

(screens with MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON)

 

HERE I’LL STAY

Directors: Marlene McCurtis, Lorena Maniquez

Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min

(screens with THE LONG SHADOW)

 

 

LGBTQ SHORT FILMS

3 FRIENDS

Director: Michael Moody Culpepper

Country: Ireland/USA, Running Time: 22 min

 

THE CLEANSE

Director: Lucas Omar

Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

 

DUSK

Director: Jake Graf

Country: UK, Running Time: 15 min

 

HAYGOOD EATS!

Director: Hazart

Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

 

HOW TO MAKE A PEARL

Director: Jason Hanasik

Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min

 

SPARK                                                            WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Aharonit Elinor

Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min

 

SUNUNÚ: THE REVOLUTION OF LOVE

Director: Olivia Crellin

Country: UK, Running Time: 24 min

 

THE THIRD MOVEMENT                                              U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Josephine Anderson

Country: Canada, Running Time: 11 min

 

WAFFLES

Director: Foster Wilson

Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

 

 

LGBTQ SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

FISHY

Director: Joseph Sulsenti

Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min

(screens with ALASKA IS A DRAG)

 

LADY EVA

Directors: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu

Country: Kingdom of Tonga, Running Time: 11 min

(screens with ALASKA IS A DRAG)

 

 

FEST FORWARD SHORT FILMS (ANIMATION BLOCK)

CATHERINE

Director: Britt Raes

Country: Belgium, Running Time: 12 min

 

FIRST BLOOM

Director: Tingting Liu

Country: China, Running Time: 5 min

 

JAMSHID: A LAMENT FOR A MYTH                            U.S. PREMIERE

Director: Moin Samadi

Country: Iran, Running Time: 12 min

MEETING MACGUFFIN

Director: Catya Plate

Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min

 

NEGATIVE SPACE                                                      U.S. PREMIERE

Directors: Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata

Country: France, Running Time: 5 min

 

THE SERVANT

Director: Farnoosh Abedi

Country: Iran, Running Time: 9 min

 

THE SPIRIT SEAM                                                       WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Ashley Gerst

Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

 

TWO BALLOONS

Director: Mark C. Smith

Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min

 

UGLY

Director: Nikita Diakur

Country: Germany, Running Time: 12 min

 

 

FEST FORWARD SHORT FILMS (FEST FORWARD BLOCK)

ANIMAL CINEMA

Director: Emilio Vavarella

Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min

 

ANTHROPOCENE                                                        WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Bradley Rappa

Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

 

BLUE BUT PALE BLUE

Director: Daisy Dickinson

Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min

 

THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER

Director: Jadwiga Kowalska

Country: Switzerland, Running Time: 6 min

 

CARGO

Director: Jasmine Ellis

Country: Germany, Running Time: 4 min

 

COLLAPSING

Director: Brian Ratigan

Country: USA, Running Time: 1 min

 

COOKING WITH CONNIE

Director: Stavit Allweis

Country: USA, Running Time: 20 min

 

DISILLUSIONMENT OF 10 POINT FONT

Director: Greg Condon

Country: USA, Running Time: 1 min

 

LYING WOMEN

Director: Deborah Kelly

Country: Australia, Running Time: 4 min

 

MAY I? REMIX#

Director: Vasco Diogo

Country: Portugal, Running Time: 4 min

 

PARALYSIS                                                                 WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Victoria Negri

Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min

 

PITTARI

Director: Patrick Smith

Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

 

THE REALM OF DEEPEST KNOWING

Director: Seunghee Kim

Country: South Korea, Running Time: 3 min

 

SHOT

Director: Aemilia Scott

Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min

 

TOWARDS THE EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL OF DREAMING

Director: Ryan Betschart

Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min

 

TRUMPET MAN

Director: Emily Wong

Country: Hong Kong, Running Time: 14 min

 

WHAT’S THAT IN THE GROUND?                                WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Wally Chung

Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min

 

YELLOW AND RED MAKE ORANGE                           WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Jay Hollinsworth

Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

 

 

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                          WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Greg Johnson

Country: USA, Running Time: 5:28 min

 

“Glory Glory” by Sharde Thomas                              WORLD PREMIERE

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”                   WORLD PREMIERE

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”                                                    WORLD PREMIERE

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

 

 

KID FILM FEST SHORT FILMS

 

A MESSAGE FOR BRAZEY

Director: Jared D. Weiss

Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min

 

THE ADVENTURE OF THE AFTERNOON

Directors: Vance Yang, Stella Huang

Country: Taiwan, Running Time: 8 min

 

BRAND NEW DAY

Directors: Patricia Beckmann Wells, EdD

Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

 

C-5-11

Director: Edward Ramsay-Morin

Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min

 

GHOST BEATS

Director: Brent Barson

Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min

 

HOMEGROWN

Director: Quentin Haberham

Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min

 

LIGHT SIGHT

Director: Seyed M. Tabatabaei

Country: Iran, Running Time: 8 min

 

ROYAL (MOVE TO MUSIC VIDEOS)

Director: Michael Williams

Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min

 

SAVING SANTA

Director: Keith O’ Grady

Country: Northern Ireland, Running Time: 17 min

 

STARS

Director: Han Zhang

Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

 

 

SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

Twirling at Ole Miss”(Grand Prize)

Screenwriter: John Matthew Tyson

 

“Not Everything Was Burning” (Runner Up)

Screenwriter: John Bateman