The 2019 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of the fest with a typically entertaining awards ceremony, emceed by Crooked Marquee’s Eric D. Snider, at the Powerhouse (413 S. 14^th Street) on Saturday, February 9, highlighted by the announcement of Hoka awards for Jordan Noel’s THIS WORLD ALONE for Best Narrative Feature, and Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer’s WRESTLE for Best Documentary Feature.

Noel received a $10,000 camera rental package from Panavision and $250 check, while Herbert and Belfer received a $250 check and $10,000 of equipment rental for their next feature from Panavision as well as $2,500 in editorial consultation from editor Joe Shapiro.

 

Winner of the Best Mississippi Feature was John Reyer Afamasaga’s DOOR AJAR: THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY. He received a year of free equipment rental from OxFilm Society and a Hoka Award and a check for $250. Jeffrey Dennis’ SHARDE THOMAS: LEGACY OF THE FIFE was given a Special Jury Prize in the category.

John Rash’s NEGRO TERROR won BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY, the Hoka Award and a check for $100, while John Whitehead’s DON’T GET TROUBLE IN YOUR MIND received a Special Jury Mention.

Winner of the Best LGBTQ Feature Film Award and receiving $250 and a Hoka Award was Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA. The shorts category had a tie between Will Stewart’s ALL WE ARE and Morgan Jon Fox’s THE ONE YOU NEVER FORGET for Best LGBTQ Short Film. The jury was so adamant about honoring both films equally that they ponied up the additional $100 prize money themselves so both films could win.

The Alice Guy-Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award (and check for $1000 from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation) went to Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer for their work on WRESTLE.

 

Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington said, “Our 16^th Anniversary edition of the Oxford Film Festival set records for filmmaker attendance and audiences for our films. The former demonstrates the draw this film festival has become for countless filmmakers on the regional circuit, and the latter is a direct result of the quality of the films those filmmakers are creating. This year’s award-winners were great representatives of the best we had to offer this year.”

In the Short Film category, Best Narrative Short went to Julio Ramos’ DEBRIS, with David Feagan and Brian Elliott’s AGE OF BRYCE, and Paul Petersen and Rachel Emerson’s ESMERALDA both receiving Special Jury Prizes in the category. Ramos won a $100 check, Hoka Award, and 3 days of audio post production from Taproot Audio Design in Oxford. Ramos’ DEBRIS also won the Best Foreign Language Film Award. For that honor, Ramos will receive a $250 check from the University of Mississippi Department of Modern Languages and a certificate. Johan Palmgren’s THE TRAFFIC SEPARATING DEVICE received an Honorary Mention in the category.

The winner of the Hoka Award for Best Documentary Short was Timothy Blackwood’s THE CONQUEROR. Blackwood will receive 3 days of audio post production from Taproot Audio Design in Oxford, to go with his Hoka Award and $250 check. The Best Music Documentary Short Film Award went to Austin Daniel Blasingame’s IT’S NOW OR NEVER: A RACE TO SAVE COLONEL PARKER’S COMPLEX. Blasingame received a Hoka Award and a $100 check.

Hanna Miller’s ROOTS AND WINGS won the Pat RasberryEmerging Filmmaker Award for Best Mississippi Short Film, and the $250 check and OxFilm society membership for free equipment rentals for one year, that came with that nod, a Bennett Krishock’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA was given a Special Jury Prize in the same category.

Receiving $100 and a Hoka Award for the Best Fest Forward Experimental Film winner was John Charter and Paul Kaiser’s REMISSION, with Dongjun Kim’s FUN TO COOK “WORLD’S BEST FOOD” receiving a Special Jury Prize. Taking hme $100 and a Hoka Award for Best Fest Forward Animation Film was Eusong Lee’s MY MOON, with Carol Freeman’s THE BIRD & THE WHALE getting a Special Jury Prize.

 

Christian Walker’s “Wash My Hands” by Cedric Burnside won Best Mississippi Music Video with Jeff Gordon’s THE GREAT DEPRESSION getting the nod for a Special Jury Prize. Walker received a $100 check and Hoka award, and the band also will win $1,000 worth of recording time from the studio of Oxford-based RNN Studios (Nathan Robbins). In a competition category introduced for the first time this year, the Best Student Film winner was Erin Lau’s THE MOON AND THE NIGHT, with Lau receiving a $250 check sponsored by Michael Johannson. Raul Toledo’s NO WAY IN HELL received a Special Jury Prize mention in the category.

Joe Starzyk was the winner of the Oxford Film Festival’s Screenplay Competition for his script, “The Golden Years.” The film festival staged a live table read of his script and presented him with a Hoka Award and a $1000 check during the ceremony.

 

Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s PETIT FOUR was the winner of the Artist Vodka Award. He received a trip to Oxford, along with the presentation of a Hoka Award, a bottle of vodka and a $10,000 check courtesy of Artist Vodka. Matthew Cipollone and Mikey D’Amico’s SIGNS received the Reel South Award.

Oxford Film Festival favorites Leslee Lin and Damon Burks were co-honored as this year’s Donna Ruth Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award recipients.

 

2019 OXFORD FF AWARD-WINNING FILMS

 

THIS WORLD ALONE – BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

Director: Jordan Noel

 

WRESTLE – BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Directors: Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer

 

 

DOOR AJAR: THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY – BEST MISSISSIPPI FEATURE

Director: John Reyer Afamasaga

 

SHARDE THOMAS: LEGACY OF THE FIFE – Special Jury Prize/BEST MISSISSIPPI FEATURE

Director: Jeffrey Dennis

 

NEGRO TERROR – BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Director: John Rash

 

DON’T GET TROUBLE IN YOUR MIND – Special Jury Mention/BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

Director: John Whitehead

 

THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA – BEST LGBTQ FILM

Directors: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher

 

ALL WE ARE – BEST LGBTQ SHORT (TIE)

Director: Will Stewart

 

THE ONE YOU NEVER FORGET – BEST LGBTQ SHORT (TIE)

Director: Morgan Jon Fox

 

Roger Bart – Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award

 

Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer (WRESTLE) – Alice Guy-Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award

 

Leslee Lin and Damon Burks – The Donna Ruth Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award

 

DEBRIS – BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

Director: Julio Ramos

 

AGE OF BRYCE – Special Jury Prize/BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

Directors: David Feagan, Brian Elliott

 

ESMERALDA – Special Jury Prize/BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

DirectorS: Paul Petersen, Rachel Emerson

 

THE CONQUEROR – BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Director: Timothy Blackwood

 

IT’S NOW OR NEVER: A RACE TO SAVE COLONEL PARKER’S COMPLEX – BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Director: Austin Daniel Blasingame

 

ROOTS AND WINGS –   Director: Hanna Miller       BEST MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILM (Pat Rasberry Emerging Mississippi Filmmaker Award)

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA –   Director: Bennett Krishock      Special Jury Prize/BEST MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILM

 

REMISSION – BEST FEST FORWARD EXPERIMENTAL FILM

Directors: John Charter, Paul Kaiser

 

FUN TO COOK “WORLD’S BEST FOOD” – Special Jury Prize/FEST FORWARD EXPERIMENTAL

Director: Dongjun Kim

 

MY MOON – BEST FEST FORWARD ANIMATION FILM

Director: Eusong Lee

 

THE BIRD & THE WHALE – Special Jury Prize/FEST FORWARD ANIMATION FILM

Director: Carol Freeman

 

“Wash My Hands” by Cedric Burnside – BEST MISSISSIPPI MUSIC VIDEO

Director: Christian Walker

 

THE GREAT DEPRESSION – Special Jury Prize/MUSIC VIDEO

Director: Jeff Gordon

 

THE MOON AND THE NIGHT – BEST STUDENT FILM

Director: Erin Lau

 

NO WAY IN HELL – Special Jury Prize/STUDENT FILM

Director: Raul Toledo

 

“The Golden Years” – BEST SCREENPLAY

Screenwriter: Joe Statzyk

 

PETIT FOUR – ARTIST VODKA AWARD

Director: Kalainithan Kalaichelvan

 

SIGNS – REEL SOUTH AWARD

Directors: Matthew Cipollone and Mikey D’Amico

 

DEBRIS – BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Director: Julio Ramos

 

THE TRAFFIC SEPARATING DEVICE – Honorary Mention/BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Director: Johan Palmgren