TEN from UM Media Documentary Projects on Vimeo.

A documentary short by Joe York
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Oxford Film Festival, the University of Mississippi’s Media and Documentary Projects Center teamed up with the festival to create a documentary film starring 10-year-olds from the Oxford/Lafayette County community discussing the joys and trials of being 10 years old.

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Photo of Ten Q&A by Bill Dabney. Additional photos available on our Facebook page.

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Click here to learn more about our annual community film project.

Scripts are due by June 1 to be in consideration to be produced by the festival. Screenwriters do not have to be from Oxford but must take into consideration Oxford’s physical locations and characteristics unique to the community. The script must be 8-12 pages long and include a crowd scene to accommodate about 75-100 extra non-actors. The project can be any genre, with comedy preferred, but must be suitable for all ages.

The selected script may be considered as written but the festival producers may work with the writer on changing some aspects of the script as needed. The selected screenwriter may be present on set to be part of the filmmaking process. The chosen screenwriter will receive full writing credit for the film and will be listed on IMDB. There is no payment for the script.

The audience choice award winner for best overall film is the documentary feature “An Ordinary Hero” by Loki Mulholland which also won the Hoka award for Best Documentary Feature.

Animation: Grandmothers (Abuelas) by Afarin Eghbal

Documentary Feature: An Ordinary Hero by Loki Mulholland (pictured)
* Special jury award for excellence in regional filmmaking: Antenna by C. Scott McCoy

Documentary Short: Reborning by Helen Hood Sheer and Yael Bridge

Experimental Short: Don’t Break Down by Matt Meindl

Mississippi Documentary: April’s Way by Candace Harrelson
* Special Jury Mention for Human Rights: Growing Our Own by Philip Scarborough

Mississippi Music Video: Growing Pains by Junk Culture

Mississippi Narrative: Tube by Jordan Berger
* Spirit of Roger Corman award: Grasshopper! by Ryan Roy and Michael Usry
* Special Jury Mention for Acting: Rebecca Jernigan, Tube

Narrative Feature: The Discoverers by Justin Schwarz
* Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Come Morning by Derrick Sims

Narrative Short: Deafblind by Ewan Bailey
* Special Jury Award: The Dark Companion by Darrell C. Hazelrig

Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award: Rebecca Jernigan, Tube

Ron Tibbett Memorial Audience Award: (will be announced after Sunday ballots have been counted)

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Category winners received a statuette designed by local artist Bill Beckwith. Additional prizes provided by Kirkwood National Golf Club and Cottages were presented to the winners of the Mississippi Documentary and Mississippi Narrative, and a one-year subscription to Footage Firm was presented to the winner of the Narrative Feature.

Harriet, a comic book artist with a secret, and her reckless BFF, Reba, take their ’76 AMC Pacer on the open road and their friendship gets a wild ride towards an impending nuclear apocalypse.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER is a clever dark comedy and heartfelt road trip buddy film wrapped in an apocalyptic disaster story, with two badass girls. Harriet, a perpetually optimistic comic-book artist, dreams of escaping her past in Los Angeles and hits the road for a new life in Austin, Texas.  She drags Reba, her seemingly devil-may-care BFF, along for the ride.  In the hush period following mysterious nuclear explosions, the girls are forced to ask: When faced with the end of the world – what is most important to you?

Producer and actor Stacey Storey will be in attendance for a Q&A.

See the trailer here. 

On Saturday at 7:15 p.m. is Sundance winner “This is Martin Bonner.” We are especially excited to screen Chad Hartigan’s second feature as we also showed his first film “Luke and Brie are on a First Date” at a previous OFF.

The striking sophomore film of writer/director Chad Hartigan, THIS IS MARTIN BONNER is a warm and perceptive meditation on friendship, human connection and getting a second chance at life. Fifty-something Martin Bonner (Paul Eenhorn) leaves his old life behind and relocates to Reno, where he finds work helping released prisoners transition to life on the outside, while trying his hand at speed dating and passing time as a soccer referee on weekends. Meanwhile, Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette) has just been released from prison after serving 12 years. Surprising both of them, Travis and Martin form an unlikely friendship that offers them reciprocal support and understanding.

Quietly observational and naturalistic, the film features noteworthy breakthrough performances from Eenhoorn and Arquette who approach their characters with a lived-in sense of low-key restraint.

Shot on location in Reno, NV, the film’s stunning visuals create an undercurrent theme of finding beauty in the unexpected.

Director Chad Hartigan, Keegan Dewitt (score) and Jeffrey Ruggles (producer) will be in attendance for the Q&A.

See the trailer here.

The free program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by TableRead Mississippi at 6 p.m.

The featured script will be Beulah, written for the screen by Gail Gilchriest (My Dog Skip) based on the novel Why Beulah Shot Her Pistol Inside the Baptist Church written by the late Clayton Sullivan, professor of religion at the University of Southern Mississippi.

A table read is a gathering of actors around a table to read a script aloud to give filmmakers, producers, and writers an idea of how the final production will sound. It is a valuable tool in the creative process, because it can ensure that a scene actually plays well using real actors and conveys the intended message to the audience.

The film will be produced in Mississippi by New Albany native Hudson Hickman, who is the former VP of TV production at MGM. Hickman has a long career serving as producer of popular television shows including; The Love Boat, MacGyver, and Stargate. The film will be directed by Steve Herek whose work includes “Critters,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” “101 Dalmatians,” “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and more. Both will be in attendance to hear local actors read the script.

The cast includes:

ELISE FYKE — Young Female – Beulah

GREG EARNEST– Mid 30s-40s Male – Ralph

BILL DABNEY — Mid 30s-40s Male – Henry

RORY LEDBETTER — Male – Sumrall

MEG BURKE — Female Young but older than Beulah – Velma/Sadie/Ralph’s Mother/

JOHNNY MCPHAIL — Older Male – Sgt Bowie Fisher/Brother Fike/Arnold Buchanan (Beulah’s Father)

SUSAN MCPHAIL — Older Female – Jospehine (Beulah’s Mother)/Livinia/Female Voice/Woman

DETRA PAYNE — Female – Earline (Beulah’s Sister)/Aunt Carrie/Coroner/Wife

JEREMY COOPER — Young Male – Oscar (Ralph’s son)/Teenaged Boy/Guy/Patrolman/Charlie