2024 Programmers

Programming Director

Brian Ratigan is an award-winning director and film curator. He is the founder of Non Films, a label for ephemeral animation and experimental cinema in New York City. Ratigan is established in the film festival circuit as a programmer and juror for the Slamdance Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Indie Memphis, and the London Indie Festival, among others. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Moviemaker Magazine, 1883 Magazine, and film festivals worldwide.

Narrative Features Programmer

Trent Farrington, an Atlanta-based arts organizer hailing from the US Virgin Islands, Farrington has worked in various roles for 4+ years with service and curated programs all over the US. Farrington has been known for being dedicated to changing the conversations on Black and Queer voices in Independent Cinema. His advocacy efforts include destigmatizing AIDS/HIV, for which he was honored with the 2021 Project Innovator award from THRIVE SS. Notably, Farrington played a critical role in the 2023 Groundwork Regional Lab review committee with Firelight Media, selecting eight documentary filmmakers to receive $45,000 each for completing nonfiction stories from the US territories. Farrington's impact extends beyond his roles in curating. He is one of the youngest members of the Georgia Film Critics Association and co-owner of a Prophouse/Art Studio in Woodstock, Georgia Proplifter. His preferred name is Farrington, in honor of his heritage from the Antilles.

Documentary Features Programmer

Bart Weiss is an award-winning filmmaker, educator, and director/founder of the Dallas VideoFest and produces “Frame of Mind” on KERA TV. He was President and Chair of AIVF and was a video columnist for The Dallas Morning News, and United Features Syndicate, Student filmmakers Magazine. He is co-host of the Fog of truth podcast. He is a tenured professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Bart received an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University

Shorts Programmer

Screening committee OXFF 2018-2022, short film programmer 2022-2024

Screening committee with several other festivals across the country

Four separate screenwriting projects at various stages of development

Documentary Shorts & PROJECT(ion) Programmer

John Rash is a filmmaker and video artist who works as Assistant Professor of Film Production and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi. He programs short documentaries and the Project(ion) installations at Oxford Film Festival.

Mississippi Programmer

Jessica Chriesman is a filmmaker based in Birmingham, Alabama. She is the Director of Education and Outreach at Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema where she plans learning opportunities through the lens of film and media. She has served as a grants panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Alabama State Council on the Arts and as a juror for IndieMemphis, the New Orleans Film Festival, and Fairhope Film Festival.

Music Programmer

Newt Rayburn was born & raised in Oxford, Mississippi. Newt's many publishing projects led to THE LOCAL VOICE, which he started in 2006. Newt won a National Magazine Award in 1999 for his SOUTHERN MUSIC ISSUE with THE OXFORD AMERICAN. Previously, Newt was Editor of PROFANE EXISTENCE in Minneapolis, and later, Art Director for Ole Miss' LIVING BLUES magazine. Newt Rayburn founded THE LOCAL VOICE media company in March of 2006. A seventh-generation Lafayette County, Mississippian, Newt Rayburn has been involved in the Ole Miss area for many years. Newt's alter ego—Neuter Cooter—lead the Mississippi band THE COOTERS to Rocknoll Glory across the USA from 1993-2018. Newt is proud Father of eight-year old daughter Alex.

Fest Forward Programmer

Valerie is a digital/media artist and researcher with an MFA in Computer Art from the School of Visual Arts. She worked as a video editor and motion graphics artist in NYC in the early 2010s, before turning her full attention to both practicing and teaching art. This is her 7th year serving as head programmer for Animation and Experimental Film at the Oxford Film Festival. She also co-founded PROJECT(ion), with fellow programmer John Rash in 2018, which has since become part of the regular program at the festival. From 2016-2020, Valerie founded and directed Misbits NMA, a media arts organization that promoted art and technology through collaboration in Oxford, MS. She is currently pursuing an MS in Computer Science at Tufts University, where she is researching tech for accessibility, with a focus on XR and game design.