Oxford Film Festival 2019
Whenever I told people I was heading to Oxford Mississippi people would say "Faulkner! Square Books! Gus's Fried Chicken!" They were right: Oxford knows these things well! But the (not quite hidden) secret of Oxford is Oxford Film Festival.
Now in its sixteenth year, OFF is what happens when the hospitality and gothic eccentricity that the South is known for invites a band of renegade independent filmmakers over for dinner, drinks & film prizes. A broad range of categories (including music docs, experimental films & an LGBTQ focus) are culled from submissions to make a lineup that is pounding with true indie spirit. The community is fully supportive of the power of OFF, at each film intro I asked how many people had been to the fest all 16 years and each time more than one hand shot up with pride. The fest's reputation amongst filmmakers has been steadily spreading with fervor too thanks to the supreme hospitality and general friendly environment handcrafted with the slightest of details--I mean, there were Bloody Mary juice boxes!
Don Lewis over at Hammer to Nail (a place where I've been known to post!) just began programming narrative features at Oxford and when the usual doc programmer had a conflict I was luckily recommended for the job! I think it went well, though one dude was so offended by one of my programming choices he asked how long I'd been doing this and assured my career would be short (gulp)! Here are my highlights from my very first Oxford Film Fest (and my very first time in Mississippi).
Fest Forward
The experimental offering at this year's OFF were incredible, an extended program of all kinds of concepts and styles whose lineup was perfectly crafted by programmer/artist Valerie Guinn Polgar. Two standouts for me were Wally Chung's Fun More and Dongjun Kim's Fun to Cook "World's Best Food." Fun More was a crude, sparse black and white animation in which a head sprouts from the ground repeatedly, the freshly bloomed head then macheted off by an obscured figure, an endless cycle of life and death that managed to capture the futility-- but also the humor in that futility-- to make a perfect split second encapsulation of existential dread. Fun to Cook "World's Best Food" was sort of the opposite, a maximalist composite of different animation and live action styles depicting some alien cooking show. Though the act of eating is a basic, shared experience, this film moves the act of cooking into otherworldly territory as expectations are thwarted and cannibalism is in the air. The character creation alone in the film is worth mentioning as rubber molded masks with distinct artistry prevailed reminiscent of anime meets horror film meets Nick Cave (the artist, not the musician). The director hailed from SVA and another filmmaker who went to school with him interjected during the Q&A to comment on the filmmaker's process "At one point he had real dead chicken claws in his studio!" The director assures that the chicken claws didn't work out and he made computer generated chicken-like claws instead.
Holy Ghost Fire: The Ecstasy of Randy Wolford
When this film came in through submissions one screener noted "I don't understand why I just watched a man die?" and gave the film the lowest score possible. Naturally, I had to watch the film. The director, Nicholas Laviola who seems to have materialized from thin air (but in truth has screened shorts at Bamcinemafest and held a screening of this film at Anthology Film Archives) befriended a Pentecostal church in an area of West Virginia he happened to be bird watching in. The church was known for its snake handling practices, a tradition of faith that believes, as the bible says, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them." Furthermore, those that practice this religion do not believe in seeking medical attention as they believe God's will is destiny. Laviola shot the film immersed in a service, unassumingly bearing witness to the passionate singing, dancing and snake handling. At this particular service the preacher, Randy Wolford was fatally bitten, later succumbing to the bite in his home (the death, funeral and other more personal pieces of the experience left out of the film). The verite style and mild editing of the frenzied ceremony make for a breathless experience that transports the audience just as much as the believers in the film. The audience reaction to this screening was so divided I was exhausted by it! Some found the whole thing immoral. Others were disturbed by the fact the filmmaker hadn't shared the final cut with the church (an argument that I have qualms with as it is posing a judgment on the beliefs of the subject and, also: so, we only show portrayals of people if they like those portrayals?) Regardless, the film is a powerful experience made even more so in the holy house of a movie theater full of patrons of the arts. BTW, I'm a little worried the director has PTSD.
Wrestle
Just released in a limited run by Oscilloscope, Wrestle is a film that closely follows a high school wrestling team in Alabama. The directors, Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer, embed themselves in the community of Huntsville, allowing for openness to flourish from the men at the center of the story in a natural and deeply affecting way. The film is edited into a poetic beauty that deals with all kinds of issues big and small: police profiling, white privilege, teen pregnancy, addiction and even the inherent tension in the game. Endlessly compared to Hoop Dreams, there is a femininity and personality that sets it apart-- candid mothers, crying players, a vulnerability on display that focuses on the humans that happen to live within the issues that felt unique in their presentation. The fact that the film was made now adds greatly to its access, a time when kids are so used to sharing their lives with one another that the camera is subsumed into the shadows, its powerful grasp present but almost invisible to a generation born into images. Though the film remains hopeful it also doesn't shy away from truth, its sheer humanity able to speak to anyone, anywhere: see this movie!
Uptown Coffee
Non-movie related: I had the best cup of coffee of my entire life at Uptown Coffee in the Square in Oxford. I went to thank the man who made the rich, sweet milk poured into a smoky, chocolatey coffee with a mellow resolve that I never wanted to end but he was gone! Uptown Coffee is my new gold standard.
Bowling Party
Parties are a big part of so many film fests and Oxford is no exception! Only Oxford takes it to another level: I swear I saw an entire table with a ring of stacked rainbow layer cakes circling the centerpiece like a brilliant, frosted dream! The bowling party was the best but that just might be because there was skee ball and a claw machine and my latent Jersey Shore instincts bubbled up from my soul (did I mention I got three things in one claw machine run?). Pizzas covered every flat surface and a spread of chicken fingers, cheese dip, brownies and veggies stretched along the walls. At one point the lights dimmed and cosmic bowling reigned, an audible collected "whoot" filled air. I'm not much of a party-person but this was hella fun even for an introvert like me! Shout out to those that entertained (/put up with) my NJ soul especially Rachel from Reel South, Milan of Attic Films and Greg & Chuck of the killer short Thou Shall Not Tailgate!
It being my first year trying to figure it all out and hopping between Q&A duties made me miss out on a lot of films (and also things like a live music radio broadcast, the full extent of the Negro Terror show- who kill it live-, karaoke +more!) but, hopefully, I'll return next year for another round of indie greatness and better pace my movies, coffee, naps and fried chicken! As the bathroom graffiti said: "For a good time, call Oxford Film Festival." (PS, that's blurry ED Melanie Addington above being showered in confetti because she deserves to always be showered in confetti! She's also not blurry IRL!)
Now in its sixteenth year, OFF is what happens when the hospitality and gothic eccentricity that the South is known for invites a band of renegade independent filmmakers over for dinner, drinks & film prizes. A broad range of categories (including music docs, experimental films & an LGBTQ focus) are culled from submissions to make a lineup that is pounding with true indie spirit. The community is fully supportive of the power of OFF, at each film intro I asked how many people had been to the fest all 16 years and each time more than one hand shot up with pride. The fest's reputation amongst filmmakers has been steadily spreading with fervor too thanks to the supreme hospitality and general friendly environment handcrafted with the slightest of details--I mean, there were Bloody Mary juice boxes!
Don Lewis over at Hammer to Nail (a place where I've been known to post!) just began programming narrative features at Oxford and when the usual doc programmer had a conflict I was luckily recommended for the job! I think it went well, though one dude was so offended by one of my programming choices he asked how long I'd been doing this and assured my career would be short (gulp)! Here are my highlights from my very first Oxford Film Fest (and my very first time in Mississippi).
Fest Forward
The experimental offering at this year's OFF were incredible, an extended program of all kinds of concepts and styles whose lineup was perfectly crafted by programmer/artist Valerie Guinn Polgar. Two standouts for me were Wally Chung's Fun More and Dongjun Kim's Fun to Cook "World's Best Food." Fun More was a crude, sparse black and white animation in which a head sprouts from the ground repeatedly, the freshly bloomed head then macheted off by an obscured figure, an endless cycle of life and death that managed to capture the futility-- but also the humor in that futility-- to make a perfect split second encapsulation of existential dread. Fun to Cook "World's Best Food" was sort of the opposite, a maximalist composite of different animation and live action styles depicting some alien cooking show. Though the act of eating is a basic, shared experience, this film moves the act of cooking into otherworldly territory as expectations are thwarted and cannibalism is in the air. The character creation alone in the film is worth mentioning as rubber molded masks with distinct artistry prevailed reminiscent of anime meets horror film meets Nick Cave (the artist, not the musician). The director hailed from SVA and another filmmaker who went to school with him interjected during the Q&A to comment on the filmmaker's process "At one point he had real dead chicken claws in his studio!" The director assures that the chicken claws didn't work out and he made computer generated chicken-like claws instead.
Holy Ghost Fire: The Ecstasy of Randy Wolford
When this film came in through submissions one screener noted "I don't understand why I just watched a man die?" and gave the film the lowest score possible. Naturally, I had to watch the film. The director, Nicholas Laviola who seems to have materialized from thin air (but in truth has screened shorts at Bamcinemafest and held a screening of this film at Anthology Film Archives) befriended a Pentecostal church in an area of West Virginia he happened to be bird watching in. The church was known for its snake handling practices, a tradition of faith that believes, as the bible says, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them." Furthermore, those that practice this religion do not believe in seeking medical attention as they believe God's will is destiny. Laviola shot the film immersed in a service, unassumingly bearing witness to the passionate singing, dancing and snake handling. At this particular service the preacher, Randy Wolford was fatally bitten, later succumbing to the bite in his home (the death, funeral and other more personal pieces of the experience left out of the film). The verite style and mild editing of the frenzied ceremony make for a breathless experience that transports the audience just as much as the believers in the film. The audience reaction to this screening was so divided I was exhausted by it! Some found the whole thing immoral. Others were disturbed by the fact the filmmaker hadn't shared the final cut with the church (an argument that I have qualms with as it is posing a judgment on the beliefs of the subject and, also: so, we only show portrayals of people if they like those portrayals?) Regardless, the film is a powerful experience made even more so in the holy house of a movie theater full of patrons of the arts. BTW, I'm a little worried the director has PTSD.
Wrestle
Just released in a limited run by Oscilloscope, Wrestle is a film that closely follows a high school wrestling team in Alabama. The directors, Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer, embed themselves in the community of Huntsville, allowing for openness to flourish from the men at the center of the story in a natural and deeply affecting way. The film is edited into a poetic beauty that deals with all kinds of issues big and small: police profiling, white privilege, teen pregnancy, addiction and even the inherent tension in the game. Endlessly compared to Hoop Dreams, there is a femininity and personality that sets it apart-- candid mothers, crying players, a vulnerability on display that focuses on the humans that happen to live within the issues that felt unique in their presentation. The fact that the film was made now adds greatly to its access, a time when kids are so used to sharing their lives with one another that the camera is subsumed into the shadows, its powerful grasp present but almost invisible to a generation born into images. Though the film remains hopeful it also doesn't shy away from truth, its sheer humanity able to speak to anyone, anywhere: see this movie!
Uptown Coffee
Non-movie related: I had the best cup of coffee of my entire life at Uptown Coffee in the Square in Oxford. I went to thank the man who made the rich, sweet milk poured into a smoky, chocolatey coffee with a mellow resolve that I never wanted to end but he was gone! Uptown Coffee is my new gold standard.
Bowling Party
Parties are a big part of so many film fests and Oxford is no exception! Only Oxford takes it to another level: I swear I saw an entire table with a ring of stacked rainbow layer cakes circling the centerpiece like a brilliant, frosted dream! The bowling party was the best but that just might be because there was skee ball and a claw machine and my latent Jersey Shore instincts bubbled up from my soul (did I mention I got three things in one claw machine run?). Pizzas covered every flat surface and a spread of chicken fingers, cheese dip, brownies and veggies stretched along the walls. At one point the lights dimmed and cosmic bowling reigned, an audible collected "whoot" filled air. I'm not much of a party-person but this was hella fun even for an introvert like me! Shout out to those that entertained (/put up with) my NJ soul especially Rachel from Reel South, Milan of Attic Films and Greg & Chuck of the killer short Thou Shall Not Tailgate!
It being my first year trying to figure it all out and hopping between Q&A duties made me miss out on a lot of films (and also things like a live music radio broadcast, the full extent of the Negro Terror show- who kill it live-, karaoke +more!) but, hopefully, I'll return next year for another round of indie greatness and better pace my movies, coffee, naps and fried chicken! As the bathroom graffiti said: "For a good time, call Oxford Film Festival." (PS, that's blurry ED Melanie Addington above being showered in confetti because she deserves to always be showered in confetti! She's also not blurry IRL!)
posted by Donna K. at
5:58 PM
