Oxford Film Festival Announces Weekly Virtual Film Festival Series

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Wednesday, 15 April 2020 12:37

Written by Hildy Johnson

The Oxford Film Festival announced plans for a Weekly Virtual Film Festival series showcasing films that were programmed for the 2020 edition of the popular film festival beginning April 24 and running throughout the summer and into the fall.

Beginning with the first week, scheduled for April 24-May 1, the Oxford Film Festival will roll out a different series of films each successive week, with themed presentations, throughout the summer and fall as an initial alternative to film festival that was postponed from March.

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Festival programmers, filmmakers, and special guests will moderate Q&As following the screenings which viewers will be able to see and participate in by submitting questions. The festival will also share a revenue split from the ticket sales for the virtual screening with the filmmakers themselves, adding a benefit for those films and filmmakers that is rare in the film festival world.
 
Executive Director Melanie Addington, said, "The Oxford Film Festival has become a vital showcase for independent film and filmmakers for close to two decades now, so rather than reducing the number of the films that routinely receive the benefits of having that platform, we decided to create these weekly presentations in lieu of a one-week online virtual film festival. We're excited by the idea that we can give each film that much more of a focus. It is important for festival organizers to adapt in this pandemic to do what is best for their filmmakers as they are our partners and the only reason our industry exists. Coming up with a way to help our filmmakers during an uncertain time financially by sharing the proceeds from those screenings will add another key benefit that is critical at this moment. As we introduce this idea to help our filmmakers, we actively request that our industry also look to do what is best for the filmmakers as well."

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The festival signed the Seed&Spark 2020 Film Festival Survival Pledge to support filmmakers during this time with various waiving of usual festival rules. More on this can be seen here: https://try.seedandspark.com/film-festival-pledge/ and will be continued for the 2021 film festival.

The first week of films will be highlighted by the McPhail Block, a group of films featuring and celebrating Johnny and Susan McPhail, the prolific and beloved actors who call Oxford their home when they aren't on a film set – which is rare. The films include; Thad Lee's ALL THAT YOU LOVE WILL BE CARRIED AWAY, which is based on a Stephen King short story; the world premiere of Brian Whisenant's Oxford community film, THE GOLDEN YEARS; Lorraine Caffery's THE ROUGAROU; and Robb Rokk's TRUTH LIES UPSTREAM, which was a finalist at last year's Memphis Film Prize. Johnny and Susan McPhail and the directors of the films will participate in a Q&A moderated by Oxford FF's Melanie Addington on Saturday, April 24. Lee will be donating his portion of the ticket sales back to the film festival as part of his agreement with Stephen King's Dollar Baby arrangement.

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On Saturday, April 25, Brandon Colvin's A DIM VALLEY, part of the Oxford Film Festival's LGBTQ Narrative Feature selections will screen as a one-day only exclusive for audiences in the United States. The film follows a curmudgeonly biologist and his slacker graduate assistants as they work through a summer research project deep in the Appalachian woods. However, while immersed in the project, they meet a trio of mystical backpackers who change their each of their lives in mysterious ways. Following the screening, filmmaker and Oxford FF programmer Brian Whisenant will lead a Q&A with Colvin and additional members of the film's cast and crew.

Other presentations include MS Docs, featuring a pair of documentaries (GETTING TO THE ROOT and 70 YEARS OF BLACKNESS) exploring a myriad of issues regarding being black surrounded by whiteness, which will include a Q&A with the filmmakers on Saturday, April 25, which will be moderated by filmmaker and former Oxford FF award-winner Victoria Negri.

Passion Projects: Doc Shorts, is a largely international collection of films, including a pair of films from India as well as films from Australia, the UK, which will also feature a Q&A with the filmmakers on Sunday, April 26, which will be moderated by Oxford FF Executive Director Melanie Addington.

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"We are very excited to be working with our ticketing partner Eventive who has been working night and day to create this exciting platform that is DRM protected, geoblock capable and safe and secure for our filmmakers," Addington said. "But just as importantly, also visually pleasing and easy to use on any size screen."
 
Tickets for each presentation (features or film blocks) are priced at $10.00 which includes a 24-hour rental period and exclusive access to the filmmaker Q&A. Various viewing packages are also available for the Virtual Film Festival series extending from now through the end of the year. Oxford Film festival is also working with sponsors and previous ticket purchase holders to extend their benefits to the virtual film festival.
 
Please go to: https://watch.eventive.org/2020oxff. Click or tap to follow the link: https://watch.eventive.org/2020oxff or see http://oxfordfilmfest.com/.