The Sound and The Fury
Oxford Film Festival announced the selections for its 12th annual festival, to be held February 26-March 1, 2015 at the Oxford Commons Malco.
The opening night event includes the Mississippi premiere of James Franco’s adaptation of “The Sound and The Fury.” Directed by James Franco, who also stars alongside Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and Tim Blake Nelson, The Sound and the Fury presents a portrait of the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats struggling to deal with the dissolution of their family and its reputation.
Films that are not in competition for a Spirit of the Hoka award are noted in the category lists below.
Narrative Feature Competition
A is for Alex
Directed by Alex Orr
A struggling inventor works to save the world and become a worthy father and husband.
1 hour 14 minutes
Bluebird
Directed by Lance Edmands
In the northern reaches of Maine, a local school bus driver becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection, and fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. Starring Amy Morton (Chicago P.D.), John Slattery (Mad Men), and Margo Martindale (Justified, The Americans).
1 hour 31 minutes
Burnout
Directed by Lydia Hyslop
When a vote to legalize marijuana passes, Ada finds her unusual—and illegal – livelihood suddenly threatened. What happens if the demand for the girl with the drugs becomes obsolete?
1 hour 17 minutes
The Last Time You Had Fun
Directed by Mo Perkins
When Clark and Will meet Alison and Ida in a wine bar, the foursome set out for an all-night adventure to have the most fun that four decidedly dysfunctional adults are capable of having. Starring Demitri Martin (Taking Woodstock, In a World), Mary Elizabeth Ellis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings), Kyle Bornheimer (Bachelorette).
1 hour 19 minutes, non-competition
OzLand
Directed by Michael Williams
In a dry and dusty post-apocalyptic world, two wayfarers wander aimlessly until Leif finds a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book that challenges the beliefs, friendship, and even the very survival of these two divergent travelers.
1 hour 58 minutes
Shanks
Directed by William Castle (1974)
A mute puppeteer (Marcel Marceau) uses a deceased scientist’s invention to control dead bodies like puppets.
1 hour 33 minutes , non-competition
Stomping Ground
Directed by Dan Riesser
A young couple on a weekend trip to the American south embark on an impromptu “Bigfoot hunt” that threatens their relationship and their lives.
1 hour 20 minutes
Documentary Feature Competition
Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound
Directed by William Saunders
A uniquely talented collective of musicians from Bakersfield, California in the 1950s and 60s challenged the established tastes of the Nashville scene, and permanently altered the landscape of Country music. While artists like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens rode the Bakersfield Sound to national fame, singer-songwriter Billy Mize found touring to be incompatible with the only thing he loved more than music: his family.
1 hour 40 minutes
Dwarves Kingdom
Directed by Matthew Salton
After a chance meeting a little person on a train, a Lord of the Rings-obsessed Chinese real estate investor created an amusement park where people with dwarfism could live and earn money performing. In English and Chinese with English subtitles.
1 hour 11 minutes
Just About Famous
Directed by Jason Kovacsev and Matt Mamula
JUST ABOUT FAMOUS shines a spotlight on the often overlooked side of celebrity: the lookalikes. Take a trip into the intriguing, enlightening, and often surreal life of Elvis, Obama, Bush, Madonna and Lady Gaga impersonators, each with a different path, as they converge on an annual convention.
1 hour 29 minutes
Oil & Water
Directed by Alan Robert Davis
This feature documentary explores the complex relationship between coastal Cajuns in Louisiana and the oil and gas industry, following a family and their seafood business as they struggle in the years after the BP oil spill.
1 hour 15 minutes
Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town
Directed by David Rae Morris
History of race relations and the 1970 integration of the public schools in Yazoo City, Mississippi, the hometown of the filmmaker’s father, the late writer, Willie Morris.
1 hour 24 minutes
Narrative Short Competition
Based On Rosenthal
Directed by Sam Cespedes
BASED ON ROSENTHAL follows a boy, Jerry, touched by the supernatural, and his attempt to help his terminally ill grandmother find some peace and comfort during her last days.
15 minutes
Bingo Night!
Directed by Jordan Liebowitz
A financially-strapped senior citizen finds a creative (and legally dubious) means of getting some quick cash in this sly and high-spirited comic caper. Starring Lynne Marie Stewart (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers, Legit).
14 minutes
Day One
Directed by Michael Steiner
On her first day of deployment in Afghanistan as an interpreter, an Afghan-American woman’s unit searches out the remote house of a bomb-maker. When the bomb-maker’s pregnant wife goes into labor, the interpreter must go beyond the call of duty to deliver her breech child. Inspired by a true story.
25 minutes
The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention
Directed by Melissa Sweazy
Recently-deceased Aidan Crane is put to work at the Department of Signs and Magical Intervention, sorting through the requests from the living for signs from above. When he accidentally sends a sign to the one person who shouldn’t have received it, he is sent back to fix his mistake.
19 minutes
Destroyer
Directed by Andrew Kightlinger
A husband (Alan Ruck, Spin City, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) drives his wife out to the country with a mind for retribution. Also starring Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, NBC’s Nashville).
8 minutes
Ed is a Portal
Directed by Darrell C. Hazelrig
A sci-fi comedy by the New Puppet Order about all of life’s little headaches: obnoxious co-workers, slovenly roommates, and having an inter-dimensional gateway growing in the back of your head.
10 minutes
The Gunfighter
Directed by Eric Kissack
In the tradition of classic westerns, a narrator (Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation) sets up the story of a lone gunslinger that walks into a saloon. However, the people in this saloon can hear the narrator who may just be a little bit of a jerk.
9 minutes
I Love Art
Directed by Mac Alsfeld
During a fun trip to the art museum with his girlfriend, Carl falls in love with a painting…literally.
9 minutes
Moffino
Directed by Giosuè Petrone
Moffino is obsessed with getting out of work at 6:00 p.m. sharp with the hope of finding a parking place, until one day…. In Italian with English subtitles.
6 minutes
Repeater
Directed by Wade Vanover
A father and son struggle to relate after years apart. Starring David Strathairn (Lincoln, Good Night and Good Luck). Adapted from Chris Offut’s short story, “Target Practice”.
21 minutes
Star Warp’d
Directed by Pete Schuermann
A claymation parody of classic science-fiction films including Star Wars, Star Trek, The Terminator, and many others.
32 minutes, non-competition
Waking Marshall Walker
Directed by Bjorn Thorstad and Gabriel Baron
An encounter with a mysterious stranger brings unsettling premonitions, sending Marshall Walker on a desperate race through memory and time to reunite with his estranged daughter Charlotte and undo a fateful mistake, or risk being trapped between worlds forever.
15 minutes
Documentary Short Competition
Big Bad Art
Directed by Ben Cannon
This no-holds-barred look at the making of a zeitgeisty “house party” might be the funniest documentary to ever come busting out of the art world.
43 minutes
Crooked Candy
Directed by Andrew Rodgers
A ban on Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs in the U.S. isn’t enough to keep one man from following his childhood dream.
7 minutes
The Forgotten (Los Olvidados)
Directed by David Feldman
A young Latino artist advocates for domestic laborers through an art installation in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, in tribute to his immigrant roots.
13 minutes
The Grand Dis-illusion (La gran desilusión)
Directed by Pedro González Kuhn
On September 1, 2012, the Spanish government increased the culture tax from 8% to 21%, causing many theatres to close and many skilled workers to lose their jobs. In Spanish with English subtitles.
11 minutes
Ironman Jackson Wingfield
Directed by Deer Run Media
To become an Ironman, one must complete a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. Jackson Wingfield won a ticket through his job at Kenco Logistics 14 weeks before race day. Couch to Ironman in just 3 months is an unprecedented endeavor. Jackson rose to the challenge.
4 minutes
Jim Dickinson: The Man Behind the Console
Directed by Nan Hackman
Legendary record producer Jim Dickinson (1941-2009) discusses how working with producer Sam Phillips and, later, watching the Rolling Stones record “Sticky Fingers” influenced his role as a future producer, how he taught his sons Luther and Cody of the North Mississippi Allstars, about the world of music, and how he values his work as a producer with Alex Chilton on Big Star’s “Third” album.
16 minutes
Mr. X
Directed by Alex Nicholson
The study of a London tattooist.
7 minutes
Shirley’s Kids
Directed by Michael Paulucci
Shirley Chambers gained nationwide publicity because of the tragic loss of her four children to gun violence in America’s most dangerous city, Chicago.
10 minutes
Wagonmasters
Directed by Sam Smartt and Chris Zaluski
WAGONMASTERS tells the story of the station wagon as it represents a changing America over the last hundred years, and offers glimpses into the lives of lingering wagon enthusiasts.
19 minutes
Animated Short Competition
Between Times
Directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter
From the wall of a small town bakery, a cuckoo clock recounts a day where bread was sliced one second thick, lovers fell in sync and time rarely flowed at an even rate.
15 minutes
Humanexus
Directed by Ying-Fang Shen
Tools and technologies have made it easier to reach out and share ideas, but each one presents a new, unforeseen challenge to forming meaningful interpersonal connections.
11 minutes
Jinxy Jenkins, Lucky Lou
Directed by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon
When the chaotically misfortunate Jenkins and the monotonously lucky Lou run into each other one morning, they find a thrilling and fulfilling change of pace as they hurtle down the hills of San Francisco in an ice cream cart.
4 minutes
Love in the time of March Madness
Directed by Melissa Johnson
The true-life story of a 6’4” woman who is a star on the basketball court but struggles to find true love.
10 minutes
Proximity
Directed by Holly Petersen
Two ceramic figures, a Victorian gentleman and a sixties cowgirl, explore the depths of love and betrayal.
4 minutes
Zuzumi
Directed by Mengyi Xu
A story about the friendship between pets and humans, a pet pig turns into a super pig woman save the day and her master.
3 minutes
Experimental Short Competition
Displacements
Directed by Manuel Alvarez Diestro
In Hong Kong, one of the densest cities in the world, new towns are adjacent to cemeteries. The world of the living coexists with that of the dead. Meanwhile, Hong Kong inhabitants move from place to place, awaiting their final displacement.
10 minutes
Flipping
Directed by Jin Kyu Ahn
Using a hand-drawn animation technique called “flipping,” physical objects collide with the sounds made by playing two improvised scores.
8 minutes
Interstates
Jeffery Chong
INTERSTATES captures the essence of a winter drive through rural New Hampshire and Maine by focusing on the journey’s ever-fleeting scenery.
3 minutes
Left
Directed by Daniel Winter
A 3075 individually left-hand drawn rotoscoped frame by frame silent short film about a child, their bear, and moving away from home.
3 minutes
Memory V: Sodankylä
Directed by Gloria Chung
Recollections of a week spent north of the Arctic Circle, under the midnight sun: hazy, dreamlike, disorienting, lovely and surreal.
6 minutes
Memory VI: An Ostrich’s Eye Is Bigger Than Its Brain
Directed by Gloria Chung
How does our memory function? Why do we remember certain trivial or mundane things but cannot recall other seemingly larger ideas, information, events or experiences?
5 minutes
On the Train to Kutná Hora…and Back
Directed by Ann Deborah Levy
Footage shot with a point-and-shoot camera on a day trip in the Czech countryside, is rearranged and heavily edited.
8 minutes
A Perfect Day
Directed by Oguzhan Kaya
In a city far away from nature, a man wakes up, has his breakfast, and starts a perfect day.
5 minutes
The Stars and Stripes Forever in the Eternal City
Directed by Rebekah Flake
This film explores tendencies of exuberance and patriotism “and throwing away money” in Rome, the ancient seat of Western imperialism.
5 minutes
Mississippi Films (music videos, narrative shorts and documentary shorts)
85% Broken
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Alison Fast and Chandler Griffin
What happens when a classical composer from Japan adopts a small Mississippi town? 85% BROKEN is a magical film about one artist’s interpretation of place through sound and a found accordion. Filmed in Water Valley, Miss.
15 minutes
Barry
Mississippi Narrative
Directed by Matthew Graves
Deep beneath a cold, dark forest lies Barry. His world is a dusty coffin and a cherished locket from his dear wife, Mary. He has come to terms with his present situation but strange new noises are coming from outside his solitary home.
10 minutes, non-competition
A Different Kind of Festival
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Ellen Phillips
The first ever Art-er Limits Fringe Festival opens its doors for artists, performers, and musicians from all over Mississippi to come and showcase their work in a different and unique way.
7 minutes, non-competition
From Tribulation to Triumph
Mississippi Music Video
Directed by Jake Wood / Music by Jake Wood
5 minutes
Garage Sale
Mississippi Narrative
Directed by Meaghin Burke
Lydia and her father struggle to heal a fractured relationship while preparing to sell his house. Packing and selling cherished childhood objects conjures a host of memories for Lydia, who is still reeling from the death of her sister. As she tries to accept her complicated relationship with her father, she also celebrates the opportunity to make amends across the generations.
13 minutes
A Horror Movie
Mississippi Narrative
Directed by Casey Dillard
Six “teens” are expecting a night of fun, but their cabin party quickly turns into a night of terror, danger and clichés.
11 minutes
In Ten
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Melanie Addington
For 15 years, Oxford’s theater community has held a national 10-minute play contest, with a festival of the winners produced with local talent.
15 minutes, non-competition
Inside Your Head
Mississippi Music Video
Directed by Newt Rayburn / Music by The Heard
3 minutes
Leadway
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Robbie Fisher and Dudley Percy Olsson
Cindi Quong Lofton, a Chinese-American woman in a small town in the rural Mississippi Delta, deals with the violent murder of her father, an iconic figure in the community known simply by the name ‘Leadway’, the name of his store.
10 minutes
A Long Journey
Mississippi Music Video
Directed by Shannon Cohn / Music by Leo ‘Bud’ Welch
4 minutes
Lord Knows I’m a Soldier
Mississippi Music Video
Directed by Danny Klimetz/Oxford Sessions / music by Sean Apple
4 minutes
A Mississippi Love Story
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Robbie Fisher
Against the backdrop of legal battles about same-sex marriage, Eddie and Justin share their personal take on what love really means in their Deep South hometown.
14 minutes
Mississippi Milk
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by David Rogers and Brittany Retherford
A family farmer’s struggle to produce a local product and bring it to the communities of North Mississippi.
13 minutes
PEAs
Mississippi Narrative
Directed by Kelly Buckholdt
A woman goes to a meeting of Picky Eaters Anonymous looking for relationship advice.
10 minutes
Statesboro Blues
Mississippi Music Video
Directed by Danny Klimetz/Oxford Sessions / music by Will Echols
3 minutes
Unquantifiable
Mississippi Documentary
Directed by Ed Foose
Art Place Mississippi is an organization that promotes art education in adolescent offender programs, alternative schools, and senior citizen centers.
21 minutes