DISFLUENCY and THE FIRST STEP Win Top Prizes at 2022 Oxford Film Festival

2022 Oxford Film Festival winners. (L to R): Hunter Heath, Emily White (Every Breath You Take), Lance Kramer (The First Step), Max Walker-Silverman (A Love Song), Luis Agusto Figueroa (“Nando”), Christina Huff (Slade Kyle), Tom Huang (Dealing with Dad), Ashley E. Gibson (The Fearless 11), Oxford FF’s Antonio Terrell, Dale Dickey (A Love Song), Brandon Kramer (The First Step) (Photo by Joey Brent)

2022 Oxford Film Festival winners. (L to R): Hunter Heath, Emily White (Every Breath You Take), Lance Kramer (The First Step), Max Walker-Silverman (A Love Song), Luis Agusto Figueroa (“Nando”), Christina Huff (Slade Kyle), Tom Huang (Dealing with Dad), Ashley E. Gibson (The Fearless 11), Oxford FF’s Antonio Terrell, Dale Dickey (A Love Song), Brandon Kramer (The First Step) (Photo by Joey Brent)

Anna Baumgarten’s Disfluency was named Best Narrative Feature, and Brandon Kramer’s The First Step won Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Oxford Film Festival. Later, it was announced that Alysia Nahmias’ Krimes was the Barton Segal Audience Award winner.

For Baumgarten’s Disfluency, the jury stated, “With subtlety and a distinct sense of place, this film thoughtfully explores the nuances of reeling from and beginning the ongoing process of healing from trauma. This deeply empathetic film also manages to assert the possibilities of language outside of the spoken word through showcasing how forms of communication like ASL allow us to be open and embody our truth in ways that our voice may not.”

Kramer’s documentary about Van Jones’ efforts to achieve prison reform, The First Step elicited the following from the jury during its presentation; “As they advocate at the highest levels of government for the First Step Act, Van Jones and team remind us that everyone has the responsibility to recognize humanity and dignity in each other across the perceived differences and backgrounds that presently serve to divide us. The First Step documents the tenuous nature of coalition building around social justice issues, offering no easy solutions to complex problems, and at the same time refusing to accept inaction as a path forward.”

The first presentations of the Oxford Film Festival’s previously announced Breakthrough Award and Rising Star Award went to Dale Dickey, the star of A Love Song, and the film’s director, Max Walker-Silverman, respectively.

Regarding this year’s edition of the popular event, Oxford Film Festival Director of Programming Justina Walford said, “I am so proud of what the programming team brought to this festival, and I adore every film and filmmaker I’ve met this year. I wish we could give an award to each film for the unique voice and vision they brought to our festival.”

Awards for short films, student films and music videos included Jack Reynor’s Bainne (BEST SHORT); Nolan Dean’s Nighthawks (BEST MISSISSIPPI SHORT); Christina Huff’s Slade Kyle (BEST STUDENT FILM); and Hunter Heath’s Every Breath You Take by Emily White (BEST MUSIC VIDEO).

Films and filmmakers receiving Honorable Mentions included Tom Huang’s dramedy Dealing with Dad. Other honorable mentions included Pia Andell’s short film Rekonstruktio (for narrative achievement), Jonathan Thomason’s Divine Intervention: The D-Vine Spirituals Story (DOCUMENTARY SHORT); Sungbin Byun’s God’s Daughter Dances (LGBTQIA+ SHORT), and John Rash’s Sam Wang: Centrpetal Persistence (MISSISSIPPI SHORT).