[caption id="attachment_16212" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] SOME FREAKS[/caption] The 2017 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of the fest, handing out Hoka awards for Ian MacAllister-McDonald’s SOME FREAKS for Best Narrative Feature, Andrea Kalin’s FIRST LADY OF THE REVOLUTION for Best Documentary Feature, Julie Sokolow’s WOMAN ON FIRE for Best LGBTQ Feature, and the presentation of the Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award to Victoria Negri for her performance in GOLD STAR. There was a rare tie for the Audience Award honors with Raoul Peck’s I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO and Sally Sussman’s MIDNIGHT RETURN: THE STORY OF BILLY HAYES AND TURKEY sharing the award. Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington said, “For the past two years, the Oxford Film Festival has enjoyed larger audiences to go along with the increased number of films we have accepted and presented. There is a lot of satisfaction to see that, as this film festival continues to grow and adapt with our increased base of enthusiastic film fans and the local film community, that the ambition and quality of the films we present somehow continues to trend upward as well.”

2017 OXFORD FF AWARD-WINNING FILMS

SOME FREAKS – BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Director: Ian MacAllister-McDonald Country: United States, Running Time: 95min When one-eyed high school senior Matt meets 250 lb. Jill, he falls more in love than he ever thought possible. However, when graduation comes and Jill moves cross-country to go to college, she then loses over 50 lbs. – much to Matt’s surprise when he arrives to visit her. While Matt struggles to accept Jill’s new body, Jill begins to question whether Matt is really the man she wants to date. As the distance widens between them, the characters are propelled onto a collision course with brutality and loss, forcing them to confront who they are, who they were, and who everyone thinks they’re supposed to be. FIRST LADY OF THE REVOLUTION – BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Director: Andrea Kalin Countries: Costa Rica, United States, Running Time: 67min While visiting an aunt and uncle in the exotic countryside of Costa Rica, a young Southern belle from Alabama accepts a ride on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a charismatic local farmer—a ride that would propel her down narrow mountain roads and into history. DON’T COME AROUND HERE – BEST MISSISSIPPI FEATURE Director: Navid Sanati Country: United States, Running Time: 95min When he learns that his father may not have much longer to live, Chuck goes back to the home he ran away from. There he must come to terms with his troubled brother Lenny, his own fears, and a secret he has been hiding for years. SHAKE ‘EM ON DOWN – BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY Director: Joe York Country: United States, Running Time: 57min SHAKE ‘EM ON DOWN tells the story of Mississippi Fred McDowell, the godfather of the North Mississippi style of blues. WOMAN ON FIRE – BEST LGBTQ FILM Director: Julie Sokolow Country: United States, Running Time: 95min As a third-generation firefighter, Brooke Guinan has a passion for heroism that runs in her blood. But when Brooke transitions from male to female in her father’s workplace, it poses not only a challenge to a macho profession, but also to the customs of the people she cares about the most – her traditional family. GOODBYE NEENAW – BEST NARRATIVE SHORT Director: Donald Ian Black Country: United States, Running Time: 5:59min David and Jennifer are a brother and sister dealing with the recent and sudden loss of their grandmother who raised them from a young age in the absence of their parents. They are traveling deep into the California mountains to scatter Neenaw’s ashes when a mishap occurs. ON SUNDAY – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – NARRATIVE SHORT Director: David Lea Country: United Kingdom, Running Time: 6:30min An old man and his dog make their routine walk to the isolated cliff tops of deepest Cornwall…but this time they’re not alone. REFUGE – BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Director: Matthew Firpo Country: Greece, Running Time: 20min REFUGE is a chronicle of human stories from the European Refugee Crisis, focused on humanity and hope. THROUGH THE WALL – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – DOCUMENTARY SHORT Director: Tim Nackashi Country: United States, Running Time: 6:20min A short documentary about a family divided by the US/Mexico border. OTHA TURNER – BEST MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILM Director: Ava Lowrey Country: United States, Running Time: 6:02min In the late 1950’s, fife and drum legend Otha Turner began hosting annual Labor Day picnics at his property in Gravel Springs, Mississippi. This short documentary film digs into the archives to take us back in time to Labor Day 1978. PRISMA – SPECIAL JURY PRIZE – MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILM Director: Coop Cooper Country: United States, Running Time: 9:13min A corporate promotional VHS tape from 1984 conceals a hidden signal which is said to grant increased health, longevity and psychic powers to those who watch it. View at your own risk. BROKEN PATHS – BEST MISSISSIPPI MUSIC VIDEO Director: J.B Lawrence Country: United States, Running Time: 4:44min Debut music video filmed in Brandon, Miss. Created by Stace and Cassie and J. B. Lawrence. LESS HELL, MORE ANGEL – REEL SOUTH AWARD Director: Christian D’Andrea Country: United States, Running Time: 11:20min In Mississippi, I came across black and white biker clubs doing something surprising… hugging. And blessing each other. I, PHILLIP – BEST VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) Director: Pierre Zandrowicz Country: France, Running Time: 14min In early 2005, David Hanson is developing his first android human. His name is Phil and it is simply the copy of the famous science fiction author Philip K. Dick. THE TRADER – BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM Directors: Manuel Alvarez Diestro, Sergio Belinchon Country: Spain, Running Time: 12:06min A successful stock trader decides to start a journey far from the trading floor. PACO – BEST NEW MEDIA Director: Catalina Jordan Alvarez Country: United States, Running Time: 12:10min He wants you to bounce on his lap. GUNNER JACKSON – SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR ACTING – NEW MEDIA Christian Strevy Director: Christian Strevy Country: United States, Running Time: 8:52min My name is Jason Gunner Jackson, and I know without a doubt that I am a target of a multi-agency program that intends to surveil, track, and document my life. THE FOX AND THE WHALE – BEST ANIMATION Director: Robin Joseph Country: Canada, Running Time: 12:03min The tale of a curious fox who goes in search of an elusive whale. A journey of pursuit, longing and discovery. A LITTLE LOVE GOES A LONG CLAY – SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR CONCEPT – ANIMATION Director: Juliet Buckholdt Country: United States (Mississippi), Running Time: 3:20min This video was made as a school project about stopping social media bullying. Victoria Negri (GOLD STAR) – Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award Erin Heidenreich (GIRL UNBOUND) – Alice Guy-Blaché Female Filmmaker award Juliet Buckholdt (A LITTLE LOVE GOES A LONG CLAY) – Pat Rasberry Emerging Mississippi Filmmaker Award BREAKFAST – BEST EDITING Director: Tyler Byrnes Country: United States, Running Time: 9:44min When a young man suffering from anorexia is pressured to eat breakfast by his boyfriend, the couple are thrust into another world where their anxieties and frustrations are made horrifyingly real. I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO – AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER (TIE) Director: Raoul Peck Countries: United States, France, Running Time: 95min Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House. MIDNIGHT RETURN: THE STORY OF BILLY HAYES AND TURKEY – AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER (TIE) Director: Sally Sussman Country: United States, Running Time: 99min Documentary explores the emotional and political power of film, as seen through the lens of the blockbuster hit MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, a movie that turned the real Billy Hayes into an international celebrity and made him the enemy of Turkey. Join Hayes on a daring journey back to Turkey as he faces the country still haunted by MIDNIGHT EXPRESS.

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