The Oxford Film Festival announced the opening four films set to be showcased at its annual spring event held primarily at the Malco Oxford Commons Cinema Grill on March 18-20. The sneak peek event held at The Lounge at Tom Beckbe emphasized the presence of Mississippi-based filmmakers in this year’s lineup.
Although released earlier this year, the award-winning “Michael” biopic will be screened at the upcoming festival. The festival also plans to host a Q-and-A session featuring 16-year-old Jaylen Lyndon Hunter, a Memphis native who plays the role of a young Marlon Jackson, Michael’s older brother.
“If you have people in your lives that want to break into acting or (explore) a career down that avenue, this is an opportunity for them to actually chat with somebody that managed to break through in a very successful film,” Jane Vorhies, president of the Oxford Film Festival, said.
“Land in Freedom” is a cinéma vérité-style feature spotlighting multigenerational minority farmers. Ryan Hope Travis, best known for his appearance in HBO’s Emmy award-winning series “Watchmen,” and Munjal Yagnik, best known for his directing of the 2023 thriller film “Scarlet Winter,” co-direct “Land in Freedom,” which sets a poetic portrait of an enduring relationship between land and heritage through the lives of black farmers.
Appealing to younger horror fans, “Starsuckers” will also be shown at the festival. This Canadian satirical horror film centers around celebrity worship. The late-night feature, directed by Brett and Jason Butler, was described on social media as a gory, chaotic take on influencer culture and heavy-handed social media commentary.
“It’ll be great for late night — I think other students will love it,” political psychology graduate student Negin G said. “It almost reminds me of the ‘Scream’ movies, that campy vibe.”
Directed by Ethan Payne, “The Parchman Band” short film tells stories of the current band members going through the reform process. The Parchman Band, which began as a way for incarcerated men to cope with hardships at Mississippi State Penitentiary in the early 1900s, has evolved into a full prison band program. The band performs blues and folk music to share stories of growth and redemption.
Festival organizers teased a surprise related to the short film’s screening at the festival.
“Our programming team is working on some surprises for this one,” Vorhies said. “Don’t forget those festival memberships and come to the festival.”
Oxford Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Memberships include credits for film tickets for seasonal events with discounts, and aid in bringing more free community events to Oxford.
Oxford Film Festival curates films from across the world to captivate audiences, but organizers also emphasized the importance of the local independent filmmaking community.
“We have a student block of film students from Ole Miss, where we show their films,” Elizabeth Alexander, the festival manager, said. “We want to make sure people know even though they live in Oxford, or Water Valley, (Miss.,) or far away from Hollywood, that they still can have opportunities to have their films shown.”
