This year’s installment of the Oxford Film Festival begins on Wednesday, introducing a new hybrid format and a festival movie pass that gives attendees more ways to watch than previous years.
In-person films will be screened in two outdoor tents located in the Oxford Commons, as well as the Malco Outdoor Cinema and a pop-up drive-in at Oxford High School from March 24-28. The drive-in fits 100 cars while each of the tents has a 60-person limit.
Through the month of April, the rest of the festival’s films will be provided online, including Q&A events with the filmmakers. Each film can be accessed through the Eventive app, allowing films to be viewed either by computer or the Eventive TV app, which can be downloaded on Roku, Amazon Fire Stick and other similar providers.
“It’s such a weird year, but we didn’t want to skip over having the festival, so we’re just doing it the best we can,” Melanie Addington, director of the Oxford Film Festival, said. “Obviously, smaller numbers are allowed to attend the festival physically. So it will be very small and intimate, which will be nice.”
The festival will be continuing its $50 student VIP pass that was introduced last year, allowing students unlimited access to all films both in person and online. Tickets can be purchased either on the OFF website or at the ticket booth located at the TRU by Hilton hotel, which is in the Commons.
OFF is also introducing an affordable new genre pass that gives buyers access only to a genre of their choosing. For example, instead of paying for all films, one could pay to watch only LGBTQ films or movies exclusively from Mississippi filmmakers for a reduced price.
The idea was born after the company that recently redesigned the OFF website reached out to the community and received feedback on what it wanted from the festival.
“That was something we heard a lot. ‘I can’t necessarily afford a full VIP pass, but I’d love to have some of that experience’ So we decided to break it up and have some different things,” Addinton said. “Each genre path gets you into one of the parties and is a little bit more affordable, but still feels special.”
Around 185 films will be shown across both platforms this year, down slightly from the 200 typically screened. Addington said some films are close to selling out, particularly those by Mississippi filmmakers.
One film called “Hungry to Learn” covers the issue of economic and food insecurity among college students. The profits made from the sales for the screening will be donated to Grove Grocery, the university’s food pantry.
The success of the festival’s “OFF to the Drive-In” series that began last summer played a major role in festival leadership’s comfort with running an outdoor venue. The organizers wanted to make sure that filmmakers could see their creations on the big screen and provide attendees with an irreplaceable moviegoing experience.
“We knew that the in-person theatrical experience, no matter how great a sound system you have at home, it’s not the same as actually being in a theater,” Addington said. “We just wanted to create a little bit of normalcy.”
