School of Media Studies

Join Oxford Film Festival This Weekend

•  The Castle on Red Mountain live Q&A tonight at 5:30 pm. The Castle on Red Mountain is a documentary about a sculptor named Robert Mihaly who is returning to finish his biggest project to date: a whimsical 70-foot-high castle that he abandoned a decade earlier.
• Waves, Birdie and Drought live Q&A at 6:30 pm. Drought: It’s 1993 and North Carolina is experiencing a historic drought. Autistic teen Carl, fascinated by weather, predicts that a storm will soon hit nearby. His sister Sam crafts a plan to help him chase the storm, stealing their mother’s ice cream truck to embark on a road trip about family, forgiveness, and following your dreams.

•  Surviving Block Q&A (films only available on April 17) at 11 am. Drifting, Little Con Lili and Ronzo winner for Best Animation A Head Shorter.
• Liberation Heroes presented by the Jewish Federation of Oxford Q&A  at 1 pm.
  Heroic World War II veterans vividly share their liberation journeys, drawing parallels between the past and present. These powerful eyewitness accounts from Steven Spielberg’s USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive®, share a cautionary tale and compelling reminder of what can happen when insidious hatred remains unchecked.
• Mississippi short films rescheduled for Saturday at 2 pm. Mississippi filmmakers showcase their talents from documentary to animation to narrative and despite challenges in 2020, their stylings continued to grow and tell the story of Mississippi.
•  Kind Of & Tahara Q&A at 3 pm takes us into nonbinary dating and in Tahara we experience a queer, coming-of-age drama set in Rochester, NY about an anxious teen girl who is manipulated into a romantic encounter with her best friend during the funeral service of their former Hebrew school classmate.

•  Queer Representation panel supported by AGLIFF and OXFILM  is at 11 am but be sure to watch Nora Highland first! Tune in here.  Nora Highland follows the casting process of a notable gay character in an upcoming Broadway revival and explores the phenomenon of straight performers being lauded for their work in queer roles. Adapted from a play of the same name this is a damning look at how and why over 60 straight/cis actors have been Oscar-nominated for playing queer roles while only one queer actor has been Oscar-nominated for doing the same.
• Bill Perry joins us at 2 pm for They Found Me: Vengeance  Q&A. The Nebulonians are an advanced alien species that have come to Earth to conquer and destroy all humans. Once assimilated into society, the X clones were meant to take over from the inside. Now they to fight for survival. And the clock is ticking, the end of the world could be at hand!