OFF Announces 2020 Fest Date Change, Now Accepting Entries

Call for entries is open for the 2020 Oxford Film Festival that will now take place March 18-22. 

The 17th edition of the popular regional film festival again features OFF’s screenplay competition with cash prizes, as well as a reduced submission fee incentive for female filmmakers and people with disabilities. All juried competition winners will receive cash prizes along with their awards.

“The move to March was inspired by a desire to give us a little more breathing room following the Academy Awards broadcast and the conclusion of the Sundance Film Festival, opening up more potential for select films to play those fests as well as OFF,” said Melanie Addington, executive director. 

Led by Addington, OFF will screen films in all genres and focus on “discoveries” through its film selections via submissions, as well as celebrate short screenplay writers and promote Mississippi filmmakers in the presentation of the film festival’s award ceremony.

Also, filmmakers with disabilities and/or featuring performers with disabilities can receive a 50% submission fee discount using code ReelOXFF2.

Addington has also re-confirmed her pledge that OFF will keep the efforts going as long as it takes to get to 50-50 female to male representation. When submitting their films to Film Freeway for consideration by the festival, women should use the following submission code to receive their 50% discount: BlacheOXFF. The festival also joined the Parity Pledge to get to 50-50 by 2020, joining festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and more.

With the growth of the LGBTQIA+ category, in addition to the continuation of the discounted submission fees for female filmmakers, demonstrates the real, tangible support for artists of all genders, lifestyles, and cultures that the Oxford Film Festival represents in the South. The film festival has made a name for itself nationally in that regard for the impact it is making with filmmakers, film artists, and the local community by embracing its place artistically, politically, and socially in Oxford and the state of Mississippi.

The Oxford Film Festival has established itself as a leader and prominent “voice” in the regional film festival community as it continues to take real, and lasting, action in order to offer an oasis of culture, a position of advocacy and support on behalf of minorities, women, and the LGBTQ community as it supports diverse voices in the state of Mississippi.

While submissions are now open, the festival will also be launching its first female filmmaker retreat leading up to the festival this fall for March 2020.

Submissions can be made here.

The Oxford Film Festival’s competitions for 2020 include:

Artist Vodka Film D’Or Prize
The top 10 films will be selected to play the 2020 Oxford Film Festival. The top 10 will receive a hotel for three nights during the festival. A grand prize of $15,000 will be given to the winner which will be determined 50% by judges and 50% by audience participation at the screening at the 2020 festival.

Rules of the competition include: The film must be less than 30 minutes. Any genre is allowed.

The top 10 films will need to incorporate “In Association with Artist Vodka” in the credits.

Short Screenplay Competition
The Short Screenplay Competition will feature the following prizes for the winning writer/filmmaker:
– A $1,000 prize for use in making the film from the winning script.
– OxFilm Society equipment rental for free for use in the production of the film if shot in Lafayette County as well as production support from OxFilm Society.
– Flight (if not local) and hotel accommodations to attend the Oxford Film Festival to hear the live table read of their script.
– Producer mentor including John Norris of Wyolah Films will also meet with the scriptwriter at the festival to consult on production details to assist in the making of the film.

All juried film categories include:
• Narrative and documentary features and shorts
• Mississippi narrative, documentary, and music video
• LGBTQIA+ short and features
• Fest Forward (Animation and Experimental shorts)
• Student Films
• Music Documentary shorts and features

Submission Deadlines
• Early Bird: September 30, 2019
• Regular: November 15, 2019
• Late: December 31, 2019

The Oxford Film Festival was founded in 2003 to bring exciting, new, and unusual films (and the people who create them) to North Mississippi. The annual five-day festival screens short and feature-length films in both showcase and competition settings. The festival is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. 

Courtesy of the Oxford Film Festival