Driven (2019) Oxford Film Festival 2019

A couple of days on I’m still trying to sort out what I think about DRIVEN. It’s not that the film is bad, it’s not, more I’m not sure it works the way it’s supposed to.

Emerson (Casey Dillard) is a driver for Ferry (think Uber). Leaving her home for a night of driving she finds a lost bag in the road. This being a college town she thinks nothing of it and tosses it in her car, figuring she’d run it down later. As the passengers come and go Emerson works on her dead pan comedy routine (she wants to be comic) in a running monologue. She eventually picks up Roger (director Richard Speight Jr.), who is on a schedule and needs to travel all over town. He wants to keep it quiet but things happen and Emerson realizes that she is in the middle of a demon horde.

Part comedy, part action film, part drama, part horror film DRIVEN is juggling a so many balls I’m not sure it keeps them all in the air. So much going on this is a film that kind of remains on one level tonally. What kills me is there is something here. I like the idea of a driver getting sucked into a tale like this, but there is something about the way the film feels that prevented me from clicking with it. Trying to figure what has taken up the better part of the last few days since I saw the film.

I think the problem for me is writer and star Casey Dillard as Emerson. If you don’t click with the humor in her running monologue the film is going to fall flat. I kept thinking – “oh that’s a joke” when I should have been laughing. While there is nothing really wrong with her performance as such but her delivery and attitude is a little bit too deadpan.

As I said I like the premise and bits but I’m not too keen on the execution.

That said there is enough here that if the premise looks good to you you should give it a shot since you may click with it where I didn’t.

DOOR AJAR - THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY (2019) Oxford Film Festival (2019)

DOOR AJAR - THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY is the story of the African American artist who learned to paint in part by listening through a cracked door at the college where he worked. A portrait of more than just the artist and his art but the world in which lived the film paints a portrait of Mississippi over the last century.

At times low-fi, the film contains a great deal of video shot over the last two decades, the film can be a little jagged. Interviews shot at different times and under different conditions collide to occasionally look like something that was cobbled together from bits. While in many cases this would work against a film in the case of DOOR AJAR it creates an immediacy that most other films lack. For example the film includes an interview with Mayfield shot not long before his death. In other cases we get a glorious sense of place and of the people who came into contact with the man.

Until I saw the film I had no notion Mayfield even existed. While I may have seen some of his art, his name meant nothing. I had no idea what I was I for. When the film was done I found myself on line looking at more of the his paintings and pondering if I can find a space for a book of his art work.

I really liked this film a great deal. What I liked more was that it opened my eyes to an artist I knew nothing about but who influenced those who saw his work and more importantly the people who knew him.

Recommended

Oxford Film Festival Music Films: DON'T GET TROUBLE IN MIND and ICEPICK TO THE MOON

DON"T GET TROUBLE IN YOUR MIND is a wonderful portrait of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, a trio of African American musicians who specialized in country and folk music. While you may not have heard of the group you probably have run across Rhiannon Giddens the lead singer who has gone off on a solo career.

 Charting the course of the group from their founding until now the film is full of wonderful insight into the members, their music and their outlook on life. Over the course of the film we come to understand and love them and their influences with a depth that’s rare in musical documentaries. And of course there is the music. Pretty much a wall to wall sampler of the Chocolate Drops music this is a film that will have you rushing to iTunes or where ever you go to buy up all their recordings.

Highly recommended.

ICE PICK TO THE MOON is a portrait of the music of Reverend Fred Lane (aka Tim R Reed) who back in the early 80’s released two albums of off kilter loungey/swingy music ala Frank Sinatra (kind of as if Sinatra's songs had had Dada lyrics) that warped the minds of anyone who ever heard them. With song titles such as The French Toast Man they are definitely weird. After two albums Lane stopped making music and went off to do other things - leaving everyone to wonder what the hellwas that and who was the mad man behind the records.

 Revealing the small (but growing) rabid fandom for Lane’s albums as well as the stories of their creation the film will be like manna from heaven for fans of Lane and off kilter ditties. With its own unique style that is like a mix of the labels of Dr Broner's soap mixed with some of the Church of Subgenius videos and fliers, ICEPICK TO THE MOON is a one of a kind documentary, which is perfectly fitting for a one of a kind performer.

For the most part I was really entertained, however as much as I like the film I think that the film is probably a too long at 99 minutes. I know fans won’t quibble but anyone else will find things running out of gas about an hour in. There simply isn’t enough to hold the attention of anyone who isn’t fan. Then again I’m not sure this was made for anyone for anyone other than the diehards-or anyone who can be instantly converted.

Quibbles side this is definitely worth a look if only on the chance that you too might becomes a fan of Fred Lang

One of the great finds of the Oxford Film Festival.

HOLY GHOST FIRE: THE ECSTASY OF RANDY WOLFORD (2018) Oxford Film Festival 2019

Nicholas Laviola’s portrait of Randy Wolford’s final service is deeply disturbing. A Pentecostal Christian minister leading a service in a West Virginia park, things were going well until the snakes were brought out and one of them bit him after he had drunk some poison. We watch as the service continues, some try to heal him and the poison slowly takes him.

It is one of the most disturbing experiences that I’ve ever had watching the film. You will forgive me I don’t like to watch people die. In large part my unease is due to the fact that I had thought this was going to be a conventional exploration of the events on that May day in 2012. I didn’t think that the film was going to be the service with some other footage mixed in. There is no commentary, just the service with images of the land in and around where the tragedy went down. With no guidance we are left to ponder what it all means.

A week on I’m still pondering.

I really don’t know what to say. This is an alien world to me. I can’t imagine just leaving someone to die when help could be at hand. That is of course my choice and not the choice of the late Mr. Wolford. His faith took a different path than mine. Watching Wolford go down that path raises all sorts of issues that I am wrestling with still.

Because I still am pondering the film I don’t know if its good bad or indifferent. It is most certainly one of a kind. I don’t know if this is something you’ll want to see or not. Yes it will raise issues, Yes it is an experience. You’ll have to decide f you want to go there.

Easily one of the most powerful films I’ve seen in a long while.

Oxford ’19: Body and Soul—An American Bridge

His name holds little recognition these days, even among serious jazz listeners, but Johnny Green won five Oscars for his film music and co-wrote several standards, including “I Cover the Waterfront” and “Out of Nowhere.” Yet, his best-known work is even more ubiquitous among jazz musicians’ repertoires. Robert Philipson chronicles the history and legacy of the beloved standard in the mid-length hour-long documentary, Body and Soul: An American Bridge, which screens during this year’s Oxford Film Festival.

Green original co-wrote “Body and Soul” with lyricists Edward Heyman and Robert Sour for British musical theater performer Gertrude Lawrence, but it soon became a jazz standard. Naturally, one of the first classic renditions came from Louis Armstrong, who really did everything in jazz first. There was also a historically significant recording by the racially-integrated Benny Goodman Trio, featuring the great Teddy Wilson on piano. However, Coleman Hawkins’ legendary recording of “Body and Soul,” which most jazz historians consider the transitional link between swing and bebop is only mentioned in passing. Frankly, that is beyond bizarre, because we were eagerly anticipating a long discussion of Hawk (it isn’t perfect, but Ken Burns’ Jazz gets this right).

Still, Philipson deserves credit for giving Benny Goodman credit for sticking his neck out to lead his racially integrated trio (which became a quartet when he added Lionel Hampton on vibes). It is fashionable to mock Goodman for his legendary penny-pinching and the withering glare, dubbed “the ray,” he leveled at bandmembers who displeased him, but he took a risk and became an agent of progressive change in this country.

Instead of a bridge between swing and bebop, Philipson positions “Body and Soul” as a bridge between Jewish and African American musicians. He certainly has a strong case to make, but “Body and Soul” is hardly unique in this respect. After all, George Gershwin composed Porgy and Bess and Irving Berlin penned standards like “How Deep is the Ocean.” There are plenty of songs that could represent that sort of connection, but it almost always happens through jazz.

Regardless, any film that discusses Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Teddy Wilson at length is totally worth seeing. The best-known musicians Philipson interviews on-camera are probably NEA Jazz Master bassist Richard Davis and Loren Schoenburg, director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, who certainly know their stuff, but like it or not, no Marsalises this time around. Recommended for fans of pre-modern (swing, New Orleans) jazz, Body and Soul: An American Bridge screens this Sunday (2/10) as part of the 2019 Oxford Film Festival.

This World Alone (2018) Oxford Film Festival 2019

After The Fall, some great cataclysm that wiped out most of humanity, Sam, teenage girl lives in the wilderness with her mom and another woman. Taking care of hat has to done they feed their souls on books. However she feels the need to go out and see the world. A long the way she meets a young man out journeying.

A good cast and nice sense of the world almost make up for a plot line that has been done to death. We've been here before any number of times over the last few years even including the religious zealots (last year's's WHAT STILL REMAINS comes to mind)). Five minutes into the film you will know exactly how this is going to go and it will break your heart. Its not you will be heartbroken by a bad film, but rather that a film that can create such a wonderful world with such a good cast squanders it by taking the most traveled path.

To be fair how you react to this film will be determined by how many variations of this plot you've seen. If you've watched more than one or two your enjoyment level will be mitigated by the familiarity. If you haven't seen many or are about Sam's age odds are you will eat this up.

A near miss.

Ghost Light (2018) Oxford Film Festival 2019

It is very difficult to do a horror comedy or comedy horror film well. The trick in balancing the laugh and scares isn’t one many people know with the result that most films trying to be funny scary tend to be neither. When it works the films are absolute delights, which is what Ghost Light is, an absolute delight.

The film follows a traveling troop of actors who go to an out of the way summer stock theater in Massachusetts. The plan is for them is to reopen the theater with a production of Macbeth. When one of the actors doesn’t take care to follow the rituals concerning the play things go horribly wrong.

Once the film gets past an over explanation of the play’s curse, it just goes, managing to be both very funny and frequently chilly as the film earns its self-imposed description as a dark comedy. (Remember this is a horror comedy so bad things happen).

That the film works as well as it does is due entirely to the top flight cast. Filled with great actors like Cary Elwes, Carol Kane, Roger Bart, Steve Tom, Sheldon Best,  Tom Riley and Danielle Campbell who suck us in and drag us along through the spooky proceedings past all the bumps in the plotting. Particularly wondrous is Carol Kane. As someone whose mental picture of her is her wild and crazy comedies, he role here hearkens back to her early dramatic work in films like Hester Street. Yes, she is funny, but she is also so spot on with the drama that I think this maybe my new favorite memory of her.

I love this film. Yea I could probably nitpick bits of the plotting as things we’ve seen before, but since director John Stimpson manages to get the tone and the feel so right I’ll forgive any problems simply because it’s been much too long since any comedy raised goosebumps on my arms from the scares.

Highly recommended. Destined for a long life, Ghost Light is the opening film at the Oxford Film Festival and is highly recommended

The great Oxford Film Festival starts Wednesday the 6th

A few years back I had one of those back alley experiences that result in being kidnapped and becoming a religious zealot preaching door to door. You know the one where someone says to you “Hey wanna see something cool” and you go look and they throw you in the back of van and you end up in a land where nothing is quite the same.

For me it was a certain young lady sending me an email about the Oxford Film Festival. She said I should take a look at the really cool films screening at a film festival in Oxford Mississippi because they were really good. She was right. That first year a good number of the best films I saw all year came from the festival.

More importantly not only were the films good but the people connected with the festival were great. Rarely have I had such a great time exchanging emails about the fest  and films...and even nothing in particular. In the course of a couple of days I seemed to become great friends with anyone I spoke with. They were so good that in the days running up to the festival I considered making a mad dash to Oxford. I didn’t go, I couldn’t make it really work with time off from the day job, but every year I seriously consider going just because I want to meet the people in Oxford.

Starting Wednesday the tents and screens are up in Oxford and the festival has come to town. The same lovely people I've been talking to for the last few years are throwing a wild and crazy cinematic party and everyone is invited.

 Based on what I’ve seen of the selections the festival is another killer. I am looking forward to wading into the goodies and seeing what’s there. While I’ve seen some films (see below) previously there is still hell of a lot of films I haven’t and over the next week I’m going to wade into the cinematic confections and report back in the hope of finding the next big thing.

For those looking to make a choice of what to see here are links to the films we’ve reviewed over the last year at Unseen Films. Click on the title and be taken to the review.

Long Time Coming
Isabelle
Bathtubs Over Broadway
Feeling of Being Watched
Satan and Adam
Call Her Ganda
Giant Little Ones
Gospel of Eureka

And I want to add that I have seen AT THE END OF THE DAY. The story of a right wing man trying to stop a home for LGBT people in a conservative neighborhood and finding he was wrong is a sweet little film. There is a review at Unseen somewhere but I can‘t find it.

If you are able to do so I suggest you go see something and meet the wonderful people who put on a party for any film fan who wants to see some good films and make some new friends.

For tickets and more information go here.

The 2019 Oxford Film Festival Announces Competition Selections (February 6-10)

John Stimpson’s GHOST LIGHT is the Opening Night Gala selection, and Jacqueline Olive’s ALWAYS IN SEASON is the Closing Night choice

World Premieres include John Reyer Afamasaga’s DOOR AJAR – THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY and Jeffrey Dennis’s SHARDE THOMAS: LEGACY OF THE FIFE

Oxford, MS (December 3, 2018) – The 2019 Oxford Film Festival (February 6-10), the first major stop on the year’s regional film festival circuit. has announced John Stimpson’s GHOST LIGHT as the Opening Night Gala selection, with Jacqueline Olive’s ALWAYS IN SEASON tabbed as the fest’s Closing Night Gala selection immediately following its debut at Sundance. Another choice hot off of Sundance will be Jon Strong’s documentary, LONG TIME COMING, presented as a Special Screening. Oxford Film Festival favorite Malcolm Ingram will present his latest documentary, SOUTHERN PRIDE as a Special Screening as well. Also announced were the competition lineups for this year.

Recognized as one of the most prominent (as well as popular) cultural sign posts in the state, in addition to taking a leadership role in terms of the representation of female filmmakers and LGBTQ+ artists, OFF became a signatory of the 505x2020 Pledge this year joining film festivals around the country pledging to reach a 50/50 parity between male and female filmmakers by the year 2020.

OFF also received a grant from the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences recently to assist in the effort to expand the film festival’s LGBTQ+ programming. Those efforts have seen gains in the representation on both fronts during this year’s edition. 43% of the 2019 films are female directed or co-directed, which has continued a pronounced upward trend over the past three years (23% in 2017, 37% in 2018). Similarly, the LGBTQ+ features and shorts competitions have both nearly doubled in size following the introduction of those dedicated competitive categories last year.

Oxford Film Festival’s Executive Director, Melanie Addington, said, “Each year, it seems as though our film festival becomes more entrenched not simply as a way for people to see films here in Oxford and Mississippi, but also as a key place where Mississippians look forward to meeting filmmakers from different parts of the country and world, different cultures, and different lifestyles. As always, we seek to entertain, but beyond that we embrace our cultural and social responsibility and the mission of being one place and one event that Oxford film fans and Oxford Film Festival filmmakers can count on to help build those bridges between different people in the best and most enjoyable way.”

That dedication to provide that forum for film artists in the land of William Faulkner and put forward the best of Mississippi to outsiders seems to be working as the Oxford Film Festival had a record year of submissions (1595) from 62 different countries, representing an increase of 10% over the prior year. Those submissions resulted in a lineup that will include 27 world premieres (including John Reyer Afamasaga’s DOOR AJAR - THE M.B. MAYFIELD STORY and Jeffrey Dennis’s SHARDE THOMAS: LEGACY OF THE FIFE), and 13 U.S. premieres.

Stimpson’s GHOST LIGHT combines laughs and scares as an understudy, aiming for the lead role and the leading lady during a traveling production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, unleashes mayhem by disregarding the time-honored superstitions that go along with staging “The Scottish Tragedy.” The film stars an impressive cast including Cary Elwes, Roger Bart, Carol Kane, Shannyn Sossamon, Danielle Campbell, and Tom Riley. The film screens Thursday, February 7 at 7:00PM at the Gertrude C. Ford Center (351 University Ave.).

Mississippi native Olive’s film, ALWAYS IN SEASON takes a look at how the terrorism of lynching in our country’s history still bleeds into the present via the case of Lennon Lacy, a teenage boy found hanging from a swing set in rural North Carolina in 2014. The film traces his mother’s pursuit of justice for her son as well as intersecting with stories from other communities looking seeking justice and reconciliation. The film screens Sunday, February 10 at 6:00PM at the Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.).


The two documentaries receiving Special Screening presentations include Strong’s LONG TIME COMING, which looks at how a simple little league game was anything but when it took place in the racially segregated South in 1955, and the two teams in question were a team of white boys and a team of black boys. Ingram’s SOUTHERN PRIDE brings us up to date via his film juxtaposing a bar owner who struggles to organize a Pride march in her hometown in Mississippi, while in another part of the state organizers of a Black Pride celebration are working to overcome numerous obstacles facing them.

Narrative feature films in competition this year include: Daniel Campbell’s ANTIQUITIES; Stimpson’s GHOST LIGHT; Rob Heydon’s ISABELLE; Alex Eaton’s MOUNTAIN REST; Katie Orr’s POOR JANE; Jillian Armenante’s STUCK; and Jordan Noel’s THIS WORLD ALONE.

THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED, WHILE I BREATHE I HOPE, WRESTLE

Documentary features in competition include; Dava Whisenant’s BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY; Nicholas Laviola’s HOLY GHOST FIRE: THE ECSTASY OF RANDY WOLFORD; Assia Boundaoui’s THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED; Jon Strong’s LONG TIME COMING; Jamal Sims’s WHEN THE BEAT DROPS; Emily Harrold’s WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE; and Suzannah Herbert and Lauren Belfer’s WRESTLE.


The LGBTQ Juried Feature Competition will include; Kevin O'Brien’s AT THE END OF THE DAY; PJ Raval’s CALL HER GANDA; Keith Behrman’s GIANT LITTLE ONES; Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s GOSPEL OF EUREKA; and Daniel Laabs’s JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK.

2019 OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL FILMS AND DESCRIPTIONS