This week I’m heading back to Oxford, Mississippi to attend the 19th annual Oxford Film Festival. One more time.

Film festivals have been a huge part of my life for almost 20 years, all the way back to 2001 when I had moved to New York and attended NewFest, the city’s LGBTQ film festival, seeing queer films on the big screen for the very first time.

In my late 20s, when I was struggling to find work as an actor, I saw an ad on craigslist for a part time box office position for the Tribeca Film Festival. I got it, and I loved it. That first year was such a blast, working at the main box office, making friends with other film lovers. I worked at Tribeca for the rest of my years in NYC. That job led to ones at NewFest, Atlantic City and the Hamptons International Film Festival.

In 2008, I started my Oscars website, Awards Wiz and was offered the opportunity to cover those same East Coast film festivals for Awards Daily. I will never forget one very special October in the Hamptons when I saw “Black Swan,” “127 Hours,” “Blue Valentine,” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest” in one day, all while trying to manage a box office. It was intense and fantastic.

In 2014 I moved back to Mississippi after a very brief and tumultuous year living in Los Angeles. Little did I know that back in Mississippi - Awards Wiz, my Oscars website would thrive, and I would be introduced to Melanie Addington, then Executive Director of Oxford Film Festival.

I was first asked by Melanie to be a screener for the festival, but before I even began I quickly stepped into the role of LGBTQ programmer. Mississippi had enacted a terrible law (that is still in effect), targeting queer people in the state, and although Oxford had always shown LGBTQ films, Melanie felt it was time to truly make a stand with a category all its own.

6 years later, after 2 virtual festivals, I am headed back in person. Melanie has moved on to Tallgrass and Jim Brunzell and Justina Yuriko, no strangers to queer cinema, are our leaders.

And this year, I have decided, will be my last. It’s been a great run. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been worth it.

I’ve met so many incredible filmmakers, several of whom have become friends. I would even like to think I had a tiny part in getting Oxford a grant from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (yes…THE Academy) that allowed me to program even more films back in 2019. I will forever be grateful to Melanie for trusting me with this task.

And to the LGBTQ community of Oxford and beyond, I hope that I might have had a small part in helping you feel seen. Cinema absolutely has the power to do that.

Below are the films I’ve programmed for this year’s festival. I hope to see you there.

Tickets available here: Oxford Film Festival Schedule; Film Guide

Being Bebe

The rise of drag performer BeBe Zahara Benet, who went from performing at Minneapolis Pride to being crowned the triumphant winner of Season 1 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" in 2009.

I first saw “Being Bebe” at Outfest in Los Angeles and knew instantly it was for our festival as well. Living in Oxford for 5 years I saw our collective love for drag (and RuPaul’s Drag Race!) and yet, this film goes far beyond those subjects. Bebe is a film about drive and living your dreams, even if there are times we have to pull back, gearing up for our greatest potential.

Malco: Donna Ruth Roberts Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 26, 2022, 5:00 - 7:00 PM CDT
FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

Invisible

This documentary explores a group of gay women songwriters who have successfully navigated the male dominated country music genre and have written number 1 hits for some of country music's greatest stars.

Another film I knew instantly would be perfect for Oxford is “Invisible.” Mississippi and music are synonymous, and these fabulous women are not only queer but also amongst the best of the best!

Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 26, 2022, 6:00 - 8:00 PM CDT
FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE

LGBTQ Shorts

This year we have what I consider a best of the best shorts block. In years past I was able to program 2 blocks, but this year I had less space. I had to kill many darlings, which says much about these films! They are a perfect snapshot of queer life in 2022. Falling in and out of love. The joys and messiness of friendship. The insanity and comedy of the workplace. Even a bit of the macabre. These films help us in understanding that diversity is indeed our community’s strength.

FILMS:
2 Dollars
Clover
God’s Daughter Dances
Noor & Layla
Money Cat
Rough River Lake
Fuck ‘Em Right Back

Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 25, 2022, 5:00 - 7:00 PM CDT
FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE

Compulsus

WORLD PREMIERE - When Wally gets the taste for organised violent revenge she keeps her compulsion secret, until she falls for law- abiding Lou who challenges everything she knows.

It’s always an honor when a filmmaker allows Oxford Film Festival to be their World Premiere. I’ll never forget watching “Compulsus” for the first time. It has many themes similar to Oscar winning “Promising Young Woman,” and yet it takes them to the next, queer level. DO NOT MISS this film!

Playing with “It's Very Common” - FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE

The feel good miscarriage movie you didn’t know you needed.

Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 25, 2022, 7:30 - 9:00 PM CDT

The Sixth Reel

When the death of a close friend unearths the long-thought lost final reel of a classic undiscovered film, Jimmy (Charles Busch – Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommie, Die!) and his social circle of obsessive collectors each concoct wild, underhanded schemes to cash in on a big sale of the film.

The fact that “The Sixth Reel” is directed by the person who made one of my absolute favorite films (“Psycho Beach Party”) was almost enough to program it on its own. The fact that it’s great sealed the deal!! Margaret Cho, Charles Busch, mayhem! It’s exactly the film we need right now!

Playing with “Jesus is Lord” - FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE

Four people in 2022 recall events from 1975 that led to the hiring of the first woman minister at their church. Each person has a different recollection of how the events transpired. One story told four ways.

Malco: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 26, 2022, 3:30 - 5:00 PM CDT

Mama Bears

Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, over 30,000 conservative, Christian mothers call themselves “mama bears” because of how ferociously they fight for the civil rights of their children and the entire LGBTQ+ community. MAMA BEARS explores the journeys of two mama bears and a young lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears movement is vitally important.

I hoped beyond hope that I would be able to secure “Mama Bears” for Oxford. I know that we have many Mama Bears in Mississippi who are fighting for their queer children. I wanted them to be represented at our festival. I’m so glad they will be.

Plays with “The Leaf”

The COVID-19 pandemic changes and destroys everything in daily life, and people would not be able to enjoy movies with friends in the theatre for a long while. It applies directly to the arts and film community that filmmakers and art creators would not be able to take any jobs for months or years. Will is a member of the filmmaking community in the San Francisco Bay Area, who is also experiencing the dilemma. As an immigrant from China, he struggles financially in the current US as a filmmaker, but at the same time, he is uncertain about whether he could still be himself if he moves back to China since he is also facing the uprising of racism against immigrants and Asians in the US. THE LEAF is a personal poetic hybrid documentary film about a filmmaker's dilemma as both a filmmaker and a gay immigrant during this pandemic.

Malco: Donna Ruth Roberts Auditorium
206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 27, 2022, 2:30 - 4:15 PM CDT

Homebody

Nothing is quite as special as a child’s relationship with their babysitter, and nine-year-old, gender-queer Johnny is obsessed with theirs – so much so that they’ve meditated their spirit right into her body! Part "Freaky Friday" and part "Being John Malkovitch," HOMEBODY is a charming, crowd-pleasing, cringe comedy for the gender-fluid era.

“Homebody” is one of the funniest films I’ve seen in quite some time. Actors Colby Minifie and Tre Ryder are hilarious in this wonderful delight.

Malco: Steven & Gay Case Auditorium, 206 Commonwealth Blvd
March 27, 2022, 12:00 - 1:30 PM CDT

A Film Festival life; & a preview of LGBTQ films at Oxford Film Festival