Named a Top 50 Film Festival worth the entry fee over several years by MovieMaker magazine, the 19th Oxford Film Festival is currently planned to be held in March 23-27 2022 in person and followed by a virtual cinema using our Eventive platform.

Our Mission:
The Oxford Film Festival celebrates the art of independent cinema. Through year-round programming, the festival works to encourage filmmaking in Oxford and North Mississippi as part of the global film community, while cultivating audience appreciation of cinema through screenings, workshops and educational programs that culminate in the annual festival.

Our Core Values:

Independent film and filmmaking
- We value the significance of independent film and the art of filmmaking.

Artistic integrity
- We honor artistic integrity while striving for excellence.

Artistic development
- We embrace the process of developing artists.

Sense of community and community experience
- We create opportunities for community connections and impactful conversations.

Equity, Inclusion and Representation.
- Oxford Film Festival and OxFilm year-round programming will focus on equity, inclusion, and representation on and off camera.

The festival exhibits over 200 quality films from across the globe and has been praised for its hospitality. The festival was founded in 2003 by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. In 2008, the Oxford Film Festival became an independent non-profit organization with 501c3 status committed to celebrating the art of independent cinema.

The festival screens short and feature-length films in both showcase and competition settings, hosts panel discussions on issues in contemporary filmmaking, and invites the filmmakers to interact with the audience at a number of social events.

The Oxford Film Festival entertains and educates its participants, providing residents and visitors with the opportunity to watch independent films, as well as to meet the filmmakers and learn from industry professionals. The variety of films, in addition to the panels, attracts filmgoers of all ages and backgrounds. The festival also supports moviemaking in the area through the production of the community film and support of OxFilm which loans equipment to filmmakers filming in Oxford.

Our festival, the Oxford Film Festival, is in Mississippi (USA) and should not be confused with the Oxford International Film Festival in Ohio, now known as the Cincinnati Film Festival, nor OxDox in Oxford, England nor the Oxford International Film Festival in Oxford. England.

Home to the University of Mississippi, past haunts of William Faulkner, Larry Brown, Barry Hannah and John Grisham, current home of Ace Atkins, Jack Pendarvis, and listed as one of John Vilani's "100 best small arts towns in America," Oxford offers a unique blend of literary and artistic appreciation within the setting of a vibrant college town.

Recent years have included visits from Angie Thomas with THE HATE U GIVE, Adam Rifkin with THE LAST MOVIE STAR, Cady McClain with SEEING IS BELIEVING, Danny Glover to introduce I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, Robert Longstreet with THE MISSING GIRL, James Franco and Tim Blake Nelson with THE SOUND AND THE FURY, Academy Award winners and nominees, Independent Spirit Award nominees, and favorites on the film festival circuit in addition to local and regional films.

"Regional festivals are becoming more and more important in the film landscape, uplifting new, diverse voices in a time where people are viewing films in a group setting less and less. At Oxford, the success lay in the crop of powerful stories from fresh voices, many of which aligned with, and then furthered, our cultural conversation."
- Meredith Alloway, Filmmaker Magazine

"The word that one hears over and over again at the Oxford Film Festival is “community…” This is a festival that seeks to reflect the community from which it arises, both the local one and the international one connected by filmmaking. It is a homegrown, intimate festival that nonetheless features voices from around the world, harmoniously united through the community of film."
- Brian Tallerico, rogerebert.com

Awards & Prizes

Contests:
Short Screenplay Competition - $1000 cash

Programmers Awards:
Alice Guy-Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award
Angie Thomas Zeitgeist Award
The Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award

The jury-selected Ronzo award and cash prize is presented to the winning films for the following categories:

Narrative Feature - $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision

Documentary Feature - $15,000 camera rental package from Panavision,

Narrative Short - Three days of audio post-production from Taproot Design in Oxford

Documentary Short - Three days of audio post-production from Taproot Audio Design in Oxford

Mississippi Short - One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society

Mississippi Feature - One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society.

Mississippi Music Video - One-year membership and free equipment rentals from OxFilm Society

Music Video

LGBTQIA Short

LGBTIA Feature

Fest Forward Animation & Experimental

Rules & Terms

- Films created by people with disabilities, and/or featuring performers with disabilities receive a 50% discount using code ReelOXFF21
- Films directed by women-identified also get 50% discount using code BlacheOXFF21
- Films directed by BIPOC filmmakers also get 50% discount using code: ZeitgeistOXFF

1. Films must be Mississippi, South/Southeastern, US, North American, and/or World premieres to screen at OXFF (theatrical and/or virtual).
2. Films must be at least MS premieres to be considered and eligible to be accepted into any "Competition"
3. Films that have been previously submitted to the OXFF are not eligible.
4. Films must have been completed on or after June 1, 2019.
5. Films in theatrical/virtual cinema release in Mississippi prior to, or at the time of the festival (March 23-27, 2022) are not eligible.
6. Film screeners must be submitted via private video screener link with password.
7. Entrant confirms and warrants required legal authority to submit the entry into the Festival and to use all music, images, and content in the entry.
8. Entrant will allow usage of clips from the film for promotional use on television, radio, in print, and at live Festival events.
9. All entries must be either in English or subtitled in English. Non-English entries submitted without subtitles are not eligible.
10. Student film entries must include proof of student status at the time of production (i.e., copy of student ID, transcript, etc.

All rules for the festival and how our screening process works are listed here and it is highly recommended you read them:https://www.ox-film.com/submit

If you have questions before you submit, ask us at justina@oxfordfilmfest.com.

80 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Max'ed Deeq

    Despite the challenges surrounding this year, I had a great experience attending the festival virtually. Oxford Film Festival executive director Melanie Addington was great at communicating everything we would need to know and everyone we came into contact with was so helpful and great! I will definitely look to return to this brilliant festival. Special thank you to the jury & staff for our Ronzo Award, we're all so grateful!

    May 2021
    Helpful
  • John Donvan

    The Oxford Film Festival grows out of a vibrant film-making, film-going and film-loving community, and from the minute our movie was selected we felt welcomed into and embraced by that community. They may give out prizes, and we were delighted to win one, but the atmosphere is entirely non-competitive, but rather collaborative, low-key, warm and friendly. It is easy to see why OxFest is on so many "worth the fee" lists. It's more than worth it.

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Taylor Walker

    This is my first time "attending" (I couldn't physically attend, but enjoyed the virtual activities) Oxford Film Festival and had a wonderful experience. Since being selected, the executive director, Melanie Addington, was in constant communication with us and informed us really well of what's to come far in advance to the festival. The festival made sure to make those of us who couldn't physically attend still have a festival experience by allowing us to have our own Q&A session and sent us some festival merch. To make a long review short, I would definitely submit my film to this festival again!

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Navid Nikkhah Azad

    'The Recess' won Ronzo for Best Narrative Short at the 18th edition. Thank you!

    I received the cash prize + didn't receive "Ronzo'!
    The package sent to me was the goodies from the festival + 'award from last year' (without name plate), and as the festival put it "due to a miscalculation we sent you another award from last year due to not having enough made. I apologize!"

    Thank you, Oxford Film Festival!

    April 2021
    Helpful
  • Caroline Rumley

    It was great to have my short doc play at Oxford. Though I couldn't get to the in-person screening, I felt connected through excellent communications and also through the Q and A. The questions were in-depth and well thought-out.

    April 2021
    Helpful
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    We loved having your film and you virtually!