#narrative feature

Columbus (2017)

Directed by Kogonada

Hello Everybody!

On behalf of the Middle Coast Film Festival team I wanted to let you all know about a great volunteering opportunity this September. Middle Coast is a film festival that has recently relocated to Chicago and is looking for volunteers. If you are interested please follow the link to our volunteer page to become familiar with us and fill out our volunteer form. (Fun fact: those who volunteer at least 3 hours with us will get a badge to screen films when they're not working and may have the chance to network with other filmmakers!)

https://www.middlecoastfest.com/volunteer

If you have any questions feel free to contact me or email [email protected].

And even if you don’t live in Chicago or cannot make it, please signal boost!

Last Flag Flying (2017)

Directed by Richard Linklater

Learn more about our 2017 filmmakers with our Take 5 series. Meet Katherine Dieckmann, director of Strange Weather.

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

"Strange Weather" is a story about grief, vengeance, the power of female friendship, and how genuine overcoming is never fully overcoming, but just a step towards overcoming.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

I've made four features, but this most recent one had a singular group of collaborators among the cast and crew. I see the love every single one of them brought to my work in every frame of the finished product. The best part of getting the film made was having the opportunity to see my material lifted up and improved by the people who committed themselves to it. Also I relished having the chance to live in Mississippi; the state embraced me, and I embraced it in return.

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

I started out as a journalist in my 20s, then moved into directing music videos for bands like R.E.M., Wilco and Aimee Mann, then moved into features. My first film, "A Good Baby," was shot in the south (outside Asheville), and I am really drawn to lyrical, character-driven regional stories, which is more the province of indie films of the '90s, and makes "Strange Weather" kind of a deliberate throwback. But I really wanted to make a movie in that mode, whether it was fashionable or not, and I stand by the value -- both human and aesthetic -- of that kind of filmmaking.

#4 What do you want the Oxford Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn't obvious from its title or description?

The film might sound grim because it's dealing with such a somber topic, but there is great levity and humor in it, especially in the way Holly Hunter approached the main character. My favorite scenes in the film deal with the way women talk to each other, both in warm friendship and in prickly dissent. I want Oxford viewers in particular to know that I am well aware that Mississippi is not the same state as Georgia, or Alabama, or Louisiana, for which the areas around Jackson double throughout. That shorthand is merely the result of a low budget and not Yankee ignorance, but either way, please forgive me.

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

We are in the process of negotiating a distribution deal to launch "Strange Weather" later in 2017. I am putting together my next feature, "Her Bright Shadow," which again deals with the complicated and vibrant life of a female character over the age of 50. I feel like I have one more movie in me that could ideally reverse some tired stereotypes, but also tell a story of the kind of character we rarely see represented as worthy of owning an entire story. I hope to be shooting in upstate New York this summer.

Learn more about our 2017 filmmakers with our Take 5 series. Meet Lovell Holder, producer of Some Freaks.

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

"Some Freaks" details the troubled romance between a one-eyed boy and an overweight girl, and it provides audiences with a story that appeals to the outsider in all of us.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

I think the most important lesson I learned was the power of persistence. There were so many challenges we faced over the course of our process, including the fact that we had to shoot the movie in two sections six months apart to capture the characters' lives in both winter and summer, and to also allow one of our actors the time to achieve a very significant physical transformation that directly impacts the narrative of the story. Keeping the train running through all these hurdles was incredibly difficult, but we all knew that we had a very special story that we believed in, and it is now an incredible reward to see that story come to life. Consequently, the best part of the film is to know that we have created a story that features a strong, plus-size female lead (the extraordinary Lily Mae Harrington) in a role that showcases so many of the complexities that young women can confront in contemporary society, from personal triumphs to ill-a dvised mistakes. Seeing this character on screen gives me great pride every time I watch the film.

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

I'm originally from Charlotte, NC, and I grew up there until I attended college at Princeton University. "Some Freaks" is the first film that I produced, and I began working on it right after completing grad school at Brown University in Providence, RI (where we eventually filmed to movie). My classmate, our writer/director Ian MacAllister-McDonald, invited me to partner with him on the film, and Ian's beautiful script spoke to me instantly. In the years since, I now live in Los Angeles full-time, where I work as a writer, director, and producer. Most recently, I directed and co-wrote my first feature film, the high school dramedy "Loserville," which is available on Amazon and iTunes (and stars a wonderful ensemble led by newcomer Chris Bellant, Matt McGorry, and Darby Stanchfield), and I produced the upcoming short film "Surrogate" with Olivia Hamilton and Oscar nominee Damien Chazelle.

#4 What do you want the Oxford Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn't obvious from its title or description?

One of the things that I am most proud of in "Some Freaks" is that Ian (our writer/director) does not let the characters OR the audience off the hook. The movie, while frequently touching, funny, and deeply humane, does demand that the audience wrestle with some very tough questions by the end of the film. The movie embraces the imperfections of these characters, and in doing so, it forces the audience to reckon with the characters' choices in a way that I find deeply visceral and important. I've been thrilled to see so much audience dialogue following the film at all the festivals it has screened at over the past few months - it compels any viewer to form an opinion.

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

First off, we're so excited to screen in Oxford, and we're so humbled to have been extended the invitation by the terrific OXFF team. We also remain so grateful for the festival run that we have had so far, where we've won multiple awards at festivals such as the Fantasia International Film Festival (in Montreal), the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Portland Film Festival, and the Princeton Film Festival. We are very pleased that "Some Freaks" will continue to play in several other festivals in 2017 (which we unfortunately can't announce yet) before it goes into official release later in the year. We're thrilled to be sharing the film with more and more audiences, and we can't wait for it to be available to anyone who wants to watch it.

Learn more at: Twitter: @somefreaksfilm Instagram: @somefreaksfilm2016 Facebook: @somefreaksfilm

Learn more about our 2017 filmmakers with our Take 5 series! Meet Navid Sanati, director of Don't Come Around Here.

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

Don’t Come Around Here is a melodrama about two brothers and their differences while their father awaits death.

The film reflects the human drama on the screen, and if watched with an open mind, some can find themselves a part of it and some might learn from it.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

That if you set your mind to completing a feature film with a budget less than $3,000, it can be possible.

Best part was the community coming together and helping us with the production.

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

I have been working with Running Wild Films since January 2015, starting as camera assistant, progressing to Production Coordinator / Co-Producer on Durant’s Never Closes, and becoming a key member of the team. I have over 10 years experience in producing, directing and editing feature films, short films, documentaries, music videos and commercials. Currently, I am finishing two feature film projects and will be directing another feature film in the summer and editing two features during the year.

#4 What do you want the Oxford Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn't obvious from its title or description?

That it's a raw film about human emotions and relationships.

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

We will be screening the film at a few theaters around the country and will be available on VOD and DVD midst of next year.

I will be making more films in Mississippi with Running Wild Films in the near future!

Learn more about our 2017 filmmakers with our Take 5 series. Meet Victoria Negri, writer/Director/Producer/Actress, of Gold Star.

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

Gold Star is an honest film about loss and acceptance, seen from the perspective of a young woman struggling with mortality. Significantly, it is also Robert Vaughn's last feature film. In Gold Star, he plays against type, in a role we've never seen him perform before, facing death and aging head-on, without any lines.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

The biggest lesson in making Gold Star was to trust myself, and to believe that I could wear the hats of writer/director/actor/producer. The years of preparation leading up to shooting were more than enough to be able to make split second decisions on set. The best part in getting the film made was the lifelong friends I made in the process. I love being on set because you really do become like a family.

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

Gold Star is my debut feature. I was an actor for years before shooting the film, and jumped behind the camera in other capacities before directing. I was an assistant director, producer, production manager, script supervisor and more. I've always been a writer. So, leading a team to tell my story as a director was something I'd always dreamed of doing, and I was well prepared to do it.

#4 What do you want the Oxford Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn't obvious from its title or description?

The movie is titled Gold Star as a symbol for the struggle for perfection. I hope audiences walk away from the film realizing that it's okay to be imperfect or overwhelmed or to feel you're failing your parents. Nobody is perfect and there is rarely a relationship that ends with a neat, beautiful bow when someone passes away.

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

I'm excited to continue our festival run after Oxford, and to eventually distribute the film theatrically and on VOD platforms. I'm already writing my second feature screenplay, which is a surreal take on ultra-marathon running, and I am looking forward to getting it off the ground.

Learn more at: Official Site: Goldstar-film.com Facebook: Facebook.com/GoldStarFilm Twitter: @GoldStarFilm Instagram: Instagram.com/GoldStarFilm

Learn more about our 2017 filmmakers with our Take 5 series. Meet Erica Fae, writer and director of To Keep the Light.

#1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

We just won the Fipresci Prize (International Film Critics' Prize) at Mannheim in Germany, and have won a bunch of other awards at festivals in the States. The film is visually gorgeous, and tells the story of a powerful woman in the 1800's... a reminder that's all-too-relevant in today's world.

#2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

I've never really responded well when people tell me, "you can't do that." So, yeah, when folks kept saying that you can't write, produce, direct, and act in your first feature I just... well, had to do it...

#3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

I've been telling stories for decades, mostly in the theatre, though I made 2 shorts before this: my first feature film.

#4 What do you want the Oxford Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn't obvious from its title or description?

For me, it really has an immersive, meditative quality, and watching it on a big screen almost creates the feeling of being on the coast...

#5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

The film is doing really well, and is on the road to distribution. And I've a second feature already in the works. These things tickle me...