As the Oxford Film Festival looks to future innovations including teasing their plans to bring the drive-in movie experience to town with OFF to the Drive-In, Oxford FF’s 6th Weekly Virtual Film Fest continues the film festival’s string of strong LGBTQIA+ programming with Li Cheng’s drama JOSÈ, a winner of multiple awards including the Queer Lion from the Venice Film Festival, and an encore of Angela Pinaglia’s film LIFE IN SYNCHRO, which follows athletes immersed in the unique world of synchronized skating.
Friday, May 29 also kicks off the presentation of Oxford Film Festival’s Artist Vodka short film programs. Audience members that tune in to see the three film programs will be able to cast votes and decide which filmmaker will get a check for $15,000. While the rest of the filmmakers will get a split of the ticket sales (continuing the film festival’s pledge to share the proceeds from the weekly film fests this year) one filmmaker will become a big winner with the audience’s help this year.
“Artist Vodka continues to be such an important part of our film festival by lending a big financial hand to one of our filmmakers as they have in years past,” Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “And now our audience members can take a real active part in deciding whose name will go on that big check. It adds a rooting interest to the entertainment each one of these three programs delivers in a major way. I can’t wait to see who is going to win that prize.”
Films, events and descriptions:
JOSÈ
Director: Li Cheng
Countries: Guatemala/USA, Running Time: 85 min
Winner of multiple awards, including the Queer Lion from the 75th Annual Venice Film Festival, JOSÈ is a gripping, layered and beautifully honest story about one working-class young man’s struggle to find himself. Made in the neorealist filmmaking tradition, the film is a nuanced and vivid look at being gay in Central America.
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