At a packed ceremony in Oxford’s The Powerhouse on Saturday, March 23, the Oxford Film Festival awarded the best films of the four-day festival.
The Blues Society by producer/director Augusta Palmer took the Best Documentary Feature award. The film chronicles the history of the Memphis Country Blues Festival, which was held at the Overton Park Shell from 1966-1970, and had its premiere at Indie Memphis 2023.
Best Narrative Feature went to A Song for Imogene by writer/director Erika Arlee. The film is the story of a musician played by Kristi Ray trying to escape her abusive boyfriend who is faced with big decisions when she discovers she’s pregnant.
Allison Waid won both Best Documentary Short and Best Mississippi Made Documentary Short for her film “Please Ask For It.”
The Best Mississippi Made Feature was Raising Hope by director Theo Avgerinos, a cinematic portrait of poverty in the Mississippi Delta. For Mississippi Made short films, “The Chair At The Edge of the Woods” by Mary Charles Ramsey was chosen by the jury as Best Narrative.
Here’s the full list of winners from the 21st Oxford Film Festival:
Best Foreign Language Short
Specter of Innocence dir. Mathis Tayssier
Best LGBTQ Short
“Panic Attack” dir. Anthony Assad
Best Documentary Short
“Please Ask For It” dir. Allison Waid
Best Music Video
“Comfort Zone” dir. Jason Affolder
Best Animated Short
“Slower Animals” dir. John Christopher Kelley
Best Experimental Short
“Living Reality” dir. Philip Thompson
Best Narrative Short
“The Old Young Crow” dir. Liam LoPinto
Bests Sci Fi or Horror Short
“Marbles” dir. Kyle Hatley
Best Family Friendly Short
“Wider Than The Sky” dir. Philip Taylor
Best Comedy Short
“Barely Breathing” dir. Derek Evans and Neal Reddy
Best Mississippi Made Music Video
“Black Boy Cry” dir Kira Cummings
Best Mississippi Made Narrative Short
“The Chair At The Edge of the Woods” dir. Mary Charles Ramsey
Best Mississippi Made Doc Short
“Please Ask For It” dir. Allison Waid
Best Mississippi Made Documentary Feature
Raising Hope dir. Theo Avgerinos
Best Documentary Feature
The Blues Society dir. Augusta Palmer
Best Narrative Feature
A Song for Imogene dir. Erika Arlee
Spirit of the Hoka
“One Happy Customer”
Ron Shapiro Award for Storytelling
Mississippi River Styx dir. Andy McMillian and Tim Grant