Breaking Film Industry News — Awards, Acquisitions, Festival Buzz, Grants, and More
May 1
– Call for Entries open today for the 2020 Oxford Film Festival, which has moved to March taking place in Oxford, Mississippi, March 18-22, 2020. The 17th edition of the popular regional film festival again features OFF’s screenplay competition with cash prizes, as well as a reduced submission fee incentive for female filmmakers and people with disabilities. All juried competition winners will receive cash prizes along with their awards.
In an official statement, Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington, said, “The move to March was inspired by a desire to give us a little more breathing room following the Academy Awards broadcast and the conclusion of the Sundance Film Festival, opening up more potential for select films to play that fest as well as Oxford FF.”
Led by Addington, the Oxford FF will screen films in all genres, and focusing on “discoveries” through its film selections via submissions, as well as celebrating short screenplay writers and promoting and celebrating Mississippi filmmakers culminating in the presentation of the film festival’s award ceremony.
At the forefront of film festivals offering concrete policies and actions on behalf of films created by people with disabilities, and/or featuring performers with disabilities – those filmmakers can receive a 50% submission fee discount using code ReelOXFF2.
Addington has also re-confirmed her pledge that OFF will keep the efforts going as long as it takes to get to 50-50 female to male representation. When submitting their films to Film Freeway for consideration by the festival, women should use the following submission code to receive their 50% discount: BlacheOXFF. The festival also joined the Parity Pledge to get to 50-50 by 2020 joining festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and more.
Submissions can be made right here, and more information is available at the festival’s official website.
– The Sundance Institute’s Theatre Program has announced the nineteen artists who represent the creative teams that will convene to develop new work at the annual Lab at the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah July 8-28.
Eight genre-spanning pieces, encompassing plays, musicals, and interdisciplinary work for the stage, are among the works being developed by fifteen Fellows and four Artists-in-Residence. This year’s cohort was selected by Theatre Program Artistic Director Philip Himberg, with support of a six-member Advisory Committee and in partnership with Producing Director Christopher Hibma.
The Lab offers these emerging and established theatre makers the opportunity to evolve their work with the benefit of a full acting company, a robust group of experienced dramaturgs and advisors, and the context of an intimate artistic community.
This is one of 24 residency Labs the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content. The Theatre Program’s international activity supports mentorship and cross-cultural exchange, focused on Arabic artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and the diaspora, and has included programming in Lebanon, Germany, Morocco, France, and the U.S.
Additional Lab participants, including the acting company, stage management, dramaturgs, and creative advisors will be announced at a later date. You can see the full list right here.