Music Documentary Features
Do you like music? Do you want to enjoy good music? Do you wonder from where the music comes? We all do, and everybody loves a good music documentary. We made some tough decisions to curate the 2022 lineup, and we hope you enjoy.
Roots of Fire
Director: Abby Berendt & Jeremey Lavoi • USA • 01:24:30
Saturday, March 26, 2022 11:30 am
Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium
Amidst shuttered rural clubs and encroaching globalization, musicians from Louisiana push against stereotypes of the South and move the music of their ancestors forward to keep the culture alive. But the fans are getting older and older, the venues are closing, and the language is fading away. Yet these artists push on, but will it be enough to save a dying community?
That Thing That Sound
Director: Kelsey Hammer-Parks & Nathan M. Emerson • USA • 01:10:35
Saturday, March 26, 2022 3:30 pm with Short Life of Trouble
Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium
“That Thing That Sound” explores the uncertain future the steel guitar, an instrument best known for its use in Country Music. It’s an expensive, challenging, exotic instrument, and many young musicians do not have access. The film follows a man’s journey to pass on his knowledge and keep the steel guitar alive.
Short Life of Trouble: The Legend of G.B. Grayson
Director: Kelley St. Germain • USA • 39:20
Saturday, March 26, 2022 3:30 pm with That Thing That Sound
Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium
From Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee, Gilliam Banmon Grayson (1887–1930) was a blind fiddler from one of the most isolated regions in the South. Largely unknown, he may be one of the most influential musicians in the history of bluegrass and country music. His music has been recorded and performed by Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Doc Watson, Dr. Ralph Stanly, and The Kingston Trio, among others. Yet, very few people have an inkling of who G.B. Grayson was and what he accomplished in only two years of professional recording.
Invisible
Director: T.J. Parsell • USA • 01:46:38
Saturday, March 26, 2022 6 pm
Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium
Growing up gay in the South is hard enough, but to be an openly gay woman in country music is nearly impossible. Nashville is a man’s town, yet this group of gay women have persevered anyhow, making an indelible impact on country and southern music. This film explores their deeply personal journeys while taking a piercing look at family, religion and the patriarchy of country music. Featuring Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Chely Wright, Mary Gauthier, Kye Fleming, Bonnie Baker, Jess Leary, Ruthie Foster, Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens), Gretchen Peters, Dianne Davidson, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Cheryl Wheeler, and Virginia Team.
Conducting Life
Director: Diane Moore • USA • 30:56
Sunday, March 27, 2022 3:30 pm with Tanagokoro
Malco: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Auditorium
In the world of classical music, the road to success is a daunting one. Conducting Life follows the journey of Roderick Cox as he pursues his dream from humble roots in Macon, Georgia to secure a top position as conductor of a major orchestra. This documentary captures the highs and lows of an aspiring conductor and his quest to succeed in a discipline that has traditionally overlooked artists of color, like Cox.
SHORTS: Music Documentaries w/ Q&A
Friday, March 25, 2022 7:30 pm
Malco: Selig Polyscope Company Auditorium
Divine Intervention: The D-Vine Spirituals Story
Director: Jonathan Thomason • USA • 24:57
Memphis pastor and radio DJ Juan D. Shipp takes matters into his own hands and record gospel groups in the 1970s, leaving behind a treasure trove of gospel recordings that define the genre. Rediscovered in the late 90s by Royal Pendletons guitarist Michael Hurtt, this twenty-five-minute documentary includes interviews, performances, and archival film of the gospel scene in Memphis in the early 70s.
Mississippi Creates: Tyler Keith
Director: Kelly Spivey • USA • 14:45
Musician Tyler Keith plays punk-inspired rock’n’roll influenced by his love for Mississippi and Memphis musicians, authors, and filmmakers. Originally from Pensacola, Florida, Tyler moved to Oxford in the late 80s and formed a number of bands, including The Neckbones, The Preacher’s Kids, and The Apostles. This fifteen-minute Mississippi Creates documentary includes interviews and a live performance at The Lyric Theatre.
That’s None of My Business
Director: Charles Kaufmann • USA • 5:00
That’s None of My Business is a five-minute documentary short that tells the story of Robert Honeysucker and Nicholas Bosanquet’s youthful attempt to desegregate a concert by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London in Jackson, Mississippi, on November 1, 1963, their subsequent arrest, and the ensuing uproar.
Every Night is Saturday Night
Director: Nolan Dean • USA • 20:00
The Story of Ground Zero Blues Club as told by Bill Luckett and Morgan Freeman.
Mississippi Creates: Schaefer Llana
Director: Annemarie Anderson • USA • 13:45
Artist, musician, and recording engineer from Cleveland, Mississippi, Schaefer Llana finds a way to excel during the pandemic. This fifteen-minute documentary produced by Ole Miss’ Southern Documentary Project includes interviews and a special live performance at The Lyric Theatre.
SHORTS: Music Videos – International w/ Q&A
Saturday, March 26, 2022 6:30 pm
Malco: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Auditorium
Oxford is long known as the “Cultural Arts Mecca of The South” and the Oxford Film Festival is proud to offer an incredible selection of some of the most creative music videos in the world.
“Dance Till Dawn” by Syesha Adamo
Director: Austin Nunes • USA • 9:57
In 1919, we were on the verge of both great freedoms and great restrictions, and some were on the verge of making it big, having stars in their eyes all the same. “Dance Till Dawn” is a long-form music video that glimpses at the lives of performers as they step into the spotlight, and likewise, as they step off stage into a society swirling in change.
“enough.” by Nathan Nzanga
Director: Caleb Slain • USA • 13:28
Using footage shot over a decade, “enough.” is a narrative hip hop film exploring Nathan Nzanga’s journey from quirky kid born to Congolese immigrants, to an idealistic teenage artist, to a frustrated young man. The film uses dream logic to sift through Nate’s most conflicted feelings about policing, love, and identity in a divided nation.
“Panixiya” by Kaysee
Director: Swaraj Priyo • India • 4:25
The word Panixiya doesn’t exist in English. It is a word that takes genesis in our universe inspired by the folklore(s) of North-East India. This story speaks of a world where the relation of the people to the fish is very different than ours. In that world, a fish is the soul of a person. If we are to look for the meaning of the word Panixiya, it will mean those people who stitch water into homes. In this story, we witness the struggle of a soul as it slips away from its familiar realms.
“Freedom” by Jordan Hart
Director: Michael Joseph McDonald & Joe Bluhm • Canada • 5:32
As the first animated film to star a character with Down syndrome, “Freedom” is the coming-of-age story of Jon, a boy who learns to navigate the world with a loving mother, an absent father, a classroom bully, and a life-long crush. The animated short doubles as the song’s music video.
SHORTS: Music Videos – Mississippi
Saturday, March 26, 2022 7:30 pm
Malco: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Auditorium
Oxford Film Festival is known for having the ultimate showing of music videos with a Mississippi connection. This highly competitive category has drawn talent from every corner of the state and nationwide. This year’s crop of talent is one of the most competitive ever and we look forward to showing you what the “Birthplace of America’s Music” has to offer.
“Sweetheart” by Drew McKercher (Jackson)
“Nemestry” by Saturn Velvet Club (Taylor)
“Every Breath” by Emily White (Meridian)
“The Night I Lost You” by Cody Rogers (Oxford)
“Hollywood Dreams” by Lil’ Xai & Randy Ferino (Meridian)
“Catacombs” by Kicking (Jackson)
“Dance a Hole in the Floor” by Saturn Velvet Club (Taylor)
“Sky and Sea” by Damein Wash (Oxford)
“Big Blue and the Shepard” by Don Smith (Moss Point)
