Oxford Film Festival Feb. 26 to 28 at Malco Highlights Mississippi Stories

Oxford Film Festival used its 23rd annual run at Malco Oxford Commons (Malco Theater) to return Donald Ray Cole’s story to a public forum, opening Thursday with live music by Oxford band Afrissippi at 4:30 p.m. and the premiere of Cole: Bridge to Justice at 6:00 p.m., followed by a discussion that included Cole and adjunct professor of law instruction Barbara Phillips.

The feature documentary centers on Donald Ray Cole, described in university materials as a member of the Ole Miss Eight who was expelled in 1970 and who has since “spent the majority of his adult life working to make the University of Mississippi a welcoming campus for all students.” Bruce native Antonio Tarrell directed the film; Tarrell said, “We knew it was time to tell and preserve Dr. Cole’s story,” and added that after living in Oxford nearly 20 years he learned more about the Ole Miss Eight and noted a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker placed outside Fulton Chapel.

Festival leadership framed the weekend as a deliberate pairing of local history and global cinema. Artistic director Becca Finley said, “We showcase impactful storytelling from around the globe,” and added, “As we do this, we also acknowledge our state, its stories, its people, its history and its resources by placing a film that has a tie to Mississippi in every block of programming.” The festival ran Feb. 26–28 and maintained a schedule of screenings, panels, workshops, volunteer programs and high school field trips designed to connect Oxford and north Mississippi creatives to broader film communities.

Programming balanced local shorts and regionally rooted features with nationally resonant work. Beyond, a prison-reform documentary that won rare access to Sing Sing, screened Feb. 27 at 4:00 p.m.; it was executive produced by Clarence Maclin and J.J. Velazquez and co-directed and co-produced by Asia Johnson and Michael Kleiman. Johnson, who is described as formerly incarcerated, said, “As a formerly incarcerated Black woman who has carried deep sadness and longing, I have found triumph in Beyond, a work that reshapes how our participants are seen - through empathy, complexity, and possibility.”

South Mississippi storytellers also appeared on the Malco screens: Joys and Blues of East Biloxi played Friday at 1:00 p.m. with Gulfport director John Lestrade and Biloxi writer-producer Elaine Stevens and narration by Rip Daniels; Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art served as executive producer and the film received support from the Mississippi Humanities Council’s America 250 Grant, prompting Amanda Wymer to say, “This recognition from the Oxford Film Festival affirms the importance of community storytelling.” Run to Honor screened Saturday at 12:45 p.m., and Ronzo, chronicling Ron Shapiro’s Hoka Theatre legacy, played Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

The festival also honored long careers: Tony- and Emmy-nominated actress Tovah Feldshuh received the Oxford Icon Award Friday night. The University Museum hosted an opening reception Thursday, and festival organizers encouraged attendees to use the festival website for tickets and memberships. By centering films tied to Mississippi alongside international submissions, OxFilm kept local histories and contemporary debates about reform and inclusion visible in Oxford’s civic space.