OXIFF 2019 OFFICIAL LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT

The Oxford International Film Festival is pleased to announce the official line-up for the 2019 edition of the festival.

Taking place from the 8th – 12th May OXIFF 2019 marks the fourth edition of the festival and will be screening a selection of films from wide array of genres across feature and short films, documentary films, animations, experimental films and music videos.

Opening night will take place at Oxford’s legendary Ultimate Picture Palace with a night of short films. Opening Night Shorts will include British film THE SEA, which stars Anna Friel and Russel Tovey, BODIES OF WATER with Boyhood star Ellar Coltrane as a man struggling with a secret, Turkish film FISH CRACKER about a brother and sister dealing with their parents’ breakup and THE GHOST with Emilia Fox.

The festival will then move to the heart of Oxford Curzon Oxford for the rest of the week and will close with a screening of documentary SAM SPIEGEL: CONQUERING HOLLYWOOD, about legendary Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel and how he went from escaping Nazi Germany to being the only person to win three Oscars as sole producer of On The Waterfront (1954), Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Also included in this year’s line-up is the Oscar nominated short documentary LIFEBOAT, feature film CELESTE which stars actress Radha Mitchell, UK feature ABOVE THE CLOUDS, about an 18-year olds quest to find her biological father with the help of a rough sleeper, tennis documentary UNRAVELING ATHENA, which follows female tennis players journey from child to world number one and includes contributions from Serena Williams, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. Also, screening is LOVE GILDA – THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OF GILDA RADNER, about comedienne Gilda Radner and features comedy stars Amy Poehler, Melisa McCarthy, Gene Wilder and more.

Tickets and passes will be on sale soon.

For full line-up details visit www.oxiff.com

Opening Night Shorts

6:15pm Wednesday 8th May at Ultimate Picture Palace

Looking for a footballer, having a close shave, sitting on a beach, waving to dad, watching on, making a move, looking after your teeth, driving a beetle, fighting for freedom, and the pursuit of topsy-turvy goals make up the exceptional and eclectic mix of OXIFF 2019 ‘s opening night short film showcase.

With the short films:

The Sea, The Ghost, Ballerino, Brink, Hope Dies Last, Open Wide, Fish Cracker, Generations, Bodies of Water, DIVA & ASTRO, Evie

Celeste

Thursday 9th May at 6pm – Curzon Oxford

Ben Hackworth / Australia / 106 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Thomas Cocquerel, Odessa Young, Nadine Garner

Hidden from the world at a crumbling estate in lush tropical Far North Queensland, Celeste anxiously reaches out to Jack, her late husband’s son, inviting him to return to the languid, sprawling family home for her much-anticipated recital. Jack’s reappearance after a long absence stirs up unsettling memories, pulling them both into a mutually precarious orbit.

Plus the short films Tommy and Rocket Boy

Love Gilda: The Eternal Spirit of Gilda Radner

Friday 10th May at 6pm – Curzon Oxford

Lisa D'Apolito / United States / 84 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Amy Poehler , Mellisa McCarthy, Gene Wilder, Martin Short, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph

The story of how one beloved comedienne found her humor in the midst of the most unfunny thing to ever happen to her.

Plus the shorts films Somewhere In Their Heads, My Grandfather's Memory Book, We Invented Paris - Looking Back, Song, The Bird & the Whale

Stray

Saturday 11th May at 12pm – Curzon Oxford

Dustin Feneley / New Zealand / 104 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Kieran Charnock, Arta Dobroshi

In a cold and remote landscape, two strangers struggle to repair their broken pasts. A young man is on parole after serving time for attempting to murder the man who killed his girlfriend in a hit and run. A woman is released from a psychiatric facility far from her homeland. These two damaged strangers cross paths in the mountains in winter and fall into a complex intimate relationship, putting to the test their capacity to trust and heal.

Plus the short film Capital

Ballad of a Righteous Merchant

Saturday 11th May at 3pm – Curzon Oxford

Herbert Golder / United States / 62 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Werner Herzog, Michael Shannon, Chloe Sevigny, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier

A fresh and candid glimpse of one of the great masters of cinema at work, by his longtime friend and collaborator Herbert Golder, BALLAD OF A RIGHTEOUS MERCHANT chronicles Werner Herzog’s making of the feature film, MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE (co-written by Golder), which was nominated for a GOLDEN LION and for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, and which stars Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, and Chloe Sevigny.

Plus the short films The Conqueror, LIFEBOAT, A Scribbled Memory, Fighters

Above the Clouds

Saturday 11th May at 6pm – Curzon Oxford

Leon Chambers / United Kingdom / 87 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Naomi Morris, Andrew Murton, Philip Jackson, Gordon Kennedy

When headstrong Charlie discovers her parents have been keeping her biological father secret from her, she does what any 18-year old would do – recruits a rough sleeper to be her ‘responsible adult’ and sets off for Scotland on her provisional driving licence to go and find him.

Plus the Short films: myBorder's JOYfence, Rosa's Esperanza, Car Park Love Note, Portraitist

Noise

Sunday 12th May at 12pm – Curzon Oxford

Jeremy Laval / France/ 105 Minutes / French Language with English Subtitles

Starring: Guillaume Duhesme, Berangere McNeese

After an accident, Vincent has become deaf. Unwilling to accept his handicap, he isolates himself more and more, and shies away from society. Yet, Vincent is obsessed with one thing: getting his old life back and rightful place in society. One day, as science has just given up on him, Vincent begins to hear again. Initially just noises… then people. Passed that initial shock, another realization starts to dawn on him. What Vincent thought to be people’s voice, is turning out to be something entirely different…

Plus the short films Stage, The Night of My Death and Micolli – Ledge.

Unraveling Athena

Sunday 12th May at 3pm – Curzon Oxford

Francis Amat / United States / 102 Minutes / English Language

Starring: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova

Unraveling Athena is a feature documentary that chronicles the journey that Women Tennis Champions pass through - from small child with a large racket, to ranked player, and ultimately to WTA number one in the world, and beyond.

Plus the short films Rooftops, Salt Water, Grey

Sam Spiegel: Conquering Hollywood

Sunday 12th May at 6pm – Curzon Oxford

Stephan Wellink / France / 60 Minutes / English Language

Sam Spiegel escaped from Nazi Germany in 1933 to become the most enigmatic and controversial movie producer in Hollywood history. Sam Spiegel: Conquering Hollywood examines the life of the last tycoon of Hollywood and the only person to win three Oscars as sole producer, for the feature films On The Waterfront (1954), Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Plus the Short Films Arthur Rambo, Fish Out of Water, The Name of the Prime Minister, George & The Dragon