Grace TempleThis year’s Oxford Film Festival will showcase several films created by UM students, including the six-minute documentary, “Oxford: A Place for Art.”
“Oxford: A Place for Art” is about the nonprofit Oxford Arts Council and its impact on small businesses in Oxford. Directed by Jackson Strickland and produced by Jonathan “Than” Clayton, two film production majors at the university, the documentary explores the ways in which the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council has been facilitating arts and cultural programs in Oxford and Lafayette County for almost 50 years.
The Oxford Film Festival was founded by YAC in 2003. Andrews said it was nice to showcase a documentary that recognizes the festival’s roots.
Strickland and Clayton, both UM seniors, originally met at Northeast Mississippi Community College. During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, Strickland helped Clayton prepare for his interview with the film school at Ole Miss.
“I got a letter soon after the interview saying that I was accepted into the program,” Clayton said. “We’ve been making films by each other’s sides ever since.”
Strickland said the documentary came together in a film class that discussed the YAC.
“(Clayton) already knew that kind of impact (YAC) was having,” said Strickland. “He became the producer and he picked me to be the director because we had already shown that we worked well together.”
Clayton and Strickland said they interviewed Andrews as well as several artists and creatives in the Oxford community. Andrews functioned as a consultant on the film, offering creative suggestions about how best to represent the local arts community.
The documentary includes interviews from Halima Salazar and Dria Price who created the small business Justevia Teas, where they produce their own teas and sell herbs to the community. According to Clayton, a workshop hosted by the Arts Council connected them with other businesses to expand their reach.
Others interviewed in the documentary include Andi Bedsworth, an artist and art teacher who was given a space by the Arts Council to hold classes, and Antonio Tarrell, a filmmaker and hairstylist who recently received a grant to create a feature film.
“Everyone at the Arts Council (wants) people to use the spaces,” Strickland said. “Wayne told me a few weeks ago, whenever someone came up to him… he was like ‘The answer is always yes, unless it’s already booked.’”
The YAC manages the Powerhouse, the Old Armory Pavilion and the Lafayette County Arena as spaces for events, classes and other programs.
“I think they did a good job of expressing to people that we are very driven by retaining a creative community and providing opportunities for creatives, whatever shape that may be,” Andrews said.
