What to Look Forward to at Crossroads Film Festival

Crossroads will be at Regal Parkway Place Theater (Lakeland Dr. @ Airport Rd.) this Thursday through Sunday.

Thursday, April 3 Highlights:

The courteous hosts of Crossroad Film Festival kick off this fest with a filmmaker’s opening reception sponsored by Jackson Press at Basil’s Downtown. This opening mixer is for filmmakers and festival passholders only.

Then the two opening films begin with Kept and Dreamless, part of the 2008 Global Lens Film Series, and Pretty Ugly People about a dying woman’s wish to bring spend a final weekend in the wilderness with her college friends. Two of the stars, Tate Taylor and Brunson Green of Jackson, MS, will be in attendance.

Kept and Dreamless Trailer

Friday, April 4th Highlights:

What Would Jesus Buy? the Morgan Spurlock produced documentary about the commercialization of Christmas in America plays at 7 p.m. Reverend Billy, the lead, and Robert VanAlkemade, the director, will be in attendance.

Teary Sockets will premiere up next. A narrative feature about Bobby Tear who according to the synopsis has his own EMO band in LA that’s being documented for a film (albeit commissioned by Bobby), and his own animal rights organization dedicated to the prevention of bovine abuse. There’s only one thing he’s missing… money. Bobby returns to his hometown of Garlandsville, Mississippi in hopes of getting financial help from his estranged father. The clash of cultures is inevitable, but no one expects it to have national consequences. Scott Anderson and Corky Kessler, the producers, will be in attendance.

Wiley and the Checkmates performs at Hal and Mals afterparty starting at 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 5th Highlights:

Oh Saturday is a big day. Where to begin? Short films galore include

Besides the numerous awesome panels at Mississippi Museum of Art, there are a ton of great films.

The two I’m super excited to tell you about are the award winning films I’m Not There at 7 pm and Ballast at 9:30 p.m.

I’m Not There is a story on the life of Bob Dylan with different actors serving as various moments in his life. Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere and the late Heath Ledger star.

A trailer of I’m Not There:

Ballast is a drama set in the Mississippi delta after the trauma of a suicide. A single mother and her 12-year-old son struggle to survive. Most of the crew and cast will be in attendance including Oxford’s own Johnny McPhail.

Sunday, April 6th Highlights:Short films day for those with little attention spans! From 1-3 are comedic shorts, 3-5 are films that examine race and culture including our own Oxonion April Grayson’s film Another Word for Family. Grayson will be in attendance. From 5-7 the short films will examine the creative process including the well-made Doxology. Director Michael Langan will be in attendance.

The other big highlight is the 7pm film, Lars and The Real Girl starring Ryan Gosling as an introvert who begins a relationship with a blow up doll. The film was nominated for an Academy Award.

To buy tickets or to find out the full schedule, go to Crossroads Film Festival.

For the Must Do’s by one of the film fest founders, Anita Modak-Truran check out this article.