The Oxford International Film Festival (OIFF) was recently named one of the "Top 25 Festivals Worth the Fee" by MovieMaker magazine.
The festival will be held July 23 to 26 and will feature films from around the world.
Sarah Patchell, director of marketing and public relations for the OIFF, said the festival's acclaim in MovieMaker brings about more exposure.
"We're going to get a lot more exposure and a lot more visibility," Patchell said. "People are already contacting us with more films to submit. The Cincinnati Enquirer called us 'Sundance without the snow' which is a big deal."
According to Patchell, it was MovieMaker magazine that contacted the directors of the OIFF with the news they had been selected for the "Top 25."
"With the hard economic times, they were looking for festivals that were actually payable, that people could afford to go to," Patchell said.
The prices for attending the event are $120 for the entire weekend for the public and $90 for the entire weekend for students, or $50 per day for the public and $40 per day for students.
OIFF tickets go on sale June 1.
Andrew Gnerre, associate editor at MovieMaker, said the award is significant.
"The 'fee' in the title refers to the fee moviemakers pay to submit their films," Gnerre said.
He went on to say at the OIFF, all the films accepted would be offered a distribution deal. For filmmakers and producers, this could mean a deal with companies such as NBC Universal and Netflix.
Created in 2006 by independent producer J.C. Schroder, the OIFF was originally located in Oxford, Ohio, but has since relocated to West Chester.
"It's been growing so rapidly for these past three years that we need to move to a space that was bigger," Patchell said. "West Chester is located more centrally in the region and is closer to airports and freeways and hotels, making it a logical location."
Patchell said the OIFF anticipates having anywhere from 200 to 300 filmmakers and special guests in addition to up to 2,000 members of the public during the course of the weekend.
While the theme of the event is to promote involvement in the filmmaking process and to truly experience films, there will be other activities to cater to a variety of interests.
"We're putting a lot of emphasis on the concert series this year, because we have a lot of good bands coming in," Patchell said.
The concerts will begin every night around 7 p.m. and will continue to 10 p.m. or sometimes 11 p.m.
Patchell said one of the new activities to this year's festival includes the Family Fun Film Event, which will cater to parents and children and will include a family-oriented concert night. There will also be filmmakers and actors available for discussion after the films and workshops for those who want to learn more about the various aspects of filmmaking.
The Family Fun Film Event will also include a singing contest for teens, ages 14 to 18.
"Right now we're having kids submit videos of themselves singing on YouTube," Patchell said. "We'll pick the best ones and then at the end of June there will be a contest to see who will sing at the festival. We'll also have Savannah Outen, an announcer from radio Disney, there to announce the kids."
Miami University sophomore Steven Hoffman attended the film festival last year, and said he was impressed by the number and quality of films.
"If I weren't going to be gone over the summer, I'd definitely go again," Hoffman said.
