It’s time once again to celebrate film in your finest attire –the sixth annual Jxn Film Festival will be held July 26-31 at Tougaloo College.
This year will feature the festival’s first-ever 48-Hour Film Competition, as well as a host of film screenings, masterclasses and the festival’s ever-popular Black Tie Awards Gala to close out the week’s events.
A highlight of the screenings is the world premiere of the Mississippi-made feature thriller Harmless (July 29, 5:15 p.m.)It was shot completely on Super 8 film in the Jackson area in April 2025, a project that was conceptualized by producer/writer Eric Player.
“When I was a kid, Super 8 was what my dad used, so I developed an affection for it,” he said. “And with everything digital now, it all looks like a car commercial. There’s not enough variety. I think that Super 8 is always underestimated. I’ve always wanted to do a project on film but knew I couldn’t afford the higher formats, so I started collecting cameras and getting them fixed up. I wanted a good, unique aesthetic, and I knew Super 8 could really set us apart.”
To accomplish the task of shooting in what is essentially a vintage film format, Player teamed with prolific cinematographer Adrian Sierkowski, a 2026 News and Documentary Emmy nominee for Turning Point: The Vietnam War. He relished the challenge of making it work.
“The camera in my cell phone is so far advanced from any camera I would have ever used when I was coming up,” he said. “But modern cameras have created a representation of the world that is kind of commodified and universal. Using an older format, you add layers of interpretation between reality and what the film stock or the lens can actually provide. That abstraction, that kind of poetic interplay, can feed into your narrative.”
Harmless follows a pair of neighbors whose spouses seemingly ran off together, but their disappearance soon leads to a conclusion much more sinister. The somewhat grungy, grainy, soft, and dreamy look of Super 8 plays right into the mystery.
“In this film, you’re dealing with people who are a little insane,” Sierkowski said. “We used Super 8’s look to play on nostalgia, subjectivity and false memory to build something interesting.”
The film was the first feature directed by Charles Box, a 20-year film industry veteran who was instrumental in bringing the project to Mississippi after a positive experience working in the state as a line producer on the Hulu documentary Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story.
“I went back and forth to Mississippi for that project for about a year,” he said. “Harmless is kind of an ode to classic cinema, so I thought Mississippi would be the perfect place. I knew the dollar would stretch and that the people were nice and friendly. I knew we could do it here as well as anywhere else.”
“I was delighted to be in Mississippi,” Sierkowski said. “The crew was great. There weren’t the usual difficulties of filming in LA or New York or even Oklahoma or Atlanta. Everyone, including Film Mississippi, was super welcoming and went out of their way to support us. Apart from a light bulb for one light, there was nothing that we could not find we needed, and, oh, the food! It was one of the best experiences I’ve had filming anywhere in the U.S.”
Some other highlights of this year’s Jxn Film Festival:
Rocky Screening and Panel Discussion (July 26, 4 p.m.) – The festival celebrates the 50th anniversary of this landmark Best Picture Oscar-winner.
Black Longevity (July 27, 1 p.m.) and Deliver Us (July 27, 3 p.m.) – First, Black Longevity is a documentary short that takes a look at the lives of a group of black seniors, including a 100-year-old, and the conversation around aging. Then, the feature documentary Deliver Us examines the rise of midwives and birthing centers in a time when black mothers are dying in childbirth at a 4x higher rate. A health and wellness activation will be held from noon-4 p.m. to coincide with these screenings.
Mission Recompense (July 28, 1:30 p.m.) – This short documentary, subtitled Love Letters to a Mississippi Delta, is a portrait of the people, places and culture of the Delta from filmmaker Erica M. Sandifer, a native of the region now based in Birmingham.
The Bennetts: A Family Dilemma (July 28, 7:30 p.m.) – a short drama written, directed, produced and edited by University of Southern Mississippi graduate Lohn Lenoir, who is a member of the production staff of HGTV’s Home Town series filmed in Laurel.
Masterclass: AI Workshop (July 28, 6 p.m.) – Hosted by filmmaker and Jackson State University alum Marc Harris, this workshop explores how “AI is reshaping Hollywood — not replacing storytellers but empowering them to do more with less.”
Tornado ’76 (July 29, 3 p.m.) – A short documentary about the tornado that tore through Canton in March 1976 by Mississippi filmmakers Cami Roebuck and Derek Bond.
Hoop Street (July 29, 6:45 p.m.) – a feature drama from Memphis-based playwright and filmmaker Princeton James, who is a native of Coldwater, Miss.
Table of the Flowers (July 30, 12 p.m.) – From Tokyo-based director Ryuta Lee Hayashi, this feature documentary looks at the lives of Chinese chefs living in Japan.
Farming Freedom (July 30, 1:30 p.m.) – Subtitled The Inspiring True Story of Black Land Ownership in Mississippi, this feature documentary was produced by WLBT marketing director Kayla Thomas. A farming activation with a mini farmer’s market will be held in conjunction with this screening from noon-4 p.m.
48-Hour Film Competition Showcase (July 30, 4:30 p.m.) – Films from the festival’s first-ever 48-Hour Competition will be screened, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaking teams.
Uncommon Cents: The Lamar Powell Story (July 30, 7 p.m.) – This feature documentary by Jxn Film Festival founder Maximus Wright chronicles the life of Liberty, Miss. native Lamar W. Powell, a WWII army veteran and U.S. Department of State employee whose financial savvy in the stock market led to great success. Upon his death in 2015, the Lamar W. Powell Scholarship Endowment was established at the University of Southern Mississippi, providing scholarships for 80 students per year.
For tickets and a full schedule, visit jxnfilmfestival.com.
