# Oil Valley Film Festival

The Oil Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival in Oil City, Pennsylvania.
The festival takes place at the historic National Transit Building and the Oil City Library. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international narrative and documentary films, both feature-length films and short films, and a curated block of out-of-competition selections. Audience favorites in feature and short categories, as voted on by the attending audiences, receive prizes separate from jury prizes. The festival also includes a screenwriting competition.

## Festival Programming

The Oil Valley Film Festival consists of film programming over a three-day period. Day one provides the juried short film program. Day two provides the juried feature film program, with a social event for filmmakers and audience members to interact. Day three provides the audience members to watch a curated program consisting of films chosen by the festival's director. Beginning in 2017, the festival began with various panels of discussion featuring filmmakers, actors, and producers from the selected films. Topics for each panel vary.

## History

The Oil Valley Film Festival was founded by Matt Croyle in 2015, to bring new and established cinema to the underrepresented region of Venango County, Pennsylvania, with the first festival taking place September 1–3, 2016. It is the first international film festival of its kind in Pennsylvania's Oil Region. Croyle stated that his ambition was to bring art house works to an audience who would not normally be able to see non-mainstream films.
The founding of the festival garnered attention from established industry publications and organizations, ultimately resulting in partnerships with Videomaker Magazine and The Writers Store.
In the festival's inaugural year, the feature film Audience Prize was awarded to Vincent Pereira for his 1997 film A Better Place, one of the lesser known View Askew Productions films, produced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. A Better Place screened out of jury competition, in the curated block, but was chosen by the audience as their favorite feature of the festival. Filmmaker Zach Daulton, of Ohio, was awarded the short film Audience Prize for his film 'Mayfield.'
In its first year, the Oil Valley Film Festival received submissions from twelve countries on five continents.
On August 25, 2021, the festival was named one of the Top Ten Virtual Film Festivals for September by Filmocracy, due to the festival's online option for viewers.
The 2022 festival featured more high-profile creatives than previous iterations including Oscar winners Cloris Leachman and Olympia Dukakis, in their final screen roles, along with Louis Gossett Jr., Tatum O’Neal and George Chakiris.
The 2023 festival remained a draw for high-profile creatives. Appearing on screen were Abigail Breslin, Jacqueline Bisset, Tom Arnold, and Mercedes Ruehl, with Breslin co-directing a television pilot titled 'Cannibals'. The in-person festival remained without an online streaming option for the second year despite the draw.

### Addition of an online screening element

The 2020 Oil Valley Film Festival partnered with the streaming service Festivee to bring the selected films to audiences digitally. This decision was made because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The streaming element stayed in place for the 2021 Oil Valley Film Festival, and festival director Matt Croyle has expressed interest in keeping the festival hybrid to accommodate global viewership.

## Notable Guests and Interviews

2020: Writer and director James Merendino of SLC Punk and the multifaceted D.B. Sweeney of Eight Men Out, The Cutting Edge, and Memphis Belle.
2021: Natalie Metzger, producer of Werewolves Within, The Beta Test, and Thunder Road, along with screenwriter Jason Usry.
2022: Suzanne Romero, Executive Director of The George A. Romero Foundation, along with filmmaker Al White, and editor Michael Foster.
2023: Sarah Booth, Canadian actor.

## Award winners

2022 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Beyond the Lake | Dir. Dominic Porcari |
| Best Picture - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Heavy Petting | Dir. Brendan Prost |
| Best Director - Feature | Beyond the Lake | Dir. Dominic Porcari |
| Best Director - Short | House of Brotherly Love | Dir. Max Kane |
| Best Director - Documentary, Short or Feature | Shepherds of the Earth | Dir. Iiris Harma |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting, Feature | Beyond the Lake | David Socolar |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting, Short | Return to Sender | Allison Tolman |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting, Feature | Not to Forget | Cloris Leachman |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting, Short | House of Brotherly Love | Brooke Gardner |
| Special Jury Prize in Acting | Delilah | Rainey Qualley |
| Special Jury Prize in Voice Acting | It's Always Something | Stephen Fry |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Shepherds of the Earth | Visa Koiso-Kanttila |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short, Narrative or Documentary | It's Always Something | Bryan Perido |
| Best Editing - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Match Struck | Eric Randolph |
| Best Editing - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Aping Edwin Porter | Ben Simon |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Aren't You the Family? | Angelise Milton |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Candybyte | Diana Foronda |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | Canajoharie | Dean C. Cummings |
2021 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Shellfish | Dir. Hunter Hopewell |
| Best Picture - Short, Narrative or Documentary | A Godless Country | Dir. Jesse Richardson |
| Best Director - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | The Colour of Spring | Dir. Paul Andrew Kimball |
| Best Director - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Rent Do | Dir. Gavin Michael Booth |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting | Shellfish | Savanah Joeckel |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting | Bone Cage | Taylor Olson |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting | A Godless Country | Brent Dunner |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting | Rent Do | Sarah Booth |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | My Ture Fairytale | Pablo Diez |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Flora | Michal Babinec |
| Best Editing - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | The Game is Up: Disillusioned Trump Voters Tell Their Stories | Marlis Ernst: Lead Editor |
| Best Editing - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Congratulations (Mabrook) | Sarah Iseley |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | The Bridge Builder | Michael Greene |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | The Boy Who Never Existed | Laura Wagner |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | The Wolfe-Pointe | Julianna Pitt |
2020 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Sockeye Salmon. Red Fish | Dir. Dimitry Shpilenok Vadislav Grishin |
| Best Picture - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Sac de Merde | Dir. Greg Chwerchak |
| Best Director - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Sockeye Salmon. Red Fish | Dir. Dimitry Shpilenok Vadislav Grishin |
| Best Director - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Anna | Dir. Dekel Berenson |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting | Salting the Fly | Rory James Leech |
| Outstanding Achievement in Lead Acting | Sac de Merde | Arielle Haller-Silverstone |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting | Ghost in the Gun | Haley Camille |
| Outstanding Achievement in Supporting Acting | Buffalo & Trout | Brooke Coleman |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Sockeye Salmon. Red Fish | Dimitry Shpilenok Nikolay Shpilenok |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short, Narrative or Documentary | We Hear Running | Jordan Lavery |
| Best Editing - Feature, Narrative or Documentary | Sockeye Salmon. Red Fish | Anna Sukhova |
| Best Editing - Short, Narrative or Documentary | Choker | Sunghwan Morgan Francis |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Modern Art | Laurence Fuller |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Paddy's Tonsorial Emporium | Ronald C. Milburn |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | Hometown | Adam Dietz |
2019 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Narrative Feature | This World Won't Break | Dir. Josh David Jordan |
| Best Picture - Documentary Feature | Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story | Dir. Don Metz |
| Best Picture - Narrative Short | Ways to Look at the Moon | Dir. Katherine Clark |
| Best Picture - Documentary Short | Outspoken | Dir. Emily Harger |
| Best Director - Feature | A Black Letter Day | Dir. Ekaterina Tarasova |
| Best Director - Short | Scrap | Dir. Leena Pendharker |
| Best Actor - Feature | Last Call | Sarah Booth |
| Best Actor - Short | Still Young | Adrian Ross-Jones |
| Best Supporting Actor - Feature | This World Won't Break | Roxanna Redfoot |
| Best Supporting Actor - Short | A Black Letter Day | Igor Shugaleev |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature | Last Call | Seth Wessel-Estes |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short | Minor Key | Jose Martin Rosete |
| Best Editing - Feature | The Astronot | Tim Cash |
| Best Editing - Short | Scrap | Sunghwan Moon |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Feature | Last Call | Dir. Gavin Michael Booth |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Think Forward | David Keogh |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Homefulness | Dan LaTourette |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | Almost | Elena Lockleis |
2018 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Narrative Feature | Blue | Dir. Gabriela Ledesma |
| Best Picture - Documentary Feature | You Racist, Sexist, Bigot | Dir. Pita Juarez Matty Steinkamp |
| Best Picture - Narrative Short | Domesticated | Dir. Juan Francisco Viruega |
| Best Picture - Documentary Short | One Year on a Bike | Dir. Martijn Doolaard |
| Best Director - Narrative Feature | Blue | Dir. Gabriela Ledesma |
| Best Director - Documentary Feature | You Racist, Sexist, Bigot | Dir. Pita Juarez Matty Steinkamp |
| Best Director - Narrative Short | Snow | Dir. Alex Murawski |
| Best Director - Documentary Short | Nobody Dies Here | Dir. Simon Panay |
| Best Actor - Feature | Blue | Callie Schuttera |
| Best Actor - Short | Ainhoa | Aurelia Schikarski |
| Best Supporting Actor - Feature | After Hours Trading | Ariana Livingston |
| Best Supporting Actor - Short | Spoken Word | Lance Reddick |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Narrative Feature | Regionrat | Carlos Jimenez |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Documentary Feature | Flin Flon: A Hockey Town | Soren Neilsen Christine Ng |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Narrative Short | 88 Cents | Matthew Petrunak |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Documentary Short | One Year on a Bike | Martijn Doolaard |
| Best Editing - Narrative Feature | The Song of Sway Lake | Todd Holmes Gabriel Wrye |
| Best Editing - Documentary Feature | Poured in Pennsylvania | Doug Metz |
| Best Editing - Narrative Short | Guard | Brian Philip Davis |
| Best Editing - Documentary Short | Nobody Dies Here | Simon Panay |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Feature | Blue | Dir. Gabriela Ledesma |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Short | Domesticated | Dir. Juan Francisco Viruega |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Blind-Sighted | David Keogh |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Cherry Glazed | Christine Sherwood |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | Peace, Love & Law Enforcement | Lorraine Portman |
2017 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Narrative Feature | Blockbuster - A Life in Moving Pictures | Dir. Vlado Priborsky |
| Best Picture - Documentary Feature | Passfire | Dir. Jesse Veverka |
| Best Picture - Narrative Short | The Eliminadora | Dir. PJ Gaynard |
| Best Picture - Documentary Short | 1,000 | Dir. Abdullah Washington Tom Weber |
| Best Director - Feature | Meadow Bridge | Dir. Tijah Bumgarner |
| Best Director - Short | The Bouquet | Dir. Julien Segard Roman Carciofo |
| Best Actor - Feature | Meadow Bridge | Micah Gilkerson |
| Best Actor - Short | The Bouquet | David Brenot |
| Best Supporting Actor - Feature | Meadow Bridge | Kate Morris |
| Best Supporting Actor - Short | Derelict | William Waddell |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature | Blockbuster - A Life in Moving Pictures | Costa Konstantinou Edgar Pfandler Daniel Steiner |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short | Derelict | Hank Vohrer |
| Best Editing - Feature | Meadow Bridge | Manuel Aranda Jose Arriaga Juan Fernandez Nerea Muguerza |
| Best Editing - Short | The Bouquet | Jérémy Pitard |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Feature | Meadow Bridge | Dir. Tijah Bumgarner |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Short | The Bouquet | Dir. Julien Segard Roman Carciofo |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Day of Reckoning | Lorraine Portman |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Brier Hill | Jonathan Stiffy |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Pilot | Adrift | Michael Snow |
2016 Awards :
| Award | Film | Individual(s) |
| Best Picture - Feature | Figurine | Dir. Hans Olson |
| Best Picture - Short | Mayfield | Dir. Zach Daulton |
| Best Director - Feature | Figurine | Dir. Hans Olson |
| Best Director - Short | Lighthouse Keeper | Dir. Nadia Shmeleva |
| Best Actor - Feature | Figurine | Kelly Goetz |
| Best Actor - Short | Mayfield | John Adrian Riley |
| Best Supporting Actor - Feature | Exit Thread | Hilary Connell |
| Best Supporting Actor - Short | A Box Came To Brooklyn | Jack Haley |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Feature | Figurine | Mike McLaughlin |
| Outstanding Cinematography - Short | Thornbird | Anthony Watkins |
| Best Editing - Feature | Escapes | Manuel Aranda Jose Arriaga Juan Fernandez Nerea Muguerza |
| Best Editing - Short | Vessel | B.A. Lewandowski |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Feature | A Better Place | Dir. Vincent Pereira |
| Audience Choice Award for Best Picture - Short | Mayfield | Dir. Zach Daulton |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Feature | Arvin Lindemeyer Takes Canarsie | D. Ferrara |
| Outstanding Screenwriting - Screenwriting Competition - Short | Deadhorse Lick | Charles Hall |