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Oxford is gearing up for

the first Oxford International Film Festival, set to take place April 5-8.

More than 500 films were submitted, some feature-length and some shorts, 77 of which will be shown during the festival. The films have been sent in from 40 countries all over the world, including Iceland, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Malaysia, Iran, Israel, Hong Kong as well as most of the 50 states.

Some of the more illustrious films are as follows: The U.S. premiere of "Wrath of Gods" starring Gerard Butler ("300," "Phantom of the Opera") and Stellan Skarsgård ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Good Will Hunting") and is directed by Jon Gustafsson, who will be in attendance at the festival.

Another key event will be the Ohio Premiere of the award-winning film "Mojave Phone Booth" starring Christine Elise ("E.R."), Robert Romanus ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High") and Missi Pyle ("Heroes"), all of whom will be in attendance, as well as Annabeth Gish, Steve Guttenberg and director John Putch.

A third big film will be the Ohio premiere of "Intellectual Property" starring Christopher Masterson ("Malcolm in the Middle") and David Deluise ("3rd Rock from the Sun"), both of whom will be attending.

Beyond screening films,

the festival also will feature a 24-hour filmmaking competition. During this competition, teams will compete on a strict time-frame to create a short film that will be judged later in the festival for a cash prize. Entry applications for this part of the festival are offered at oxfordfilms.com and are being accepted through today.

During the course of the festival, there will also be an opening night premiere gala, filmmaker panels, workshops hosted by the celebrities in attendance and a closing-night awards ceremony, where the winners will be selected both by panels of judges and by the attendees of the event.

The workshops will be a place where film directors and producers will discuss how films are made. In the panels, groups of actors and directors will discuss various aspects of the film industry. After each film, some of the filmmakers will be present for Q&A sessions to talk directly with the audiences about the films.

The four-day festival will be open to the public. All-event passes are $50 and are available at the festival's Web site or at Miami University's box office at 529-3200. One-day passes will cost $25 and will be sold at the door each day.

This event, to be held in the Marcum Conference Center on Miami's campus, will be the first, largest and only of its kind in the region and is produced by a collaboration of Star Com Productions, the Miami Film Association and a number of other local businesses and organizations. The Oxford Press is media sponsor for the event.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Miami University cinematic and community arts programs.