John Oxendine says the Palm Beach International Film Festival
is a boon for the county’s economy. See the ArtsPaper for more on the film festival.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Chris Felker
As a lifelong cinema buff who made a career out of assisting people, John Oxendine combines both those interests in his role as vice chairman of the Palm Beach International Film Festival.
From 1981 to ’95, he headed Broadcast Capital Fund Inc.’s effort to diversify the ranks of America’s radio and TV station owners. Broadcap, as it was known, was directed by investors — including ABC, CBS and NBC — to find minority entrepreneurs and train them in how to succeed in the largely white-dominated media. It loaned millions of dollars to blacks and Hispanics who bought more than 40 stations, aided by Small Business Administration grants quadrupling the networks’ investment.
Oxendine owned media outlets himself through his company Blackstar Communications, which he sold in 1998.
When he moved to the Yacht & Racquet Club of Boca Raton that year, his reputation preceded him: PBIFF founder Burt Aaronson invited him to serve on the then-fledgling organization’s board.
“I joined the film festival when I got here because I love going to the movies,” he said. “You forget all your problems when you go the movie theater.”
Today, Oxendine exercises the same philosophy that drove him at Broadcap in helping put together the annual film showcase.
“I think that we need to be more encompassing, more democratic, more all-inclusive in what we do, and I think that my representing the minority presence will facilitate more people realizing that our film festival is not an elite experience but one that’s all-encompassing. That’s why things like the student showcase of films are very important to us,” he said.
Oxendine derives great satisfaction from helping people achieve their dreams. The former Peace Corps volunteer and schoolteacher, who has an MBA from Harvard University, is also chairman of the Paragon Foundation of Palm Beach County, which was set up in 2006 to help establish minority businesses.
“We try to provide training as well as financial assistance to minorities who want to start businesses in the community,” he said. “I grew up in a housing project in the Bronx, so I know what it’s like to come from nothing.”
It makes him happy to pursue PBIFF’s mission of bringing unique entertainment to the area and using some of the proceeds for educational film and television programs throughout the county’s schools.
He’s also very pleased that this year’s edition of the film festival, the 18th, will include several films from Russia and Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, Oxendine was a Russian linguist with the U.S. Marines’ 20th Interrogation and Translation Team.
The Flying Elephant, a documentary about world-renowned Russian sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov, will be screened April 8 at Muvico Parisian 20 at CityPlace in West Palm Beach. The artist and Russian film commissioner Eugene Zykov are expected to attend.
“I look forward to meeting them,” Oxendine said, “but I can’t take any credit for that [showing]. I look forward to practicing my Russian with them.”
Oxendine, 70, is a divorced father of three, and supports the film festival not only with his time but donations also, because it’s a boon for the county’s economy.
“We have unique independent films from all over the world, and so our big thing is to promote people going to the movies. That’s my biggest push; I’m a big proponent of that. And to the extent that we do that, we can get people to come here and that’s great for our economy. We sell hotel rooms, we sell food, and people get to know us and we get to know them.”
He prefers to be a background force for the film festival, though.
“I’m kind of a sounding board for people there. I try to be a catalyst … I try to do outreach to the community, providing balances where we can, and encouraging people who are otherwise a little bit afraid to get involved in the film festival to get involved.”
Palm Beach International Film Festival
The 18th annual installment of this event showcases 37 premiere films, including features, documentaries and shorts from the U.S. and many other nations, and benefits the festival’s scholarship fund for local film students.
When: April 4-11
Where: Four venues around Palm Beach County; a range of ticket packages is available.
Phone: 362-0003. For film titles, ticket info and show times, dates and locations, see www.pbifilmfest.org.
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