The Oxford Film Festival presents a Science on Screen showing of Songcatcher with an introductory talk by Greg Johnson, Head of Archives and Special Collections at the University of Mississippi Libraries.

Where: Powerhouse Community Arts Center, 413 South 14th Street, Oxford, MS

Cost: Free, but get your free tickets here

About Songcatcher: "After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted."

The story at the heart of the film Songcatcher is part of a tradition of folklorists and musicologists seeking out old folk songs in America and tracing their origins to pre-new world sources. Greg Johnson, Head of Special Collections in the University of Mississippi Libraries, will speak on several important folk song collectors, placing special emphasis on work done in Mississippi through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and more.