Southern Miss Film Department to Screen Ballast in Ocean Springs Feb. 27

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. – The University of Southern Mississippi Film Department will present a free screening of the movie, “Ballast,” on Feb. 27 in the main auditorium of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs. The event will feature commentary beginning at 7 p.m. and the film screening will follow at 7:30 p.m.

“Ballast,” written and directed in Mississippi by Lance Hammer, won awards and earned critical praise at the Sundance, Deauville and Toronto Film Festivals. The film is set in the Mississippi Delta and deals with a single mother's efforts to protect her son from the harsh realities of rural poverty and the struggle to overcome a bitter past. The film commentary will feature Nina Parikh, producer for “Ballast,” and one of the Southern Miss film faculty members.

The purpose of this film forum is to lay the foundation to develop the film industry on the Gulf Coast, including the identification and training of skilled craftsmen and technicians needed to induce filmmakers throughout the region, and the nation, to come to the Mississippi Coast to make films. The film forum invites everyone interested in the many components of film making and will feature a second forum on March 19.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 228.865.4573.