Journal-News.com

WEST CHESTER TWP. — A local film festival will move across Butler County, according to the event's organizers' Web site and officials from the West Chester Chamber Alliance.

The Oxford International Film Festival will begin operating out of West Chester Twp.'s Savannah Center for its 2009 event, slated for July 23-26, according to a news release.

Created in Oxford during the spring of 2006 by independent film director/producer JC Schroder and debuting a year later, the festival provides an opportunity for audiences to view short and feature-length films and interact with filmmakers.

The move to West Chester Twp. will make the festival more convenient for travel and lodging, and the new location's proximity to Greater Cincinnati and Dayton could be a draw for future audiences, Schroder said in the news release.

"This festival is growing exponentially every year and as much as we love the city of Oxford, we felt that to better address the future growth and needs of the festival, our audiences and filmmakers, it could not stay in Oxford proper," Schroder said. "In a sense, we're out-growing Oxford, which is a really great thing, but we will miss the city itself, the atmosphere, and the amazingly supportive city and government of Oxford, without whom the founding of the festival would not have been possible."

The festival will operate out of other venues near the Savannah Center, including Cincinnati Marriott North in Muhlhauser Road.

Despite the move, the festival will retain its name, program, format and staff, according to the release.

The event was formerly conducted at the Marcum Conference Center on Miami University's campus in Oxford.