Take 5 with "Queen's Day"

As we gear up for the Oxford Film Festival 2011 to be held at the Malco Studio Theater on Feb. 10-13, 2011, we thought we might introduce you to some of the people behind the movies we can't wait to show you.

Meet Take 5 filmmaker, Jeffrey W. "Ruggies" Ruggles, director of "Queen's Day." 
For the full schedule and description of the films, visit www.oxfordfilmfest.com.

Q. 1: In 140 characters or less, describe your movie and why someone should see it.

A: A movie about the moment when you fall in love with someone. And toast.
Q. 2: Biggest lesson learned in getting the film made? Best part in getting the film made?

A: I made a feature film called "Bicycle Lane" in 2008 and it was making it's way around the festival circuit. It was a no-budget, guerilla, run and gun style film and I had this idea to make a small, quiet film in a contained location. So I wrote this little short that takes place in a single location...a bedroom. What I learned is that some stories aren't meant for a long format and it was really liberating to treat a short with the same creative intensity as a feature. The best part of making the movie was working in such an intimate way with a great, small, talented crew. Also, I've never acted before and that was a really interesting thing to do. As a director it really gave me a lot of insight into the mind of actors.
Q. 3: Tell us about you. What is your movie making background?

A: I studied film at the University of Kansas and moved to Los Angeles after graduating. My day job is working in reality television, producing shows like "Jersey Shore" and "Disaster Date" for MTV. As mentioned above I made a feature film called "Bicycle Lane" in 2008 and that's finally finished running its course on the circuit and now I'm out taking Queen's Day around to anyone who will watch!
Q. 4: What's your dream distribution plan for the film?

A: Really, I view this movie as another step in helping me develop as a filmmaker. It's a story and film that I really like and just want to share with people. There are no specific plans for distribution, but I hope that it gets out there and people enjoy it.
Q. 5: What does the future hold in store for your film and for you?

A: I just recently shot a two new shorts, one narrative and one experimental, and I'm working in producing a feature film for director Chad Hartigan in the spring. I'm also writing a new feature that I hope to shoot in late summer, early fall of 2011.