Fortunately for film lovers, Chicago abounds with festivals for every taste while giving filmmakers fresh opportunities to showcase their work and make a name for themselves.
Most of the year’s the big festivals take place in October and November, but here are three offbeat and new to add to your datebook.
SCOTT RUDOLPH AND NELS DAHLQUEST started the Chicago REEL Shorts Film Festival five years ago to address what they saw as a void in fests that prioritize accessible, international short films.
While they screen 75-150 films per year, this year the number is 100 and includes a Chicago Showcase, Sept. 11 at Mother’s. The festival is funded by their under-$100,000 budget through submission fees, ticket sales, and out of their own pockets.
“But we are reviewing our funding policy for 2009 as we would like to screen even more films,” Rudolph said. Sept. 11-14 at Film Row Cinema, Mother’s, and Mahoney’s.
EDMOND AND GLESSNA COISSON of our Path Productions founded the new Naperville Independent Film Festival, with Gary Pradell, VP of First National Bank of Naperville and son of mayor A. George Pradel.
Presented by the Arthur Ray Foundation, it launches Sept. 24-27.
Actor and Naperville native Kay Panabaker will conduct an Acting for Youth workshop. Twenty-three features, docs and shorts are nominated for the inaugural fest’s awards, including local feature, “Love. Blood. Kryptonite,” from an estimated 200 submissions.
Saturday screenings are devoted to family-friendly fare. The fest is supported by grants and sponsorships.
