A touch of Cannes in the Tri-Cities
We're not looking to re-create the Cannes or Sundance film festivals, but there is something uplifting about knowing that St. Charles is finishing the three-day Illinois International Film Festival today at the Arcada Theater and Geneva is planning its first film festival for early November.
The Illinois International Film Festival had a local flavor last year when Dustin Harris, a 1997 graduate of Geneva High School, captured the top award in the Best Short Film category with his film "Old Man Music."
On a smaller scale, the Illinois International Film Festival gives us an idea of what major film festivals entail. They are more than film lovers just watching movies. They give exposure to directors who might not otherwise be able to showcase their talents.
Film festivals are designed to expose filmmakers and fans to all of the art forms -- feature films, documentaries, animation, short films, etc. They also represent an education process for learning about various aspects of filmmaking.
Film festivals are common in major cities around the world and becoming popular in smaller communities and smaller venues. It is apparent that the enjoyment of film as an art form has universal appeal.
As a passionate project of the Geneva Arts Commission, Geneva's upcoming festival won't be lacking for local flavor, and its premise will be the same as a major film festival: to entertain and educate.
The commission will accept entries for consideration until Sept. 30 for the Nov. 10 event.
But it's a new entertainment option for the Tri-Cities, one we feel that area residents will support. The arts commission, operating with the reality that it did not have an operating budget for this venture, has chosen sites with no cost involved -- the city hall building and the Geneva History Center -- as locations where films will be shown. We find this interesting in that past discussions have suggested that sometime in the distant future, the current city hall could be transformed into an arts center. If this Geneva event becomes popular, the city will need a larger theatrical venue. It would be a wonderful problem to contemplate if the arts commission had so many films entered and so many sponsors interested in supporting the festival, that it had to scramble for ideas on how to expand.
St. Charles took on the monumental task in the 1990s of its art and music festival in an every-other-year format to varying degrees of support and approval. That idea may have been ahead of its time, but it did bring in impressive national and international musicians and artists who produced memorable shows.
The film festivals in St. Charles and Geneva may not have that kind of "pull" but who's to say that we aren't onto something that could be bigger and better in the future?
For the time being, we encourage filmmakers to submit their entries for the festivals and residents to participate by viewing the films.