Naperville the home of indie film showcase this week

For filmmaker Edmond Coisson, organizing the inaugural Naperville Independent Film Festival was like writing a script.

After 18 months of work, the simple sentence he began with, "I would like to start a film festival," became a full screenplay that debuted Wednesday as he and co-founders Glessna Coisson and Gary Pradel literally rolled out the red carpet for the opening ceremony.

"It's your dream and when your dream comes true you're kind of (saying), 'Is it real? Should I pinch myself and wake up? No, I don't want to wake up, I want to stay asleep and continue this beautiful dream,'" Edmond Coisson said.

Featuring 107 films submitted from all over the world, the festival will run through Saturday, Sept. 27, at a variety of venues around the city. Festival Executive Director Daniel Nigg said he hopes it will "promote, inspire and educate filmmakers in a fun and entertaining atmosphere ... actively shared by the entire community."

It will also benefit the Arthur Ray Foundation, a nonprofit group started by Pradel that uses art and technology to help others.

As the festival opened Wednesday, several celebrities graced the red carpet, including Golden Globe Award-winning actress Karen Black of "Easy Rider" fame and actor David Proval from "The Sopranos."

Both will be among the actors on hand this week to discuss the film "Hollywood Dreams," one of two films to premiere during the festival along with "Say I Do."

"(Independent films) can turn into historic films," said Black, a Park Ridge native. "They can turn into the film of the century or the decade and they need to be given a chance."

Festival organizers gave roughly 135 films a chance, including feature films, documentaries and shorts.

The top 107 films will appear on the big screen today through Saturday at Classic Cinemas Ogden 6 Theatre and the Comedy Shrine in downtown Naperville for $7 a ticket.

Short films will be shown in groups.

Twenty-seven of the films are nominated for the festival's 13 awards, which will be handed out Saturday.

The festival will also include workshops, screenplay readings and filmmaker discussions.

For a complete schedule of events or to purchase tickets, visit naperfilm.org