Geneva Film Festival opens Thursday
Independent film buffs will want to spend some time in Geneva this weekend.
The Geneva Film Festival, in its fourth year, opens at 6:30 p.m. today with a series of narrative features, animated and documentary shorts. It runs through Saturday.
It is a venue for writers, producers and actors to screen a variety of independent films and screenplays. The annual festival also provides technical workshops with industry professionals for filmmakers and film enthusiasts alike.
All screenings take place at Riverside Receptions, 35 N. River Lane, Geneva. The fee for each screening or event is $3. A complete schedule of films to be shown is available at genevafilmfestival.org.
The Daily Herald asked Scott Rolf, executive director of the festival and a Geneva resident since 1995, to answer a few questions about the event.
Q. How many years has the festival been taking place? How did it get started?
Rolf. This is the festival’s fourth year. A Geneva Cultural Arts Commission member, Vic Portincaso, started the film festival in 2007 as another way to bring cultural art to Geneva.
Q. Who chooses the films that are shown? About how many submissions do you typically receive?
Rolf. This year we received over 70 submissions from 16 different countries, including the United States. We have six categories: Narrative Feature and Short, Documentary Feature and Short, Student Short (usually a college thesis film) and Animated short. Each category has three judges who are film industry professionals. We select the highest-rated films from each category to show in the festival.
Q. What is the goal of the festival?
Rolf. Our goal is to grow and get better each and every year. We would like to be one of the premier film festivals in the Midwest and eventually the United States.
Q. Which films do you think will be audience favorites this year?
Rolf. “The Desire,” “Bright,” and “One Revolution” are a few of our category winners and will be favorites for many, but all of our films are really good this year and all (are) very different. The films that won didn’t win by much, that’s how close it was.
We now include descriptions of the films on our website so festival goers have an idea what each film is about and can choose according to their interests.
Q. Are any of the films to be shown appropriate for children?
Rolf. The Animated Shorts are OK. Along with the descriptions, we included ratings as well. Most of the films are rated PG and PG-13. We tried to attract more family-friendly films this year, but we just didn’t receive them.
Q. What other special events are featured at the festival?
Rolf. On Saturday morning, we feature a “Filmmakers Workshop and Panel discussion” featuring some of Chicago’s finest talent in the motion picture, commercial and television industry. This unique workshop and panel discussion will put festival goers face to face with directors, editors, production designers, producers, cinematographers, writers and more. It runs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
For the second straight year, we are the only Midwest screening of the Emerging Cinematographer Award winners. Sponsored by the International Cinematographers Guild, this collection of eight short films are shot by aspiring and very talented cinematographers. The ECAs screen Friday at 7:30 p.m.