Gire: Congratulations to teen film fest winners

Teens win film fest!

Congratulations to the student filmmakers who took home the prizes at the Eighth Annual Teen Film Festival sponsored by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library last weekend:

Best of the Fest: “Dementia: Resurrection” by Robert Kraybill, 18, John Hersey High School.

Best Music Video: “You Make Me” by Stephanie Spalding, 17, John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights.

Best Experimental/Animation: “Dumming it Down” by Garrett Strother, 16, of Prospect High School, Mount Prospect.

Best Action/Drama: “CLASH” by Daniel Carpenter, 16, Rolling Meadows High School.

Best Documentary: “World Premiere” by Molly Mensch, 14, Palatine High School.

Best Comedy: “Math is Fun” by Nick Szubart, 18, Elk Grove High School.

You can see the winning student movies at ahml.info/teens/filmfest.

A festival note: Kraybill, whose horror tale “Dementia” is one of the best-crafted films I've seen in the history of the Teen Fest, will attend Chicago's Columbia College next semester. He'll be studying Cinematic Arts and Sciences, or course.

Film critics notebook:

• Join me for a special screening of Steve James' Roger Ebert documentary “Life Itself,” presented by the After Hours Film Society at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25, at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. I'll introduce the movie and conduct a brief Q&A afterward. General admission costs $9. Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com.

• The formidable women of Old Town in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” will descend upon Naperville's Hollywood Palms Cinema this weekend. Stars Rosario Dawson, Crystal McKahill and Patricia Rodriguez Vonney will meet “Sin City” fans in person for showings of the movie Friday through Sunday, Aug. 22-24. Go to atriptothemovies.com.

• Steven Spielberg's classic alien fantasy “E.T. — The Extra-Terrestrial” will be shown free for fans at noon Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema, 1001 W. 75th St., Woodridge. Go to atriptothemovies.com for tickets and info.

• The ICFilmFest, a touring festival of film programs for children, will launch “Movies in the Park” at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, at Bowen Park in Waukegan. The free fest is curated by Facets Multimedia's Nicole Dreiske. Call (847) 360-4740 or go to waukeganparks.org/events/events.htm for details.

• Dann Gire's Reel Life column runs Fridays in Time out!