Elgin rolls out the red carpet for annual Short Film Festival

Posted September 23, 2014 11:00 pm

Submitted by city of Elgin

"Flowers" is a finalist in the Elgin Short Film Festival. Courtesy of the Hemmens

The Elgin Short Film Festival is returning for its sixth year. This event will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin.

The Elgin Short Film Festival consistently draws high-quality film entries from national and international professional and semiprofessional filmmakers. Films in any genre and subject matter are submitted annually.

Mike Toomey, a regular performer on the WGN Morning News, will again bring his comedic talents as master of ceremonies to present this year's finalists.

Winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges, and audience members will cast their votes for their favorite film. The audience vote has had an impact on who has won in previous years. In other words, your vote does count.

Awards and monetary prizes will be presented to the top three films and a special People's Choice award will be presented based solely on audience votes.

This year's finalists are:

• "Drifting," directed by Joel Benjamin, an animated story about surviving in the middle of the ocean on an airplane wing.

• "Race You to Russia," directed by Brett Hays. This film was written by a seventh-grader and is the story about how a clever boy beats a bully to a bogus destination.

• "Journeyman," directed by Leo Gilbert. An aging ex-NBA ballplayer must choose between extending a damaged career or giving up everything for his young son.

• "FLOWERS," directed by Sabina Sattar. A boy falls in love with a deaf and mute girl and has to find a way to communicate his feelings for her.

• "The White Room," directed by Tom Doherty, is a powerful, emotional, psychological drama that follows a young man who wakes up trapped and confused in a mysterious room with no recollection as to how he came to be there.

These Top Five Films will be shown in the intimate 1,200-seat theater of the Hemmens Cultural Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.

General admission tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the box office, online at hemmens.org or call (847) 931-5900.

Beginning at 6:15 p.m., the filmmakers and judges will walk the red carpet and be interviewed before entering the cultural center. There will also be preshow entertainment.

Follow regular updates for the Elgin Short Film Festival on Facebook.

Animated short "Drifting" is a finalist in the Elgin Short Film Festival. Courtesy of the Hemmens

"Race You to Russia," a film written by a seventh-grader, is a finalist in this year's Elgin Short Film Festival. Courtesy of the Hemmens

Filmmakers and judges will walk the red carpet as they arrive at the Hemmens for the sixth annual Elgin Short Film Festival. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com ¬

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