Midwest Independent Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Midwest Independent Film Festival is the nation’s only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker. Only films from the eight-state Midwest region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin are considered for screening. This film festival is also unique in that it is held throughout the year, presenting audiences with the finest independent films from the Midwest every first Tuesday of the monthhttp://chicagoist.com/2005/12/04/mike_mcnamara_mike_kwielford_founders_of_the_midwest_independent_film_festival.php.
The Midwest Independent Film Festival prides itself on showcasing emerging directors, powerful artistic visions, and strong cinematic stories. These exceptional films combine with an exciting social atmosphere and a state-of-the-art screening venue to create one of the premier festivals in the Midwest.
The Midwest Independent Film Festival is hosted every first Tuesday of the month at Chicago
's Landmark Century Centre Cinema of Landmark Theatres
. Sponsors include Resolution Digital Studios, Zacuto, Fletcher Chicago, Orbit Media Studios, O'Connor Casting, Flashpoint The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, Zipcar
, The Chicago Film Office, The Illinois Film Office, Zaroban Design, Crunch Fitness, Getty Images
, Screen Magazine and Kodak.
This festival is sometimes referred to as "The Midwest Film Festival," "The Midwest Indie," or simply "The Midwest."
The Midwest Independent Film Festival prides itself on showcasing emerging directors, powerful artistic visions, and strong cinematic stories. These exceptional films combine with an exciting social atmosphere and a state-of-the-art screening venue to create one of the premier festivals in the Midwest.
The Midwest Independent Film Festival is hosted every first Tuesday of the month at Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Landmark Century Centre Cinema of Landmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres is the largest art house movie theater chain in the United States. It is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their 2929 Entertainment. The chain shows mostly first run independent, foreign film, and restored classics though some Landmark theaters also show more mainstream...
. Sponsors include Resolution Digital Studios, Zacuto, Fletcher Chicago, Orbit Media Studios, O'Connor Casting, Flashpoint The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, Zipcar
Zipcar
Zipcar is an American membership-based car sharing company providing automobile reservations to its members, billable by the hour or day. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge, Massachusetts residents Antje Danielson and Robin Chase, and is now led by Scott Griffith, Chairman and Chief Executive...
, The Chicago Film Office, The Illinois Film Office, Zaroban Design, Crunch Fitness, Getty Images
Getty Images
Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...
, Screen Magazine and Kodak.
This festival is sometimes referred to as "The Midwest Film Festival," "The Midwest Indie," or simply "The Midwest."
Festival Highlights
- The World Premiere of the comedy Osso Bucco, starring Illeana DouglasIlleana DouglasIlleana Douglas is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer.-Background:Douglas is a granddaughter of the actor Melvyn Douglas and his first wife, artist Rosalind Hightower, and has said that her grandfather's performance in Being There, in particular, was influential on her own...
and Mike StarrMike Starr (actor)Michael "Mike" Starr is an American actor. Starr is notable for his large size, standing 6 ft 3 1/2 in , and has typically been typecast as thugs or henchmen....
opened the 2008 festival - The Midwest Premiere of Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
doc WordplayWordplay (film)Wordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
, directed by Patrick CreadonPatrick CreadonPatrick Creadon is an American documentary filmmaker, best known for the documentary film Wordplay. A profile of New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz, Wordplay premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and became the second-highest grossing documentary of that year...
, featuring Will ShortzWill ShortzWill Shortz is an American puzzle creator and editor, and currently the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times.-Early life and education:... - The Midwest Premiere of Cinequest Film FestivalCinequest Film FestivalThe Cinequest Film Festival is an annual independent film festival held in San Jose, California. The festival highlights the work of new film makers....
Best Documentary winner Indestructible, directed by Ben Byer - Controversial thriller Death of a President, winner of the International Film Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival
- Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
favorite Steel CitySteel CityThe Steel City is a common nickname for many cities that were once known for their production of large amounts of steel. With industrial production also in developing countries, like those in Eastern Europe and Asia, most of these cities do not produce as much steel as they used to...
, written and directed by Alton, IL native Brian JunBrian JunBrian Jun is an American film director, screenwriter, film editor and producer. Jun has made two short films, Jimmy Brown and Researching Raymond Burke. Jun won the Sundance Channel Emerging Director Award in 2006 at the St. Louis Film Festival for his first feature film Steel City...
, starring Tom GuiryTom GuiryThomas John Guiry is an American actor.Guiry was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended St. Gregory the Great school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey from kindergarten through eighth grade, and then high school at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey...
, America FerreraAmerica FerreraAmerica Georgina Ferrera is an American actress, best known for playing the lead role in the television comedy series Ugly Betty...
and Steppenwolf ensemble member Laurie MetcalfLaurie MetcalfLauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2... - Acclaimed documentary Rock the BellsRock the BellsRock the Bells is an annual hip hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a lineup of high-profile alternative hip hop artists, often headlined by a more mainstream artist...
, which chronicled the final stage performance of all nine original members of the Wu-Tang ClanWu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
, four months before Ol' Dirty Bastard's death. - The World Premiere of Cop Show, starring Tracy LettsTracy LettsTracy Letts is an American playwright and actor who received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.-Biography:...
and David PasquesiDavid Pasquesi-Career:Some of his screen credits include Groundhog Day, Strangers with Candy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Return to Me, and The Ice Harvest. He starred in the Steve Delahoyde short film that premiered in , and co-starred with Jeff Garlin in Garlin's I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With; In addition, he... - The Midwest Premiere of Sugar Mountain, directed by Aaron HimelsteinAaron HimelsteinAaron Himelstein is an American actor who is perhaps best known for playing a younger version of Austin Powers in Austin Powers in Goldmember and Friedman, Luke Girardi's best friend, in Joan of Arcadia...
- The World Premiere of Following Paula, starring Justina MachadoJustina MachadoJustina Machado is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Vanessa Diaz in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under.-Early life:...
- The Festival Premiere of Dirty Work, directed by Bruce Terris, starring Lance ReddickLance ReddickLance Reddick is an American theater, film and TV actor and musician born in Baltimore, Maryland. He starred in The Wire as Cedric Daniels, appeared in Oz as Detective Johnny Basil and appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons of Lost. He now has a prominent role in Fringe...
, Michael McGlone and Austin PendletonAustin PendletonAustin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:... - The Chicago Premiere of The Godfather of Green BayThe Godfather of Green BayThe Godfather of Green Bay is a fictional comedic movie released in 2005. It follows the tale of stand-up comedian Joe Keegan...
, starring Tony GoldwynTony GoldwynAnthony Howard "Tony" Goldwyn is an American actor and director. He portrayed the villain Carl Bruner in Ghost, Colonel Bagley in The Last Samurai, and the voice of the title character of the Disney animated Tarzan.-Early life:...
, Lauren HollyLauren HollyLauren Michael Holly is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the TV series Picket Fences, as Mary Swanson in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber, and as Jenny Shepard on the TV series NCIS. She was married to comic actor Jim Carrey from 1996 to...
, Mark BorchardtMark BorchardtMark Borchardt is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of the 1999 film American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, which documented two years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven .-Early life:Borchardt was born and raised in Menomonee Falls,...
, Lance Barber and Pete Schwaba, who also wrote and directed the film.
History
This film festival was founded by Chicago actor Mike McNamara and filmmaker Michael Kwielford in 2004http://chicagoist.com/2005/12/04/mike_mcnamara_mike_kwielford_founders_of_the_midwest_independent_film_festival.php.External links
- Festival website
- Festival Director Mike McNamara at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Feature Profile of Festival Director Mike McNamara in Chicago Reader
- Best of the Midwest Awards - 2007 Winners
- Best of the Midwest Awards - 2006 Winners
- Best of the Midwest Awards - 2005 Winners