 | |
| Location | Springfield, IL, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
Route 66 Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place the first weekend of November. The film festival is located in Springfield, IL and first began in November 2002. [1]
The festival was initially created to celebrate the vehicles and history of the famous Route 66 highway. The film festival took place during Springfield's International Route 66 Mother Road Festival but separated itself from the road festival in order to be represented as an independent event.
The Festival mission and objective is to support and recognize independent filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds. The festival focuses on the idea of journey—emotional, physical, spiritual, and personal. The films represented at the festival highlight journeys from the American West as well as from around the world. The Route 66 Film festival has presented films from all around the world. International films that have been screened at the Route 66 Film Festival include country representations from Belgium, France, South Africa, Japan, Brazil, Spain, Great Britain, Uruguay, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Diversity is celebrated and embraced and is represented in both feature films and short films.
The following people provide programming and support. [2] [3]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Festival Director | Siobhan M Johnson |
| Board Member | Lana Wildman |
| Board Member | Crissie Trigger |
| Board Member | Christine Samoore |
| Director of Communications and Marketing | and Thea Chesley |
Feature films as well as short films are sorted into nine categories. The film categories include, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Experimental, Foreign Language, Debut Film, Student Showcase, Made in Illinois, as well as Heroes and Heroines. [4] The Student Showcase screens short films that are no more than 30 minutes in length by students who are in their 4th year of college or younger. All films are independently backed or produced by the represented school or university. Made in Illinois screens films of all genres that are specifically filmed in Illinois. The films represent Illinois filmmakers and highlight the Illinois landscape and setting. Heroes and Heroines showcase films about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, emerging as heroes and heroines as the result of their journey.
Film screenings are open to the public with the cost of admission being $10 per ticket. Audience members are asked to vote after each screening in order to unearth the winning films for each film category. Festival judges also select films for official awards. New talent has been discovered every year and some films go on to be honored at other festivals, distributed by companies such as Netflix and have even been nominated at the Academy Awards.
The awards that were presented at the 2015 festival went to the winners of the Festival Prize, Judge's Choice, and Best Foreign Language Film. [5]
| Award | Film | Director | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Festival Prize: Best Foreign Language Short (In-Competition) | The Vanishing Hitchhiker (film) | Rosario Brucato | |
| Festival Prize: Best Foreign Short (In-Competition) | Sundown | Sinem Cezayirli | |
| Festival Prize: Best Debut Film (In-Competition) | I Am Good | Noora Albright | |
| Hugh Moore Best of Festival: Best of Festival - Winner | Writer's Cramp | Darva Campbell | Once Upon a Thyme Productions |
| Best Debut Film: Best Debut Film - Winner | Writer's Cramp | Darva Campbell | Once Upon a Thyme Productions |
| Best Foreign Language Film: Winner | Love at First Sight | Mark Playne | 1st Sight Films |
| Judge's Choice: Best Experimental Film | StalkerZ | Damien Patrik | |
| Judge's Choice: Best Mockumentary | Directors on Directing [6] | Damien Patrik | |
The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October.
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episodic television and panel conversations.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
The SouthSide Film Festival is an annual non-competitive, not-for-profit film festival that takes place each June in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The first festival took place in 2004.
Yvette Lu, M.D. is a Canadian independent film and stage actress, filmmaker, singer, composer, writer and producer, as well as a licensed family physician. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Lu has starred in many independent films, most notably Food for the Gods and Servants of War. She is best known for her starring role as "Sheenyana" in the 2007 short film Food for the Gods. She co-composed the film's musical score and is the lead singer on its soundtrack. Lu has starred or held major roles in various stage productions, including The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In addition to her University of British Columbia medical degree, Lu has training in acting and music from UBC, Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York, Vancouver's Schoolcreative, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.
The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from 125 countries and programmed 271 films. Attendance has grown to nearly 43,000. The festival also offers a screenplay competition with features, teleplays and shorts categories and a web series competition. In addition to tendays of film screenings, the festival provides industry panels, music showcases, parties and receptions. The Nashville Film Festival is also an Academy Award qualifying festival.
Withoutabox was a website founded in January 2000 by David Straus, Joe Neulight and Charles Neulight which allowed independent filmmakers to self-distribute their films. The first product launched was the International Film Festival Submission system. Withoutabox worked with film festivals and filmmakers all over the world. In January 2008, Withoutabox was acquired by IMDb, a subsidiary of Amazon.
Camerado is a commercial film, video and multimedia production group that produces independent, multicultural-themed films, videos, and media events with a prosocial agenda.
The Detroit Windsor International Film Festival (DWIFF), which ran from 2008 to 2012, was a publicly attended film festival held each June in the Detroit–Windsor region, with events taking place in both Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. The festival was closely associated with Wayne State University as they incorporated their own pre-existing student film festival into the DWIFF and many of the festivities were held on Wayne State's campus in Midtown Detroit.
The HollyShorts Film Festival is an annual Academy Award®-qualifying independent short film festival located in Hollywood, California.
The Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival is the largest of its kind in the world and is considered one of the most important in its field. The film festival hosts hundreds of students, lecturers and guests of honor from the world's leading film industry in Tel Aviv, for a week of screenings and cultural events. Hundreds of films, premieres, cinematic events, workshops, conferences and special projects are held, inviting thousands of visitors to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque halls every day. Since 2013, it has been held once a year, in June, in Tel Aviv.
London Indian Film Festival is a film festival established in 2010 to showcase Indian independent film. The festival attracted media attention in its first year, premiering films such as "Love Sex aur Dhokha" by Dibakar Banerjee. Awards given at the festival include a short film competition award and an Audience Prize. It is Europe's largest South Asian Film Festival and is sponsored by the BFI's National Lottery Audience Fund.
The European Independent Film Festival is an annual international film festival dedicated to independent cinema. Held in Paris, France, it was created in 2006 by Scott Hillier. The festival is dedicated to the discovery and promotion of independent film making talents from Europe and beyond, showcasing films that demonstrate quality, innovation, and creativity in both form and content. These qualities are judged in 14 categories, 7 of which are open to non-European filmmakers, and compete for 25 awards. Jury members come from all around the globe and have a variety of backgrounds. The founder and president of ÉCU, Scott Hillier, is a Paris-based Australian filmmaker. He gained international recognition from his cinematography, editing, writing producing and directing portfolio and served as Director of Photography on the documentary 'Twin Towers' which won an Academy Award in 2003.
The Golden Door Film Festival is a film festival in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, which was inaugurated in 2011. The four-day festival takes place in fall, and shows features, documentaries, and shorts. The opening and closing night awards ceremony are located at the 1929 movie palace Loew's Jersey Theatre at Journal Square with many screenings and other events at various Downtown venues. The festival was founded by actor, producer, and musician Bill Sorvino. There are competitive awards for features, shorts, documentaries, student works, LBGT-themed films and the Women in Cinema-Alice Guy-Blaché Award for female directors.
The India International Film Festival (IIFF) of Tampa Bay takes place annually in Tampa, Florida. IIFF's mission is to provide "a platform for increased awareness of Indian cinema and culture to the community by promoting films and industry professionals representing the diversity of India." The films featured at the festival include feature films, short films, and documentaries that are produced by Indians, films with Indian actors or actresses, or films with Indian themes. The festival takes place over the course of three days and includes a red carpet, Indian food, and various entertainment, including music and dance performances.
The Let's All Be Free Film Festival (LABFFF) is an annual film festival that explores what it means to be free, via the medium of film. The inaugural festival was held in April 2013 in London, and screened 37 short films across many different genres - all focused on exploring what it means to be free. The festival was founded in 2012 by Palestinian-American film director Tariq Nasir, founder and director of the award-winning production company Unusuality Productions, and is one part of the creative cross-platform Let's All Be Free project.
I Grew Up in Princeton is an independent documentary film directed by Brad Mays, and produced by Lorenda Starfelt at LightSong Films in North Hollywood, California. The film had its festival debut at the New Jersey International Film Festival on June 14, 2014 and was followed by another screening at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival on June 28, 2014.
The Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival is a film festival with a focus on independent films held annually at L.A. Live / Staples Center and additional cinemas across Hollywood, California. HRIFF guests have included Pierce Brosnan, Hilary Duff, Harry Dean Stanton, Martin Landau, Joe Mantegna, Josh Brener, Frances Fisher and Uwe Boll and many other Hollywood film celebrities.
Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival is an annual documentary festival started in January 2004 by Centre for Civil Society. The festival is a part of their Jeevika Campaign which advocates for livelihood freedom for street entrepreneurs. The festival showcases documentaries based on the issue of livelihood, to capture the challenges faced by the rural and urban poor by bringing them to the attention of the public.
The annual edition of the Pickurflick Indie Film Festival, started in 2017, has been renamed as Pondicherry International Film Festival (PIFF). The festival aims to showcase independent cinema from across the globe, celebrate the true spirit of indie filmmaking, and provide a platform where Indie filmmakers can showcase & get recognition for their work. The inaugural edition received more than 550 films from 50 countries, out of which 170 films were selected. Screenings were held at Bangalore & Delhi from March to May 2017 with awards given across 12 categories. Pickurflick Indie Film Festival is an IMDb qualifying event and has been rated amongst the top unconventional film festivals in India.