First Tuesdays with The Midwest Independent Film Festival…

Midwest Shorts Program Loaded with Premieres!

 

On Tuesday, October 3rd, The Midwest Independent Film Festival will be bringing you its final Midwest Shorts Program of the year, loaded with premieres, filmmaking excellence and diversity.  This diverse lineup will include stunning music videos, intense drama, hilarious comedy, impressive animation and even a Christmas short (why not, it’s funny!).

 

On Tuesday, October 3rd, the Pre-Show Social, sponsored by Goose Island Brewing Company, begins at the Landmark Theater, 2828 North Clark, at 6 p.m.  Then join host Mike McNamara as our Midwest Shorts Program begins promptly at 7:30 pm.  Projection services are provided by sponsors Resolution Digital Studios, Mimi Productions and Quvis.  Post-screening reception will be held at Sausalito, 543 West Diversey. For more information, please visit www.midwestfilm.com.

 

Get to know our October Midwest Shorts Program a bit better…

 

TRAILER: IOWA.  Get back to The Midwest next month on Tuesday, November 7th for this sledgehammer of a film!  An Official Selection of the TriBeCa Film Festival, Iowa features searing performances by film veterans John Savage (The Deer Hunter) and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction), and television's star of The Pretender Michael T. Weiss. The film also offers breakthrough performances from newcomers Matt Farnsworth and Diane Foster and terrific cinematography from Iowa City native John Naughton.

 

WORLD PREMIERE COMEDIC SHORT: CAKE.  Relationships are complicated.  Cake is Messy.  Directed by Ned Mochel, written by and featuring Krista Lally, produced by Chicago Action Theatre.  4 min.

 

CHICAGO PREMIERE!  THE WOOD WITCH.  Named “Best Film of 2006” by Minnesota publication CityPages.  Two siblings abandoned by their parents in a desolate farmhouse fall prey to an evil witch.  Directed by Jon Springer.  For the last 15 years Springer has gained a reputation for being Minnesota's first locally grown cult filmmaker with regional and national acclaim.  10 min.

 

CHICAGO PREMIERE!  THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PUMPKIN.  A cherished holiday from a new and horrible perspective. Brought to you by Blame Society Productions.  Directed by Wisconsin filmmakers Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan.  5 min.

 

WORLD PREMIERE MUSIC VIDEO: SLOW DOWN.  Directed by Chicago filmmaker Michael Thelin for fellow Chicagoans and Atlantic recording artists The Academy Is.  4 min.

 

SOLDIER.  David Bianchi, nationally recognized Performance Poet joined forces with award winning Director Daniel J. Pico, to bring you a visually stunning and emotionally charged, one of a kind short film depicting the inner struggle of a soldier suffering from the loss of a fallen comrade at the front lines of the Iraq War.  8 min.

 

WORLD PREMIERE ANIMATED SHORT: DON QUIXOTE.  A clever presentation of the classical tale from director Mark Phillips and Columbia College grad Josh Iwanski.  3 min.

 

POR AMOR.  Discovering that her teenage son is abusing her daughter, Maria, a recent Mexican immigrant, makes a painful choice that reveals her strength and the love that she has for both her children.  Directed by Chicago filmmaker Ben-Hur Uribe.  20 min. 


NADA.  A powerful experimental short from filmmaker JM Magrini.  Nada is an encomium to the trans-historical art movements of DADA and Surrealism. Incorporating the techniques of "auto-cinema" and split-screen editing, this super-8 film portrays the illusory nature of language and vision, the supposed guarantors of truth. 3 min.

 

SUMMER SILENCED.  An award-winning film from this year’s 48 Hour Film Festival.  Directed by Mark Vadik (The Thirsting).  5 min.

 

THERE AREN’T ENOUGH LIGHTS IN THE WORLD.  A Christmas short in October?  Why not, it’s funny!  From award-winning director Justin Hayward (Divorce Lemonade).  3 min.