Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers Announce
12th Annual Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival
Award Winners

Cedar Rapids, IA, April 15, 2012 – Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers hosted the 12th Annual Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival on Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14 at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion, Iowa. The Festival showcased the work of filmmakers from across the state and around the world. In accordance with CRIFM's stated mission, all the films screened featured stories or filmmakers with strong connections to the Hawkeye State.

CRIFM's Director Scott Chrisman was impressed with this year's slate of films. "Iowa's filmmakers continue to tell engaging stories," he said. "Even in challenging times, they still manage to bring the Iowa spirit to the screen."

Gold and Silver Eddy Awards were presented to Professional, Professional-Amateur and Student filmmakers in Feature, Short Form, Documentary, and Freestyle categories.

And the Eddys went to . . .

Professional Feature

Gold Eddy: The Wedge
Written, Directed and Produced by Joe Clarke (Coralville, IA)
Executive Produced by Tim Nash (Cedar Rapids, IA)
A production of Backrow Studios, LLC
www.joeclarkecity.com

Silver Eddy: Sick of Larry
Written and Directed by Scott Thompson (Mondovi, WI)
A production of My Town Pictures
www.sickoflarry.com

Professional Short Form

Gold Eddy: Lee's Ghost
Written and Directed by Channing Whitaker (Anchorage, AK)
A production of Off Speed Cinema

Professional Documentary

Gold Eddy: City of Literature
Directed and Produced by Ben Hill (Iowa City, IA)
Photographed by John Richard (Iowa City, IA)

A production of The University of Iowa with support from the State Historical Society, Inc., The Iowa Arts Council, Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities

Silver Eddy: Man of Deeds
Directed by Craig Schaefer (Dubuque, IA)
Produced by Ted Rosean (Dubuque, IA)
An LC Productions Film
www.manofdeeds.com

Professional Freestyle

Gold Eddy: Piano Man: V the Noble One featuring Michael Milner
Directed, Edited, Photographed and Produced by Carlos de León (South Sioux City, NE)
A production of Midwest Motion Pictures

In addition to their awards, Gold Eddy winners in the Professional categories received Story-O Story Organization Software for Writers, courtesy of Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers.

Pro-Am Feature

Gold Eddy: Two Days in February
Written and Directed by Michael P. Noens (Palatine, IL)
Produced by Erica Lynn Schmeck (Chicago, IL)
A CNGM Pictures
www.twodaysinfeb.com

Silver Eddy: Arrgh! A Pirate Story
Directed by Tyler Ask
Starring Landon Sheetz and Joey Loboda (Cedar Rapids, IA)
A Papaya Productions film
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arrgh-A-Pirate-Story

Pro-Am Short Form

Gold Eddy: Red Stroke
Written and Directed by Joseph Boyle (Kimhae, South Korea)
A Joseph Boyle Films Production
www.josephboylefilms.com

Silver Eddy: A Kidnapping at Castelle Manor
Written and Directed by Paul D. Benedict (Des Moines, IA)
A production of Valentine Road, LLC
www.valentineroad.com

Pro-Am Documentary

Gold Eddy: Knights of Iron
Written and Directed by Eric Smidt (Ames, IA)
Executive Produced by Bill Dean (Madrid, IA)

Silver Eddy: Dreaming Up the Past: Early Music in Ukraine
Directed and Produced by Oleg Timofeyev & Sabine Gölz (Iowa City, IA)
An ArbatFilm production
arbatfilm.com/filmmriipromynule

Pro-Am Freestyle

Gold Eddy: Fire in the Sky
A film by Kevin J. Railsback (Fairfax, IA)
A production of Silver Phoenix, LLC

Silver Eddy: Take Off One Ear!
Directed by Sabine Gölz (Iowa City, IA)
Produced by Oleg Timofeyev (Iowa City, IA)

In addition to their awards, Gold Eddy winners in each of the Pro-Am categories received an AIRjibXL boom device, courtesy of Studio4 Productions. For more information on Studio4 and their indiSYSTEM line of products, please visit www.indisystem.com.

Student Short Form

Gold Eddy: The Magnificent Von Doogles
Co-written and Directed by Christopher Peck (Marion, IA)
Co-written by and Starring Beck DeRobertis (Minneapolis, MN)

Silver Eddy: Before Your Eyes
Written and Produced by Sarah Challender (Des Moines, IA)
Produced and Edited by Lenna Chisala (Des Moines, IA)

Student Documentary

Gold Eddy: Manasseh
Co-written, Co-directed and Co-produced by Lauren DeWitt (Barrington, IL)
Co-written, Co-directed and Co-produced by Jacob Spiekermeier (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Silver Eddy: Occupy
Produced by Dawn Sagert & Scott Mussell (Cedar Falls, IA)

Student Freestyle

Gold Eddy: Cancer of Mind
Produced, Photographed and with Music by Samuel Schroeder (Dubuque, IA)

In addition to their awards, Gold Eddy winners in each of the Student categories received a $200 scholarship courtesy of Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers.

Special Awards and Scholarships

In addition to the competitive awards, Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers, their sponsors and fans honored three films with special distinctions:

The Collins Road Theatres Scholarship is awarded each year to a student filmmaker in order to further the recipient's filmmaking education and career. This year's $1,000 scholarship went to Christopher Pike & Beck DeRobertis in recognition of their work on the film The Magnificent Von Doogles. To find out more about Collins Road Theatres, please visit www.collinsroadtheatres.com

Studio4 Productions provided an indiSLIDERmini dolly device and a CERBERUS shoulder mount to a filmmaker whose work the judges deemed especially skillful and creative but who they believed could most benefit from the gift of a professional filmmaker's tools. Studio4 presented the indiGEAR Award to Joe Clarke and Tim Nash on the basis of their film The Wedge.

The Iowa Connection Award is given each year to the film that best portrays the state's physical beauty and the strong spirit of its people. This year's award was given to Joe Clarke and Tim Nash for their film The Wedge.

The Audience Choice Award is announced each year at the close of the Festival and is given to the film the Festival attendees have acclaimed as their favorite. The award is determined by secret ballot. This year's popular choice was Collapse, directed by Insane Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger.

About the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival

The Eddy Awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison who, among many other pursuits, was a pioneer in motion picture technology. The term eddy is also defined as "a current moving contrary to the direction of the main current," which is a suitable description for independent filmmakers, who often go against the current trends in mainstream cinema.

For additional information about Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers, please visit www.crifm.org, e-mail Scott Chrisman at scott@crifm.org, or call (319) 431-1320.

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival was created to provide a venue for Iowa filmmakers to screen their work for peers and general audiences. The organization's primary goals are to encourage Iowa independent filmmakers to continue improving their craft, to provide a place to specifically showcase Iowa-connected films, present a unique cultural event to the community, and to offer networking opportunities for the purpose of building the Iowa film industry.