2009 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival Announces
Official Selections, Program Events

Cedar Rapids, IA – Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers brings you the 2009 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, at the Collins Road Theatres, 1462 Twix Town Road, Marion, Iowa. The festival will showcase the work of filmmakers from across the state and around the country, all with strong connections to Iowa.

Seventy films were submitted for consideration. A panel of judges awarded 31 with Official Selection status. These films will go on to compete for Gold and Silver Eddy Awards and the Audience Choice and Iowa Connection Eddys, which will be presented at a Saturday night ceremony.

“We are excited to showcase the great work of Iowa filmmakers. This year entrants have crafted some wonderful stories,” said Scott Chrisman, Communications Director, “and delivered some exceptional films.”

The Official Selections represent a wide variety of features, shorts, documentaries, music videos, animations and experimental films at Student, Pro-Am and Professional levels. Films to be screened are:

"16 to Life" by Becky Smith, Los Angeles, California;
"50 States," Caity Birmingham, Chicago, Illinois;
"A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story" by Lane Wyrick, Iowa City, Iowa;
"A License to Write: The Iowa Workshop Experience" by Jennifer Proctor, Grand Rapids, Michigan;
"African Soul, American Heart" by Kevin Brooks, Fargo, North Dakota;
"Car Chase" by Lucas Baty, Des Moines, Iowa;
"Contrails" by Andy Richards, Iowa City, Iowa;
"Disrepair" by Jeff Curtis, Omaha, Nebraska;
"Drop Gun" by Eric Freese, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
"Escape" Jenny Stolte, Hiawatha, Iowa;
"Frautschi" by Sabine Golz, Iowa City, Iowa;
"Gustav’s Brush" by Tom Katsis, Valley Glen, California
; "I’m Your Man" by Bradley Fritz, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
"The Last Lullaby" by Max Allan Collins, Muscatine, Iowa;
"Little Bizzy" by Rachel Kolb, Grand Rapids, Michigan;
"The Lost Nomads" by Ty Clancy, Los Angeles;
"Luella's License" by James Niebuhr, Iowa City, Iowa;
"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" by Ian Klink, Aurora, Illinois;
"Morgan’s Last Call" by Matt Olson, Chicago, Illinois;
"Open Up!" by L. Stephen Phelan, Gurnee, Illinois;
"The River" by Kevin Railsback, Fairfax, Iowa;
"Sister Patchouli" by Scott Thompson, Mondovi, Wisconsin;
"Stray Dog" by John Rohrtet, Iowa City, Iowa;
"Take-Out" by Joe Clarke, Iowa City, Iowa;
"The Thacker Case" by Max Velez, Los Angeles, California;
"This American Gothic" by Sasha Waters Freyer, Iowa City, IA;
"Use Only as Needed" by Nicolaas Bertelsen, Los Angeles, California;
"The Vigilant One" by Adam Orton, Chicago, Illinois;
"Winky" by Josh Porro, Los Angeles, California;
"Wormtooth Nation" by Geoff Boothby, Fairfield, Iowa;
"Zombie Blues" by Carlos De Leon, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Read more about the descriptions of each film here or
watch the trailer for this years festival here.

In addition to the screenings, three special filmmaking seminars will be held. Plans are still being finalized for these.

The Festival is open to the general public. Admission prior to April 2 is $8 each session for Friday evening, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening sessions. An all-event pass is $25 prior to April 2. Prices April 3 and 4 are $10 each session, or $35 for an all-event pass. The Eddy Awards Ceremony is free with any other festival ticket purchase. Presale tickets may be purchased at the theatre box office, or by calling 319-377-4555.

For more information, visit http://www.crifm.org/festival.html, e-mail Scott Chrisman at scott@crifm.org, or call (319) 431-1320.

The Festival is sponsored in part by Collins Road Theatres, KCRG-TV9, the Iowa Motion Picture Association, the Iowa Film Office, Studio4 Productions and Jungle Software.

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 Filmmaking Industry.

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival
April 3-4, 2009

For every filmmaker whose work is admired by audiences in megaplexes across the world, thousands more lack the means to show films to the masses. The greatest reward for an independent filmmaker is to have their work shown to an captive audience. One festival entrant commented what a wonderful feeling it was to observe an audience reacting to his film and laughing when they were supposed to laugh!

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival was created to provide a venue for Iowa filmmakers to show their work and for the general public to view the best of the state's filmmaking industry.

The deadline for all entries is January 30, 2009.

The Festival will be awarding Gold and Silver Eddys for Documentary, Freestyle, Feature and Short in Student, Pro-Am and Professional categories.

Entries will be processed online by our very own processing and payment system. Please contact Scott at 319-431-1320 if you do not have convenient access to the Internet.

Full entry guidelines and downloadable forms are available on the Entry page. Watch this page in the coming weeks for further information on tickets, special events and guests.

The Eddy Awards

Gold and Silver Eddy Awards will be presented in Professional, Pro-Am and Student categories for features, shorts, documentaries, experimental films, and audience choice. We will also present the Iowa Connection Eddy for the film that best represents "Iowa."

For us, Eddy has dual meaning. First, it pays tribute to Thomas Alva Edison who, among other things, was a pioneer in motion pictures. Second, the noun eddy is defined as “a current moving contrary to the direction of the main current.” Independent filmmakers often go against the “current” of trends in mainstream cinema.

In addition to screenings and awards, the festival features guest speakers and plenty of networking opportunities. For full results of each year, see the Festival Archives Menu in the sidebar.