Cedar Rapids is hosting a festival this weekend to showcase the work of filmmakers from across the state and around the nation — all who have strong connections to Iowa. Eric Freese, co-director of the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival , says more than 100 movies were submitted and 42 are being shown.
Freese says: "Every film must have a connection to Iowa, either having a key crew member or actor born, lived, educated or worked in Iowa, or a story set in Iowa or about Iowans, or the film actually produced in Iowa. It’s very important for us to highlight Iowa-made films as well as filmmakers who come from Iowa."
In addition to the films, several workshops are scheduled for budding filmmakers. Freese says one workshop features Muscatine native Max Allan Collins, who’s known as a writer of: novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, movie novelizations and historical fiction.
Freese says, "Max has entered the festival and won several awards over the past several years. It’s great to have him come and give a little insight into what he’s experienced in the independent filmmaking world. Of course he is probably best known as the author of ‘Road to Perdition,’ the graphic novel the film of the same name is based on." He says there are essentially four categories of films that are being show this weekend.
Freese says there will be long-form narrative feature films, short films, documentary films of any length, and then a free-style category which includes experimental films, music videos, and anything else that doesn’t really fit in the other categories. The festival started Friday and runs all day today at the Collins Road Theatres in Marion.