As big film festivals like the Sundance are inundated with movies wanting exposure, smaller venues are getting more entries, like the fest opening tonight in eastern Iowa. The Hardacre Film Festival in Tipton features 19 movies, including shorts, features, documentaries, animation and student films. Fest co-director Stuart Werling says it has an international flavor. Some entries are from France, Israel, Yugoslavia and Poland, in addition to the full-length feature film from India, “Monsoon Wedding”. Werling says he strives to include films that are made by Iowans, that are shot in Iowa or that star Iowans. Two films this year have Iowa connections. Steve Holm of Waterloo submitted “At First Sight” which won Best Student Film. Joel Sadilek is a Cedar Rapids native and U-of-I grad who got Best Short Film honors for “The Summer House”. Werling says independent films are stimulating because they emphasize superior writing. He says they don’t have huge budgets or whiz-bang special effects, all they have is the story. The film festival is taking place tonight and all day tomorrow at Tipton’s Hardacre Theatre, which opened in 1917 but has been fully updated with Dolby Surround-sound. For more information, surf the ‘net to: “www.hardacrefilmfestival.com”.
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