September 2, 2023
Films Selected
The 2023 Sioux City International Film Festival votes are in! Once again, the board members and select community members judged over 120 films from all over the world and made their final picks for what will be shown at the 18th Annual Festival. “Seeing excellent short films that do not typically run in large movie theaters is a unique opportunity for our community,” Board President Leslie Werden said. “We feel honored to showcase films nominated for Oscars, created by high profile directors, and featuring well-known actors.”
Films selected this year will be shown in 2-hour genre blocks including Drama, Comedy, Documentary, and Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Film Festival Director Adam Gonshorowski explains: “We are just over 45 films and have planned it so a festival attendee can see every film in the festival.” He goes on to emphasize the festival theme: “We have workshops devoted to our theme this year, which is The Art of Cinematography, and we are excited to present the ‘Worth Seeing’ award in this category, sponsored by Vance Thompson Vision.”
. Some highlights of films selected:
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject earlier this year, HAULOUT looks at the startling impact the climate change has on walruses in the Arctic. This thought-provoking film was directed by Russian siblings Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev.
First-time director Jessica Henwick shares her drama short BUS GIRL, a touching look at an aspiring young chef in the cut-throat world of high end cooking. Last year, Henwick was named as The Hollywood Reporter's Rising Star and Variety's 'Top 10 to Watch' for her work as an actress.
Several previous SCIFF award winners make their returns to this year’s festival. Director Kevin Haefelin has two films selected for 2023: THE FUSE is a drama blowing a fuse that ends up having a massive impact on the life of an aging widower. THIRD WHEEL is a unique take on a ghost story, set in the Edo period of Japan.
John Gray, a New York based writer-director-producer who created the long running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, has submitted a horror short, THE UNQUIET DEAD, about a young woman besieged by terrifying images. He previously won in 2021 for his horror film THE DESECRATED and in 2022 for his thriller THE THIRD DEFECTOR.
In 2021, Minnesota director David Mair brought his comedy THE HOMEWORK FAIRY about two kids who get some unexpected help with their homework. This year he returns with a film about quite a different spirit with his horror UNWELCOME.
Festival alum Bob Celli returns with MY OVER THERE, a drama inspired by the experiences of the grandmother of his writing partner Laura Delano. MY OVER THERE stars EMMY winner and Broadway legend Penny Fuller as a woman sharing her experiences as an army nurse in World War I.
As a kick-off to the festival, Thursday, October 5th will showcase the new feature film LOVE… RECONSIDERED, starring Sophie Von Haselberg (daughter of Bette Midler). A post-film discussion will take place featuring the film’s director Carol Hartsell (FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE), writer Arielle Haller-Silverstone (star of the 2018 SCIFF comedy SAC DE MERDE), cinematographer Dave Carroll (THE DAILY SHOW), and producer/casting director S.J. Allocco (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK). Admission to this screening is offered free of charge thanks to sponsorship from Vance Thompson Vision. Seating is limited; reserve your tickets online.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 18th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema October 5-8, 2023. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from Promenade Cinema, Vance Thompson Vision, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino , Produce Iowa, the City of Sioux City, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
April 17, 2023
Announcing the 2023 Fest
The Sioux City International Film Festival is pleased to announce its dates and theme for the 2023 Festival. The 18th annual festival will take place October 5-8, 2023, at the Promenade Cinema 14. The theme will be “What We See: The Art of Cinematography.”
Festival Director Adam Gonshorowski is excited to shepherd another festival to the Sioux City community: “Attending the Sioux City International Film Festival is a great way to appreciate the craft of cinematography and experience a wide range of films from different genres and cultures. In addition to screenings, we have panel discussions, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, and networking opportunities for film enthusiasts and industry professionals.”
Cinematography is the art and technique of capturing visual images on film or digital, and it plays a crucial role in the creation of a film. Through the use of camera angles, lighting, color, and framing techniques, cinematographers are able to convey the mood and tone of a story and enhance the emotional impact of a scene. To celebrate cinematography in film we will give an award for best cinematography this year. We are also excited to welcome Vance Thompson Vision as a partner for this year’s festival and have named our Best of the Fest award the “Worth Seeing” award in recognition of their contribution.
Last year’s festival featured films from Austria, Hungary, China, France, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and more. THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, directed by Ben Proudfoot, won the “Best of the Fest” award in addition to Academy Award for Best Documentary Short earlier this year. It explores the life of Lucy Harris, who scored the first basket in women's Olympic basketball at the ‘76 Olympics and was the first woman to be drafted by the NBA. The winner of Best Drama and Audience Choice Juried Winners was SONS OF TOLEDO. Directed by Monty Cole, the powerful film traces a day in the life of a barber who wakes up to the news that his brother has been shot and who closes the day by giving his brother one last haircut. Director John Gray won his second consecutive Best Horror/Thriller award for THE THIRD DEFECTOR, having won in 2021 for THE DESECRATED. What seems like a simple assignment for a spy to keep tabs on an Iranian defector becomes a more complicated game of cat and mouse in the streets of Paris.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 18th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema October 5-8. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from Vance Thompson Vision, Humanities Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
October 1, 2022
2022 Festival Winners
The Sioux City International Film Festival has selected the following 2022 winners:
Best of the Fest: THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL. Directed by Ben Proudfoot, this film won the Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Short earlier this year. It explores the life of Lucy Harris, one of the greatest American women’s basketball players. Harris has three national trophies and scored the first basket in women's Olympic basketball at the ‘76 Olympics. Proudfoot was a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur in 2020,
Best Drama: SONS OF TOLEDO. Directed by Monty Cole. After receiving the early morning news of his younger brother’s murder, a mourning barber pushes through the muddy waters of grief to find the courage to do the impossible - give his brother one last cut.
Best Documentary: JIMMIE C. THE EXONEREE. Directed by Max Karpman and Seth Karall. After spending 27 years in prison for crimes he did not commit, Jimmie Gardner retells his perspective of this horrifying ordeal. Through his college radio show, Jimmie learns to become a DJ and shares his experience receiving a second chance at life.
Best Comedy: GUNPOINT. Directed by Bill Marsillii. A happy homeowner answers his door and discovers the true price of terror. Marsillii is also the screenwriter for the romantic, time-travel thriller DEJA VU.
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy: JIM OF EARTH. Directed by Justin Arwood. A lonely man searches the stars for signs of extraterrestrial life.
Best Horror/Thriller: THE THIRD DEFECTOR. Directed by John Gray. What seems like a simple assignment for a spy to keep tabs on an Iranian defector becomes a more complicated game of cat and mouse in the streets of Paris. Gray was last year’s winner in this category for his film THE DESECRATED.
Best Music: TRUMPET - - トランペット. Directed by Kevin Haefelin. Japanese trumpet player on a cultural pilgrimage to discover New York City jazz experiences a hell of a night after being lost in Brooklyn. Original music is by Mao Soné, who also stars in the film.
Audience Choice Regional Films: COMING HOME. Directed by Jack Hoppe of Nebraska.
Audience Choice Juried Winners: SONS OF TOLEDO. Directed by Monty Cole
Attending the Festival. There is still time to catch these films and many others on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at Promenade Cinema 14. Tickets can be purchased at the door; general admission tickets are $10 and a day-pass is $25. Our festival winners will screen at 6pm. Please visit http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ for a more detailed Sunday schedule.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 17th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema September 29-October 2. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from the Humanities Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
September 27, 2022
How to Get Tickets
The 2022 Sioux City International Film Festival kick-offs off on Thursday, September 29 and runs through Sunday October 2.
Tickets can be purchased online at https://filmfreeway.com/SiouxCityFilmFestival/tickets. Tickets can also be purchased on the days of the festival at the Promenade Cinema 14, which is where all the films will be shown.
Pre-event tickets for SCORE on Thursday, September 29 at 7:30pm, directed by Matt Schrader, are just $5.00. This special price is available due, in part, to a grant from Humanities Iowa. Schrader will be available for a post-screening Q&A.
Tickets range in price from $10 for a single 2-hour screening of short films and $25 for a day pass up to $50 for access to all the screenings throughout the festival and $100 for a special VIP pass with access to the filmmakers lounge and special events.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 17th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema September 29-October 2. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from the Humanities Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
September 14, 2022
Sioux City International Film Festival: Workshop Presenters
The Sioux City International Film Festival is pleased to announce a fantastic line-up of workshops and speakers. All of these events are free and open to the public. Thursday’s session will be in the Promenade Cinema 14 where all films will be shown.. Friday’s and Saturday’s sessions will be in the Design West Building, one block east of the Promenade Cinema 14.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
9:00 pm. • Matt Schrader
Join us for a Q&A with director MATT SCHRADER following the screening of his film, SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY, showing at 7:30pm. Matt is a three-time Emmy Award-winning news producer and filmmaker and a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. As a special projects producer for news agencies including CBS and NBC, his stories have changed lives, laws, and resulted in millions of dollars returned to consumers and communities. In 2014, he left his career in news to pursue his first feature-length documentary, SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY, which became one of the most popular crowdfunded documentary projects of all time. Schrader also attended the USC Annenberg School for Communication and helped found and grow the Southern California Business Film Festival in 2008.
Friday, September 30, 2022
6:00 pm • Jordan Dykstra
Join us for the workshop “Collaborative Creation or Singular Sound”: This workshop will explore the differences between solo-composing and collaborative approaches to composing for media. JORDAN DYKSTRA (b. 1985, Sioux City, Iowa) received an MFA in Media Scoring at the Feirstein School of Cinema and as a media composer he has numerous credits including in the films BLOW THE MAN DOWN, HAIL SATAN?, IT COMES AT NIGHT, and the 2019 Emmy winner for Outstanding Investigative Documentary DOCUMENTING HATE. His compositions for film have been heard at Cannes, Sundance, TriBeCa, TIFF, and the IFFR. Recordings of his music (solo and collaborative) have been issued by New World Records, Domino, Important Records, Elsewhere, Milan, Marriage Records, Mexican Summer, K Records, Gilgongo, and Dykstra’s own cottage industry label Editions Verde.
Saturday, October 1, 2022
11:00 am. • Bri Holland
Join us for the workshop “Engineering Theatrical Vocal Music for Cinema.” This workshop will explore vocal processing, from recording through mixing, for live-action and animated film music through hands-on exploration and demonstration using a mobile recording rig. BRI HOLLAND is a songwriter, music producer, audio engineer, singer, and vocal production specialist based in Los Angeles, CA. Her film/TV credits include: ALVINNN!!! AND THE CHIPMUNKS (2018-Present), THE DAWN FM EXPERIENCE (2022), TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA (2019-22), MADAGASCAR: A LITTLE WILD (2019-22), TICK, TICK... BOOM! (2021), DEAR EVAN HANSEN (2021), VIVO (2021), and CYRANO (2021).
3:00 pm. • Filmmakers Roundtable
A signature film fest event, meet our guest artists and visiting filmmakers as they come together for a discussion and Q&A about the process of creating films.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 17th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema September 29-October 2. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from the Humanities Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
September 1, 2022
Sioux City International Film Festival: Films Selected
The 2022 Sioux City International Film Festival votes are in! Board members and select community members judged over 180 films from all over the world and made their final picks for what will be shown at the 17th Annual Festival. This year’s fest will feature films from Austria, Hungary, China, France, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the United States, and more. “The quality of films we received from local and regional filmmakers as well as national and international filmmakers was high,” said Film Festival Director, Adam Gonshorowski. “Making cuts is always a difficult process and this year was no exception with the amazing submissions we received. ”
The 69 films selected this year will be shown in 2-hour genre blocks including Regional, Documentary, Drama, Comedy, Horror/Thriller, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Gonshorowski shares his excitement about bringing such a unique experience to Sioux City and the surrounding area: “We are excited to explore our theme, Music in Film, at this year’s festival. Through a partnership with Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, we will award one of our films with Best Music; this film will receive a one-of-a-kind, custom guitar from Hard Rock. We have a lot of great films, speakers and workshops this year and can't wait for you to join us at the festival this year."
Some highlights of films selected:
We are excited to welcome first-time festival participants such as Director Ben Proudfoot’s film, THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL. This film was the Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Short (94th Academy Awards) and explores the life of Lucy Harris, one of the greatest American women’s basketball players. Harris has three national trophies and scored the first basket in women's Olympic basketball at the ‘76 Olympics. Proudfoot, a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur in 2020, is also the creative force behind Breakwater Studios, an emerging world leader in humanist short-form documentaries. .
We are also pleased to welcome returning Director John Gray, a New York based writer-director-producer with two films accepted for this year’s festival, THE THIRD DEFECTOR (Horror) and THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Drama). Gray created the long-running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, as well as writing and directing many award winning and critically acclaimed movies for television.
In addition to Gray, a number of our filmmakers and their casts include “famous faces”. One example is Dadu (Drama), a charming story directed by Ragav Puri starring The Big Bang Theory & The Expanse's Brian George. Bill Marsillii, screenwriter for the romantic, time-travel thriller Deja Vu, is screening his film, GUNPOINT (Comedy) at this year’s fest. We also welcome 2015 Best Horror/Sci-fi/Fantasy winner Michael Goldburg back to screen his latest comedy, AARON WITH2 A’s.
Some of our returning filmmakers hail from much closer to home. We’re excited to screen Iowa filmmaker Hannah Rosalie Wright’s Drama, LABOR OF LOVE and Minnesota-based filmmaking couple Justin & Kristin Schaack’s comedy, THE FAMILY WE CHOSE. Both of these heartwarming films will screen during our regional screening block.
As a kick-off to the festival, Thursday, September 29 will contain two pre-show events. From 5-7pm, attendees can enjoy a regional film block featuring filmmakers from Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and South Dakota. This block is offered free of charge thanks to a grant from Humanities Iowa and funding from Produce Iowa. At 7:30pm, we will screen the feature-length documentary, SCORE: A Film Music Documentary, directed by Matt Schrader. In-line with our 2022 theme, Music in Film, SCORE looks at how composers developed some of the most iconic scores in history and follows the creative struggles of designing a modern soundtrack from scratch, featuring some of cinema’s most recognized names in film music. Director Matt Schrader will be available for Q&A following the film. As this event is sponsored in part by a grant from Humanities Iowa: tickets are only $5.
One of the other features of our festival is our guest artists. In addition to Director Matt Schrader, we will also have workshops from two other distinguished artists. Sioux City native, Jordan Dykstra, violist and composer, will be doing a workshop discussing the differences between individual and collaborative composing on Friday, September 30 at 6:00pm. Bri Holland, songwriter, music producer, audio engineer, singer, and vocal production specialist, will lead a hands-on workshop exploring all aspects of vocal processing for film on Saturday, October 1 at 11:00am. Current board president, Leslie Werden, states, “We are excited to have workshop presenters who are talented musicians actively working in film and TV.” Workshops are offered free of charge to the public as part of our grant from Humanities Iowa and funding from Produce Iowa.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 17th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema September 29-October 2. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from the Humanities Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, the Bluestem Fund, and State Steel.
OCTOBER 2, 2021
Sioux City International Film Festival: Festival Winners
The Sioux City International Film Festival has selected the following 2021 winners:
Best Drama: THE LETTER ROOM Directed by Elvira Lind and starring Oscar Isaac, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film tells the story of a kind-hearted prison officer (Isaac) who is transferred to the letter room and gets involved in an inmate’s personal affairs.
Best Documentary: NANDO Directed by Alex Cutter, this film is told through the context of a poem and is about a young boy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who dreams to see beyond the harsh realities that surround him.
Best Comedy: OUT OF STOCK Directed by Bryan Taira. In 1972, the host of The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson, made a joke that toilet paper was going out of stock. By the next day, stores across the country were sold out. This is the story of the first day of the toilet paper crisis.
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy: SYMFAUNIC Directed by Erin Bergin and Darby Kate Snyder. This film was created by a group of character animation undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida and is about a young faun who challenges the harmony of her forest glade when her new taste in music clashes with her brother’s teachings.
Best Horror: THE DESECRATED Directed by John Gray, a New York based writer-director who created the long running hit CBS series, GHOST WHISPERER, as well as writing and directing many award winning and critically acclaimed movies for television, such as MARTIN AND LEWIS, starring Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam and A PLACE FOR ANNIE with Sissy Spacek. The film THE DESECRATED is about a young morgue attendant working the night shift who encounters an unwelcome visitor.
Audience Choice Local Films: THE SERVIS TWINS Directed by Hunter Foster, this documentary follows the lives of twins, one who has a fixation on nature and psychedelics and the other, an unwavering love to God. The schism has formed between the two, but is it too late to bridge the divide?
Audience Choice All Films: THE LETTER ROOM Directed by Elvira Lind and starring Oscar Isaac, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. The film tells the story of a kind-hearted prison officer (Isaac) who is transferred to the letter room and gets involved in an inmate’s personal affairs.
Best of the Fest: FEELING THROUGH Directed by Doug Roland and executive produced by Oscar winner Marlee Matlin; this is the first film to star a DeafBlind actor. Roland is an Oscar-nominated director for this film, which is a coming of age story that follows Tereek, a teen wandering through the streets of New York, desperate for a place to crash when he encounters Arie, a DeafBlind man in need of getting home. From an awkward meeting between strangers emerges an intimate bond and a journey that forever changes Tereek.
Attending the Festival: There is still time to catch these films and many others on Sunday, October 3, 2021 at Promenade Cinema 14. Tickets can be purchased at the door; general admission tickets are $10 and a day-pass is $25. Our festival winners will screen at 4pm. Please visit http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ for a more detailed Sunday schedule.
About the Film Festival
Now in its 16th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run at the Promenade Cinema October -13, 2021 with a pre-event on September 30. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at http://www.siouxcityfilmfest.org/ or at the door.
Major funding for SCIFF programs comes from the Kind World, the City of Sioux City, Produce Iowa, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and the Missouri River Historical Development Corporation.
Sioux City International Film Festival: Films Selected
FILM FEST BEGINS September 30th
The 2021 Sioux City International Film Festival votes are in! Once again, the board members and select community members judged over 260 films from all over the world and made their final picks for what will be shown at the 16th Annual Festival. “We received many high quality films and it was a challenge to make our festival selections because we had so many great films submitted,” said Film Festival Director, Adam Gonshorowski. “The films, as always, were highly competitive and making the final cut was a difficult process.”
Films selected this year will be shown in 2-hour genre blocks including Documentary, Drama, Comedy, Horror/Thriller, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Gonshorowski explains: “We’re coming back in 2021 bigger than ever with 83 films from across the globe from a wide variety of filmmakers in all genres,” The diversity and quality of films are what make this festival unique.
Some highlights of films selected:
Academy Award Winner for Best Live Action Short Film (91st Academy Awards), SKIN, starring Jonathan Tucker and Directed by Guy Nattiv. The film starts in a small supermarket in a blue collar town, a black man smiles at a 10 year old white boy across the checkout aisle. This innocuous moment sends two gangs into a ruthless war that ends with a shocking backlash.
Academy Award nominated short (93rd Academy Awards) THE LETTER ROOM is featured at this year’s festival. Directed by Elvira Lind and starring Oscar Isaac (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and Alia Shawkat (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), the film tells the story of a corrections officer who is transferred to the letter room and finds himself enmeshed in the private life of an inmate.
Academy Award nominated short (93rd Academy Awards) FEELING THROUGH, directed by Doug Roland, is the first film to star a DeafBlind actor, is a coming of age story that follows Tereek, a teen wandering the streets of New York, desperate for a place to crash when he encounters Artie, a DeafBlind man in need of help getting home. From an awkward meeting between strangers emerges an intimate bond, and a journey that forever changes Tereek.
Andi Behring (winner of SCIFF’s 2018’s Best Comedy) is back with a thriller, ATTEST; a story of two sisters who are under harsh interrogation and try to get their stories straight about a fateful encounter at a party the night before. Behring is originally from Los Angeles and currently lives in Atlanta, GA; she most recently has been directing episodes of DYNASTY.
John Gray, a New York based writer-director-producer who created the long running hit CBS series GHOST WHISPERER, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, has submitted a horror short, THE DESECRATED, about a young morgue attendant working the night shift who encounters an unwelcome visitor.
In the comedy category, see SHE HAD IT COMING -- a story about a woman murdered at a baby shower who haunts her friends, attempting to find out who did it. The film is directed by Gedde Watanabe, perhaps best known as an actor in films like SIXTEEN CANDLES and VOLUNTEERS as well as appearing on television programs, SEINFELD, HOME IMPROVEMENT, and ER.
Minnesota director, David Mair, made use of his quarantine by creating the super-short film THE HOMEWORK FAIRY about two kids who get some unexpected help with their homework. Mair is a husband, father, psychiatrist, and filmmaker.
As a kick-off to the festival, Thursday, September 30 will contain two pre-show events: a local film block featuring films made by folks from Iowa, Nebraska, and Sioux City and films about the area (5:15 p.m. 7:15 p.m.). Additionally, with a donation from Kind World, the festival will show STORM LAKE at 7:30 p.m a documentary directed by Beth Levison and Jerry Risius about Art Cullen, publisher of Iowa’s Storm Lake Times, and his local fight for the survival of their biweekly small-town newspaper. Cullen and family will attend for a Q&A after the screening.
Current president, Leslie Werden, would also like to acknowledge gratitude to former president and co-founder, Rick Mullin, who unexpectedly passed away in late February 2021. “Rick was passionate about Sioux City, politics, travel, and film,” says Werden. “Each year during the festival, his joy from watching the films, interacting with the filmmakers, and engaging the community was evident in his energy and smile. We miss him dearly.” In his honor and because of his deep appreciation of the filmmakers, the board renamed its “green room” for filmmakers as The Rick Mullin Filmmakers Lounge.
women in film: a keynote panel
OCTober 4th, 2019, 7pm, promenade theater, downtown Sioux City
WOMEN IN FILM FEATURED AT SIOUX CITY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The 2019 Sioux City International Film Festival is proud to present a focus on Women in Film, sponsored in part by grants from Humanities Iowa and the Gilchrist Foundation. This year, female filmmakers, writers, directors, producers, and more will be featured on a Women in Film Panel October 4 from 7pm-9pm in the Promenade Theater. Additionally, guests will conduct workshops throughout the festival and be available for special VIP events.
The moderator for the panel will be noted screenwriter and instructor, Patty Meyer. For over two decades Patty Meyer has written screenplays for the major motion picture studios and television networks, including two true crime features for Martin Scorsese, and one for Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Films. Seven of her eight studio script sales are adaptations of true stories.
Meyer launched her producing career with the Emmy-nominated ABC miniseries, The Women of Brewster Place, starring Oprah Winfrey, which won an Image Award for Outstanding Miniseries. Meyer went on to executive-produce seven movies for network television with Von Zerneck/Sertner Films. She also executive-produced the 20th Century Fox release, This Is My Life, which marked Nora Ephron's directorial debut. Meyer made her directorial debut with her short film "The List," a seven-time film festival selection.
At present, Meyer is Graduate Director of Screenwriting and Clinical Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount’s School of Film & Television; prior to that, for a decade she served as a Senior Lecturer in Screenwriting at the American Film Institute. She received a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University and an MFA in Fiction Writing from Boston University.
Meyer’s maternal grandfather, Nathan J. Blumberg, was President and CEO of Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1960. Her father, Stanley Meyer, was partnered with Jack Webb in Mark VII Productions and produced the pioneering police drama Dragnet along with several motion pictures for Warner Bros.
You can find out more about Patricia Meyer at her website: patriciakmeyerwriter.com
Patricia K Meyer
Women in Film
Panel Moderator & Speaker
About the Film Festival
Now in its 15th year, the Sioux City International Film Festival is the longest running festival in Iowa, showcasing short films from all over the world and will run October 3-5, 2019. Its mission is to promote independent films and filmmakers to the people of Sioux City and the surrounding region, connecting those filmmakers to the community through unique events.
2018 FIlm festival winners
FILMS FROM GERMANY AND IOWA WIN TOP HONORS AT LOCAL FILM FEST
The 14th annual Sioux City International Film Festival (SCIFF) closed with an awards program in which “Meer bei Nacht” (The Sea at Night), a drama by German filmmaker Kim Fabienne Hertinger, won the judges’ grand prize, and “The Happiness Machine,” a documentary shot in Iowa by Rebecca Blumhagen, won the festival’s top audience choice award.
The award-winning films were among 60 selections from 18 countries and 21 states that were screened over the five-day festival, which also featured workshops and appearances by Hollywood directors Ron Clements, John Behring, John Musker, and Marty Iker.
The best-attended festival event was a Disney-sponsored screening of “Moana” at the Orpheum. After the movie, Clements and his co-director John Musker gave the audience a behind-the-scenes look at how the film was made. They signed hundreds of autographs for fans of his movies, which include Disney classics “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid.”
Other festival awards include:
Local Film Showcase, Audience Choice: “Hidden Treasures Among Us,” by Sue Headley, Sioux City,A
Documentary Shorts, Audience Choice: “The Happiness Machine,” by Rebecca Blumhagen, New York, NY
Documentary Shorts, Jury Choice: “The Happiness Machine,” by Rebecca Blumhagen, New York, NY
LGBTQ Shorts, Audience Choice: “Heather Has Four Moms,” by Rani Crowe, USA
LGBTQ Shorts, Jury Choice: “Summer,” by Pearl Gluck, USA
Comedy Shorts, Audience Choice: “Baggage,” by Andi Behring, Los Angeles, CA
Comedy Shorts, Jury Choice: “Sac de Merde,” by Greg Chwerchak, New York, NY
Animation Shorts, Audience Choice: “Sonder,” by Neth Nom, San Francisco, CA
Animation Shorts, Jury Choice (Ron Clements & John Musker): “Negative Spaces,” by Michaela Wadzinski, Lincoln, NE
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shorts, Audience Choice: “Mi-Fi,” by David Mair, Vadnais Heights, MN
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shorts, Jury Choice: “Last Tree Standing,” by Agnes Peck-McGregor, Australia
Drama Shorts, Audience Choice: “Meer Bei Nacht” (The Sea at Night), by Kim Fabienne Hertinger, Germany
Drama Shorts, Jury Choice: “Meer Bei Nacht” (The Sea at Night), by Kim Fabienne Hertinger, Germany
Festival Grand Prize: “Meer Bei Nacht” (The Sea at Night), by Kim Fabienne Hertinger, Germany
For the fourth year, Pepsi of Siouxland was the festival’s primary sponsor. Other sponsors include Walt Disney Animation Studios, the Gilchrist Foundation, Great Western Bank, State Steel, KCAU-TV, Produce Iowa, the City of Sioux City, Jolly Time Popcorn, Walmart, and Wayne State College.
About the Sioux City International Film Festival
The Sioux City International Film Festival, now in its 14th year, showcases outstanding short films from the around world. In 2016, the festival became a registered non-profit organization, the Siouxland Institute of Film, Inc. The Festival’s name was changed from the Siouxland Film Festival to the Sioux City International Film Festival to better reflect the organization’s mission: bringing the world’s movies to Sioux City.