Arlee Theater film fest weekend wrap-up
[April 25, 2025]
On Friday, April 18 the Arlee held its annual Short Film Fest.
This year, over 130 submissions came in from all over the world, but
only 22 made the cut to be featured. Previous local directors Zayin
Kienzler, Lucas Burlison and Brady Ward returned with new works - Brady
exploring animation in his piece, Short Animations with Little Sense,
Burlison with audience favorite Spoiled Soil, and Kienzler with Crown
Jewel Part III. As this was the conclusion of Kienzler's noir series, a
reprisal showing also happened on Saturday, where all three parts were
screened back to back and the director (along with one of the fellow
stars) offered a Q&A session after the show where he talked about the
making of the series, challenges it presented, and what's next for him
as a filmmaker.
Brady Ward's dad, Justin Ward, took on a new role as a first time
participant in the film fest, with his 52-second-long ocean scene
featuring a poem he'd written. Other works shown at the fest included
Molly's Treasure, a stop motion piece created by a six-student team of
tweens from Turkey, Lego Zombies Containment Breach from a 16-year-old
in Ontario, several animated works from California, Chile & Australia, a
parable about the Universe conspiring to ruin someone's day during the
eclipse from (Illinois native) Purdue professor Jonathan Sullivan-Wood,
an Egyptian documentary about wall restoration, Emmy Award-winning Music
of Hope from Springfield-based Spencer Films, Huck & Jim - a reimagining
of the Mark Twain classic, two music videos, a collection of middle
school student works from Italy, a South African piece about never
giving up, a true story about a father learning to see his autistic son
for the amazing kid he is, and several varieties of thrillers including
Spoiled Soil from Lucas Burlison, which won the People's Choice award
for the evening after a very competitive round of voting.
[to top of second column]
|
Brady Ward (Short Animations with Little Sense), Justin Ward
(Tracks), Zayin Kienzler (Crown Jewel Part III), Lucas Burlison
(Spoiled Soil), Jonathan Sullivan-Wood (Ékleipsis), Frank Tovar
(Huck & Jim) - Photo courtesy of Arlee Theater
The festival is intended to both be a fundraiser for the Arlee's
Volunteer Grant Fund, raising over $200 this year, as well as serve
as a platform to both inspire budding filmmakers and showcase what
people both in Central Illinois and around the world are creating.
"It's fascinating to see what stories are important enough to
someone that they'll take the time to tell them," said founder
Marcia Maxson. "With how advanced cell phones are, everyone has the
ability to make something with just what's already in their pocket.
You just have to have the right story to tell and be willing to take
the time to put it together."
Anyone currently percolating a story is strongly encouraged to start
working on it now, so it'll be ready to be presented on the big
screen in the 2026 Short Film Fest.
[Arlee Theater] |
