Film festival headed to Lima

LIMA — After a successful debut last year, the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival is moving to a larger venue.

The Northwest Ohio Film Foundation will present the festival July 6 to 8 at the Veterans Memorial Civic Center in downtown Lima.

“We are looking to expand the film festival and we just thought that Lima would be a great fit for us,” said Len Archibald, festival executive director.

The festival was held at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Van Wert last year. The festival has expanded and evolved into a three-day screening for feature-length films and shorts of all genres. Along with the Civic Center, the festival will also use Encore Theater and ArtSpace/Lima.

While the festival needs a more technically adept facility and the capacity to reach a greater audience, Archibald is committed to keeping the festival in the same region it was created in.

“We believe that this event is a tremendous addition to the community,” he said. “The film festival has garnered tremendous support from both the national and international film communities. We have an exciting reason to be here, and we intend for the festival to bring tourism dollars to the area from patrons globally.”

The film festival receives submissions from filmmakers across the United States, and all over the world, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and others. Past participants included award winning, critically acclaimed filmmakers Glenn Berggoetz and Wapakoneta native Theodore James, whose works have screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Again, local talent will be highlighted.

“It is super important that we highlight local talent,” he said. “There is a lot of ridiculously talented people in Lima and the Northwest Ohio region. The festival is a good foundation to build up that support and talent.”

This year's festival will expand its high school films, including having Lima Senior High School students help judge them. There will also be a new panel of filmmakers under the age of 21, and a boot camp for students interested in making movies.

The film foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes the culture of cinema through screenings, workshops, networking and the promotion of future filmmakers and media artists from Northwest Ohio.

For information about the festival, visit http://nwoff.org.

You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.