Alternating Currents to present first film festival

By Jonathan Turner, Entertainment Editor
Dispatch Argus

More than a dozen films — from across the country and by local filmmakers — will be shown Aug. 23-26 in the first Alternating Currents Film Festival, to be capped by a Sunday screening of “A Quiet Place” and Q&A with Bettendorf natives Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

“We have quite a diverse group — people from L.A., Vegas, Colorado, Nashville, Louisiana,” Harry Walker, one of the festival curators, said this week. He noted that most of the entries are short films (under half an hour) and all will be shown for free.

Filmmakers with Q-C connections include Jonathan Burnett, who runs the Urban Exposure Summer Film Program; Robert and Scott Cerny; Joe Zerull; and Bettendorf native Bruce Bales, who now lives in Des Moines.

“I was surprised that we got such a plethora of quality stuff, from all over the country, which is nice,” Walker said. “People are listening; the film scene is rising in the Quad-Cities, which is a goal.”

This is the second year for Alternating Currents, a downtown Davenport festival showcasing music, film, art and comedy at several venues. But there was no film competition component last year, Walker said, noting prizes will be $500 for best feature-length film, $250 for best short and $100 each for best experimental and student films.

Urban Exposure — which teaches filmmaking basics to high-school and college students — will show its projects Thursday, Aug. 23, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. 2nd St. Burnett is an L.A.-based filmmaker and 2006 Rock Island High alum. By the end of the 10-week program, students write, film, edit and present their films to the community.

Read the rest of the story by Jonathan Turner HERE!

Looking for great documentaries, independent, foreign, classic and other noteworthy films in the Quad-Cities area? Visit QCFilmBlog.com for the latest screenings and special film events.