The 2nd-annual Northwest Illinois Film Festival 2022 has been announced and scheduled for screening on June 24 and 25, 2022, at Morrison Technological Institute in Morrison, Illinois.
The film festival, hosted by the Northwest Illinois Film Office (NIFO), celebrates independent filmmakers with ties to Northwest Illinois. This year’s films will be Fourth Wall Films’ award-winning and Emmy-nominated “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” (a docudrama that portrays the true story of the Lane Seminary debates on slavery of 1834); Never Submit Entertainment’s “Without Grace” (a romantic drama with a faith-based undercurrent); and “The Blacklight” (a genre bending thriller from Rockford’s Dashford Media and producer Don Hatton).
Joining the films will be two short films and the introduction of “Chucky Chicken,” a lovable animated chicken character created by Michael Cook from Oswego, Ill., and Valley Studios.
The Northwest Illinois Film Festival 2022 will be held at Morrison Tech, 701 Portland Avenue, Morrison, Illinois and is a free event, but registration is required.
- Friday, June 24th, 7 p.m. — “Sons & Daughters of Thunder,” and an episode of “A Bridge Too Far From Hero Street.” A Chucky Chicken animation will join the screening.
- Saturday, June 25th, 3 p.m. — “Without Grace” and a Chucky Chicken cartoon.
- Saturday June 25th, 7 p.m. – “The Blacklight,” short film “Wolfdog,” and a Chucky Chicken cartoon.
All the films shown have a strong connection to the Northwest Illinois region, with production teams based in Northwest Illinois, and featuring locations from the region, according to a Wednesday release.Gary Camarano, executive director of the Northwest Illinois Film Office, said, “The region has some very talented filmmakers, and we want to celebrate their successes.
“With nearly $500 million in film production last year, Illinois is becoming a major destination for film projects, and we would like to point out the growing activity here in Northwest Illinois,” he said in the release. “We have seen short films, feature films, major studio episodic projects filmed here, and we have a new animated character, ‘Chucky Chicken,’ making his local debut.”
The event is free, but registration is required HERE.
For further information, call 815-772-5182 or visit https://www.nwillinoisfilmfestival.com/.
Fourth Wall Films' "Sons & Daughters of Thunder" is also screening at the Fayette Opera House on June 25th in Fayette, Ohio. For more information on that event, visit Fayette Opera House HERE.
Based on the play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, “Sons & Daughters of Thunder” tells the unforgettable true story of the first-in-the-nation 1834 emancipation debates led by firebrand abolitionist Theodore Weld (Thomas Alan Taylor) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and their effect on a young Harriet Beecher Stowe’s (Jessica Taylor) views of slavery.
The 2019 film was co-produced by Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films and Kent Hawley, and executive producer Kimberly Kurtenbach. Award-winning cinematographer Kevin Railsback served as the director of photography. The film received the Harriet Beecher Stowe Power of Voice Award at the Over-the-Rhine International Film Festival, won seven Iowa Motion Picture Awards, and received three Mid-America Emmy® nominations in 2020, including Original Score by William Campbell of Davenport.
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