While Toledo may lack Spielberg personas and intricate film sets, it provides a fresh outlook on the film industry, which can be a jaded and oversaturated industry in other cities. Don’t be too quick to count it out when it comes to cultivating a film culture.
April will mark the third year of the Tree City Film Festival (TCFF), an event put on by the Sylvania Community Arts Commission in historic downtown Sylvania. SCAC Executive Director Jennifer Archer started the festival to highlight an underrepresented art form in the Northwest Ohio community.
A little bit of everything
The three-day festival will feature a different event each day. On Friday, they’ll show the 2015 Oscar-nominated short films, including the live-action and animated shorts. Tree City Film Festival Chair Joshua Lightle pointed out that this is the second year of showing these shorts, a unique draw for the festival since the closest place to view them otherwise is Ann Arbor, MI.
Saturday will showcase the results of the TCFF 50-Hour Challenge, a competition in which teams of filmmakers write, shoot, and edit a movie in just 50 hours, given a set of prescribed elements. The festival encourages both amateurs and professionals to participate in the challenge. The finished films will then be judged by an independent panel of experts, made up of local citizens who currently work in the film industry.
Junior budding filmmakers will have their chance to shine on Sunday in the Shorties: Shorter Short Film Challenge. Students in grades K-12 submit a three-to-five-minute short film using any digital device, with approved entries shown on the big screen. The festival also sponsored “Shorties U” in March, Lightle explained, a four-day filmmaking workshop taught by local filmmakers to students in 5th-8th grades. The educational element is an important asset to TCFF.
Embracing roots
The Tree City’s film festival is relatively new – Ann Arbor FF is going into their 53rd year – but that certainly doesn’t put them at a disadvantage. Instead of striving to be the next Sundance, they embrace the grassroots attitude that allows them to learn something new each year. “We’re constantly retooling the event in an effort to create something that’s unique for the public,” Lightle said.
And you don’t have to be a movie buff to enjoy the festival, either. “There’s a little bit of something for everyone. All you really have to do is identify with being local and wanting to support local events,” he said.
If that’s the case, the Tree City Film Festival is right for you.
The Tree City Film Festival will take place Friday-Sunday, April 17, 18, and 19 at the Sylvania Historical Train Barn, 5717 Main St. $8/Oscar shorts & 50-Hour Challenge, $3/The Shorties. Tickets available at sylvaniaarts.org/tree-city-film-festival.
