Nearly 30 films to be showcased at returning Peoria film festival

PEORIA ( 25News Now ) - The Big Picture Film Festival is back at the Peoria Riverfront Museum this weekend after a four-year hiatus.

Put on by Big Picture Peoria with the help of a Business of Art grant from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, the festival will showcase Midwest talent this year.

Big Picture Co-Founder Doug Luenig said this year's event will be bigger and better than ever before.

"In 2018 and 2019 we were pretty local, but this [festival] is reaching out to filmmakers in Chicago, St. Louis, and a 200-mile radius around Peoria," Luenig said.

Twenty-eight films made by 61 artists will be screened on Saturday night. Luenig said in a community like Peoria, they saw a need to show off local filmmakers again.

"Visual artists get all kinds of shows throughout the year, but film artists don't get that," Luenig said. "We're really excited to bring this collaborative effort to bring filmmakers together."

Program Director Allison Walsh said the last festival was international, but this year she and the organizers wanted to make the event more accessible for people to attend in person.

"We really wanted to make sure that we played films from filmmakers who would be able to drive here and be able to come to the festival so that way we can talk to them afterward, ask questions about their films, and ultimately, build stronger relationships," Walsh said.

Walsh said artists benefit from meeting other artists. Organizers hope the festival is a place where people can network and start collaborating.

"There are filmmaking and art communities [here], but not all the time everyone knows each other," Walsh said. "We just really want to create an environment where people can break out of those silos and meet people that they've never worked with before."

The festival begins Friday night at Distillery Labs with a free artist panel discussion and experimental film screening. Films will start screening Saturday at 3 p.m. The price for a festival ticket is $15.

There will also be an after-party at Zion Coffee Bar following the main event Saturday night.

Films will be able to win eight different awards, including cash prizes.

Those interested can visit Big Picture Peoria's website for tickets and more details.