The largely student-run Foxtail Film Festival makes its debut at the Normal Theater April 27-29. The three-day event, which will highlight the work of high school and college student filmmakers, is under the direction of Dr. Andrew Ventimiglia, an assistant professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. The idea for a regional film festival, Ventimiglia said, has been in the works for a few years but ran into a historic delay.
“Brent Simonds—the festival board chair and program coordinator for the mass media program in the School of Communication—is a documentarian and has long wanted to organize a regional festival utilizing the historic Normal Theater,” Ventimiglia said. “We began thinking about organizing a festival the first semester I was employed at Illinois State, which was fall of 2020. All that planning unfortunately came to a halt due to COVID-19, and we’ve been waiting ever since for the right time to return to the idea.”
Ventimiglia arrived on campus with some experience organizing film festivals. He had been associate director and co-director of The Davis Feminist Film Festival for four years while completing his Ph.D. in cultural studies at University of California, Davis.
“When I was hired, Brent thought it was a good idea to put my skills to use and to try to organize a festival here,” Ventimiglia said.
Ventimiglia didn’t sit idly waiting for the pandemic to pass. He used the time to design the course, COM 334: Film Festival Management and Curation, which teaches students about the history and organization of film festivals. The course also provides students with the real-world experience of organizing a festival—in this case, the Foxtail Film Festival.
“I’ve been teaching the class this semester,” Ventimiglia said. “That’s been the primary location for the development and organization of the festival.”
Named for the foxtail plant, a prolific summer grass found in abundance in Illinois, the Foxtail Film Festival sponsors include: the Illinois State University School of Communication, Before Brand, and the Normal Theater.
Festival attendees can attend workshops, Q&As with filmmakers, and of course, watch films. Among the events will be an appearance by professional filmmakers Griffin Hammond ’07 and Doug Spilatro on April 27. Hammond, a freelance documentary filmmaker, is known for Sriracha, his award-winning film about L.A.’s favorite hot sauce. Spilatro’s visual effects work can be seen in films like Birdman, Fences, The Post, and The Revenant.
Jurors, who are students in Ventimiglia’s class, with guidance from board members, are responsible for selecting the films for the festival. The final day will include a DIY independent filmmaking workshop capped off by awards presentations in the narrative, animated, and documentary categories.
There are a couple reasons that this festival, which will be an annual event going forward, is unique, Ventimiglia said. One is that it’s mostly a student-run festival at every stage of development. The other is the idea of focusing on young regional artists and filmmakers and celebrating their achievements in person. Films will be shown that have been created by artists from all over North America.
“We have films from Illinois high school and college filmmakers, but we also received and will be screening submissions from all over the country and from Canada,” Ventimiglia said. “In addition to our local films, we will show films from Ontario, Baltimore, Maryland, and St. Petersburg, Florida, to name a few.”
Ventimiglia is most excited to watch the films on the big screen with his students because of all the work they’ve put into getting the festival off the ground for this inaugural year.
“Those students in COM 334 are really the ones responsible for nearly everything people will see at the festival,” he said. “They evaluated the films, created the programming blocks, developed social media content, and so much more. I’m excited to show them all that the class work was fundamental to the success of the festival.”
As a teacher, Ventimiglia is also thinking of the practical, long-term impact that planning and hosting a film festival could have on his students in the future.
“I’m hoping that this experience then sets them up to be productive and engaged artists and organizers as they leave ISU and pursue their careers,” he said.
All festival events are free and open to the public. The Normal Theater is located in Uptown Normal, a few blocks east of Illinois State’s Quad.
