Is West Chester’s film scene on the rise? This month’s 20th annual festival brings a record number of submissions to a screen near you
Later this month, viewers will be able to watch a smattering of short films from filmmakers near and far.
About 20 years ago, filmmakers Greg Stees and Aldous Davidson were NYU students, putting together Stees’ senior project in his hometown in New York. It was the first time Davidson portrayed the fictional aspiring rapper Merman.
But later this month, the two will be in Davidson’s hometown of West Chester, showing Z-Mile, their horror comedy short film that stems from that initial project during the 20th annual West Chester Film Festival.
“It’s really cool to have that full circle moment,” Stees said.
Z-Mile, in which aspiring rapper Merman makes his way through a desert wasteland armed with a baseball bat and CD burner, is one of more than 70 short films spanning genre and country of origin that will play over the three-day festival. It kicks off Friday, April 24 at 5 p.m.
The festival, which had its humble beginnings in 2003, is an entirely volunteer-run event. It started with a group of friends sitting around a bar, thinking there should be something like it in West Chester to show that there was a market for a theater and arts environment in the borough, said Victoria Rose, treasurer and director of sponsorship.
Its early days were guerrilla style, held in the back rooms of local businesses and empty storefronts. The volunteers would be running around town, cleaning out vacant spaces and patching windows with blackout paper. Rose recalls one early year, when one volunteer was lifting their kid up to plug a gap in the blackout paper as a wayward beam of light blotted out the screen during the first screening.
This year, that once-small festival saw a historic amount of submissions: 300 from 46 countries.
“The films really evolved from when it first got started. It was more local. But we’ve made a lot of relationships with filmmakers around the world over the years,” Rose said. “Now we’re getting so many unsolicited films that are just absolutely shining examples of the genre.”
The festival will offer roughly a dozen Oscar-nominated and shortlisted films, international films, local films, films that have never been seen before, or creations from kids under 18. Each submitted project is screened and, once selected, they’re judged by an independent jury of filmmaking professionals.
The films are each less than 30 minutes, and run in 90-minute blocks followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Each block will show a variety of genres, from drama to animation. Most of the films will be screened at Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center. Local businesses, such as Side Bar & Restaurant and Mayday Coffee Shop, will also host events. An all-access pass — for the screenings and parties — runs just under $200. But for an a la carte option, tickets for screening blocks are between $12 and $15. Workshops are $10.
Friday will kick off with a horror block, and the weekend will end with a “Best of the Fest” event and closing party.
One block, in partnership with Chester County History Center, will show 45 minutes of films and a special retrospective on the festival. A panel of art curators, historians, and community leaders will talk about the county, in celebration of the 250th anniversary.
“I always tell people, if something’s not your style, go out, grab a drink and come back in and it’s a new film,” Rose said.
And the festival isn’t just for showing movies; it’s also about celebrating the community, Rose said. They’ll have networking events and panels throughout the weekend. She’s seen filmmakers hit it off and collaborate years later, with that project submitted for consideration. She’s seen young filmmakers go on to work with professionals.
“It’s really great to see this community continue to build over the years,” she said.
For the filmmaking community, there’s something special about experiencing the films together, Stees said.
“Making films, your dream is to see it with an audience, share your story with other folks, especially in the live setting. I certainly don’t take it for granted these days,” he said.
It’s especially so for Davidson, who found the festival after he and Stees were submitting a different project to film festivals. Now based in Los Angeles, he wondered if there might be something close to home. Lo and behold, there was. He submitted Z-Mile on the last day of the submission period, writing in his cover letter it was a hometown dream to show the film there.
“It’s cool, we’re both going to fly back for it. My parents still live in the area, and they’re going to come see it, so it’ll be super, super cool,” Davidson said. “I’m just excited.”
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