Cinema St. Louis Presents 14th Annual Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase July 13 – 17

The 14th Annual Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. The Showcase screens works that were written, directed, edited, or produced by St. Louis natives or films with strong local ties.

The 16 film programs that screen at the Tivoli from July 13-17 serve as the Showcase’s centerpiece. The programs range from full-length fiction features and documentaries to multi-film compilations of fiction and documentary shorts. Many programs include post-screening Q&As with filmmakers. There are 94 films in this year’s event.

The Showcase also hosts a free closing-night awards party on Thursday, July 17, at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room. KDHX-FM DJ Rob Levy will spin music, and Cinema St. Louis will announce the Showcase films chosen for inclusion in the St. Louis International Film Festival. Juried awards for the best Showcase films will also be given. Complimentary beer is supplied by Stella Artois; cash bar for all other drinks. Attendees must be 21 or older.

Highlights of this year’s Showcase include the following:

A Portrait of St. Louis at 250 Years. In the late 1800s, films were direct representations of life – a train entering a station, workers leaving a factory – and by the 1920s, a whole genre of cinema documenting daily life had emerged: the so-called city symphonies. In honor of the 250th birthday of St. Louis, this film offers a contemporary take on the city symphony, providing an elegant and loving collective portrait of some of the people and places that make up our city. This film, directed by Eric Wilkinson for the Missouri History Museum, is our closing-night feature presentation.

Elegy to Connie. This touching and unique documentary, directed by Sarah Paulsen, employs stop-motion animation to address the events leading up to and following the Kirkwood City Council shooting, as retold by a group of unintentional women activists who are bound together by their friendship with slain Councilwoman Connie Karr. Made in collaboration with these women, the film addresses the complicated issues surrounding the shooting – citizen representation, disenfranchisement, white privilege, alienation, post-tragedy healing – and celebrates Connie’s legacy as a leader.

When the Saints. This thought-provoking documentary, directed by Dan Parris, is the story of one man’s mission to fight sexual exploitation in the heart of Malawi, Africa. Beautiful, honest, and compelling, the film challenges viewers to care about justice for girls who are trafficked in rural Africa and to examine the ways we all either dignify or exploit our brothers and sisters.

A Short Life. A documentary directed by Derek Phillips about four young people and their battle with heroin as told through the experience of their parents.

Against All the Odds. This informative documentary, directed by Sandra Pfeiffer, tells the story of East St Louis, an historically rich city in which the African-American population has survived some of America’s most gruesome historical events. The film uses candid interviews, rarely seen archival footage, and traditional jazz and blues recordings to provide a unique perspective on the city and its people.

A Dungeon Master’s Guide to Life. Christopher Bruemmer directed this comedic narrative feature about a down-on-his-luck dungeon master whose life spirals downward when his best friend starts dating the only girl they know.

Tickets for film programs from July 13-17 at the Tivoli are $12 each; $10 for students with valid and current photo ID and for Cinema St. Louis members with valid membership cards. Advance tickets are on sale at the Tivoli Theatre box office (4-10 p.m. Monday-Friday and noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday). No phone sales, but tickets can be purchased online at tickets.landmarktheatres.com. There is a $1 per-ticket service charge; online sales are limited to full-price tickets only. The closing-night awards party is free and does not require tickets.

The Whitaker Foundation serves as title sponsor for the 2014 Showcase. The foundation’s twofold mission is to encourage the preservation and use of parks and to enrich lives through the arts. By supporting excellence in the arts, the Whitaker Foundation promotes art forms and institutions that challenge, entertain, and contribute to our overall quality of life. The event’s other sponsors are the Arts & Education Council, Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Film Office, Regional Arts Commission, and Stella Artois.

For more information, visit www.cinemastlouis.org.

See the full schedule at http://cinemastlouis.org/st-louis-filmmakers-showcase for times and film descriptions.