Nat Dykeman started the Lake County Film Festival in 2004 for a simple reason — there wasn’t a way for Lake County residents to see independent films without leaving the county.
“This was the DVD era, and I’d get people telling me about a great movie, but I’d never heard of it. It had never been shown in the theater here,” he said. “There were no independent theaters in Lake County when I started.
“I decided I would try to change that. I wanted a way for people to see these films that they otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to see — or they’d have to drive into Chicago to see them.”
While the movie-viewing landscape has changed drastically in the last two decades, the festival’s mission remains the same — to introduce more people to the work of filmmakers who deserve to be seen on a big screen.
“It’s not about showing the same movies you can watch at home,” Dykeman said. “We show movies that you can’t see anywhere else, and I think what we’re doing is more important than ever and more interesting than ever.”
This year’s festival, which runs Nov. 4-14, is held primarily at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, with some additional showings at the Gorton Center in Lake Forest.
For the first time, Dykeman will be holding a student film competition to kick off the festival on Nov. 3. Two collections of films will be shown — narratives and documentaries — and a jury will award the winning student a $250 cash prize.
“I’m hoping to increase the educational opportunities at the festival,” Dykeman said. “We did a couple of seminars last year, and this is our first student film competition. These are short films, and they’re free, so it’s a good way for these students to get their work shown.”
The festival itself includes submissions from both Chicago-area filmmakers and those from around the world. One of the show’s headliners is “Jacir,” the debut feature from director Waheed AlQamasmi, which follows a Syrian refugee who starts a new life in Memphis.
Jacir must navigate a new world as he struggles with poor English, a rough job, a new love interest, an ICE agent and a nosy neighbor played by Oscar-nominated actress Lorraine Bracco.
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“Provo” is the debut feature from award-winning Chicago filmmaker Emma Thatcher. It tells the story of a self-destructive ex-Mormon living in Chicago who discovers her estranged father is dying in Provo, Utah. The film follows her road trip to Utah as she deals with a difficult past.
Another Chicago-centric entry is “Relative,” a comedy/drama about three days in the life of a modern American family. The film’s director, Michael Glover Smith, previously showed his film “Rendezvous in Chicago” at the festival in 2019.
“‘Relative’ has been shown at a few other Chicago venues this summer, and it’s gotten rave reviews,” Dykeman said.
Patrick Read Johnson’s “5-25-77? takes place in the spring of 1977, and it follows a sci-fi-obsessed teenager who must choose between making 8 mm films and the girl of his dreams. Through a series of events, he’s able to see an early screening of “Star Wars,” which complicates his decision-making.
On the documentary side, “How (not) to Build a School in Haiti” by Jack Newell follows American contractor Tim Myers, who spends 10 years attempting to build a school in Haiti.
“Back to the Drive-In,” directed by April Wright, looks at the drive-in theaters left in the U.S. and how they responded to the pandemic.
In “The Light We Share,” directors Mattie Waters and Jules Downum follow a Chattanooga-based dance company that received funding to produce a seven-week show. But when the pandemic put an end to live entertainment, the troupe instead focused on telling their own stories.
While many film festivals have a particular theme for their entries, Dykeman said he’s always followed a guiding principle of finding interesting films regardless of genre.
“We’ve never had any particular kind of focus, and that’s by design,” he said. “I like that there are all kinds of movies that appeal to a wide variety of tastes.”
After two years of mostly virtual showings, he is excited to see people back in the theater again.
“For me, the online festival was not enjoyable. It’s not something I want to do,” he said. “What I do feels special because people are going and seeing movies in a community setting. So I’m really glad we’re not doing any online component this year. We want these movies to be seen in a theater with people.”
Lake County Film Festival
When: Nov. 3-14
Where: The College of Lake County, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake; and the Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest
Tickets: Short films: $5; Feature films: $10; day passes for Saturday and Sunday showings: $20; Weekend passes: $35; full festival pass: $50
Information: lakecountyfilmfestival.orgcq
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.