Branded feature by Content Studios Omaha.
Omahans watching the Oscars on April 25, 2021,brmay have recognized the film that won “Best Animated Short.” The 12-minutebrmovie—“If Anything Happens, I Love You”—premiered at Omaha Film Festival.
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That film was one of thousands that have shownbrin the Big O over the last 18 years during the event, which started in 2006 andbrdraws filmmakers, and film aficionados, from Omaha to Italy.
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Nathaniel Hoff, an LA-based filmmaker and one half of the band The Bergamot, is anbradvocate of the event, and the city. His film, The State of the Unity,brshowed at OFF 2023. “It looked like a good film festival, it seemed like a goodbrscreening location with good connections,” Hoff said.“We liked that thebrlocation was close to downtown, close enough that transportation wasn’t goingbrto be an issue. We wanted a festival in the middle of the country where webrcould showcase our film.”
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The film revolves around how the band, comprised ofbrHoff and wife Jillian Speece, and their touring vehicle reframe the way peoplebrperceive and understand unity. That unified, community spirit is also cultivated bybrOmaha Film Festival.
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“I think when we had the idea to do this, webrassumed we’d have films from Nebraska, Iowa, maybe Kansas, maybe South Dakota,”brOFF executive director Marc Longbrake said. “When we opened it, we had filmsbrfrom 20 countries—we had hundreds of films submitted—and then we had anbropportunity to go through and pick out what we thought were viable screeningbropportunities.”
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The festival, which this year runs Feb. 27brthrough March 3, is a live event that allows people to watch narratives,brdocumentaries and shorts.
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“You’re sitting there with a group of peoplebrenjoying what’s being presented together,” Longbrake said. “That broadens thebrexperience.”
Filmmakers engage with the audience in a Q&A.
The festival also enables one to talk to peoplebrinvolved in the movies about the filmmaking process. About 70% of thebrfilmmakers, such as Hoff and Speece, attend the festival to premier theirbrfilms, glean an audience reaction and speak.
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“We had a packed house, was a true delight andbrhonor,” Hoff said. “An audience member said his heart had changed and he wasbrlooking to give back. And there’s no better way to do that than throughbrmusic.”
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The conversations didn’t stop there.
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“I met Mike McCallie at the after-party thatbrfollowed our screening,” Hoff said. “He later called and said ‘what if Ibrbring you back?’ So we came back and did a special show at Reverb Lounge tobrperform the soundtrack of the film.”
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Connections are also started via the festival’sbrscreenplay competition. The competition has been a part of OFF since the firstbryear, and now, scenes are acted from parts of the winning screenplays.
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“Last year we had a standing-room-only situationbrfor our writer’s theater,” Longbrake said. “Ten bra.m. on Saturday morning, you wouldn’t think a bunch of people wouldbrwant to come out and listen to a bunch screenplays being performed, but it wasbran amazing experience.”
OFF staff introduce the movies.
The members of The Bergamot fondly speak ofbranother annual aspect of OFF.
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“OFF Academy was one of my favorite things,”brSpeece said. “This was the only (festival we’ve attended) where they brought inbrstudents, we loved it … They filled a room. We did breakout groups, so we gotbrto teach at our table. It was so cool to engage with the students in this way.”
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OFF Academy has become a unique tradition at OFFbrthat has impressed teenagers and industry professionals alike.
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“Many many years ago, we had a teacher down inbrKansas who would bring 50 students in a charter bus to OFF, and they wouldbrparticipate in the festival,” Longbrake said. “For the most part they werebrcoming to get out of school and be educated and entertained…She did that forbrmany years, and she’d try to fill the daytime (during the week the festival isbrin the evening), so they were going to museums and other theaters and gettingbrbehind the scenes looks. We got to talking about why doesn’t the festival providebrsome kind of educational outreach to this group?”
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The answer to that question became one of thebrmost popular, and exclusive aspects, of the event. It is open only to students,brtheir instructors, and the out-of-town filmmakers who teach the craft to thebrstudents.
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“We didn’t realize those filmmakers are comingbrback and saying ‘that was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had,’”brLongbrake said. “‘All of a sudden, I’m Martin Scorcese or Brad Pitt, people arebrlooking at me like I’m a big deal.’ That really validates what they’re doing.brThat validation is a big reason why filmmakers are here.”
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Visit omahafilmfestival.org for morebrinformation.
