Festival Info
The 5th Annual Victory International Film Festival will be at Showplace Cinemas East and Downtown Evansville from September 12-14, 2024. Our three day festival celebrates film and the community of Evansville. This year we will screen 65 films from 26 countries. Attendees can expect red carpet events, panels and workshops from industry experts, special screenings, premieres, and films from around the corner to around the world. Filmmakers are in competition for one of our awards and honors including our Audience Award which will be decided at the festival by attendees! On Friday the 13th we will have a special 25th Anniversary Screening of “The Blair Witch Project” followed by a Q&A session with producer Gregg Hale.
Our Official Selections include full length features, shorts, comedies, dramas, sci-fi, horror, documentaries, animation, student, inspirational – essentially every genre of film to fit all tastes. Our sponsors include Stella Artois, the City of Evansville, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Bravo Media, and the Indiana Arts Commission with the Southwest Indiana Arts Council as our Regional Partner.
2024 Tickets are $10 for any single night, $25 for a full festival pass, or $100 for a VIP full festival pass. For purchasing information and links visit our ticket page. We invite you to follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for the latest news and updates and please SHARE this event. Through your participation and word of mouth we want to see this festival grow bigger and better every year. For questions please email us at victoryiff@gmail.com or message us on Facebook. We hope to see you downtown September 12-14!
Our festival begins with an Opening Night Celebration at Showplace Cinemas East. Doors will open at 6pm where you can walk the red carpet and get your photo taken in front of our festival backdrop, then enjoy a cocktail, beverage, or concessions before the show. The main event will begin at 7pm where we will have a short presentation on the festival and what is in store over the next two days. This will be followed by screenings of some of the festival’s best short films that cover a wide range of genres to give the audience a taste of the selections being shown at this unique community event. An After Party will follow where you can relax, enjoy a beverage or cocktail and speak with a filmmaker or two!
On Friday evening we return to Showplace East for a special 25th Anniversary Screening of “The Blair Witch Project.” This indie horror film changed the face of the industry with its low budget, high returns, and thrilling plot. After the movie attendees will be treated to a Q&A session with film producer Gregg Hale. Film guru Ted Haycraft will lead this portion of the evening with information about the making of the film and questions being taken from the audience.
Our Registration and Headquarters at Encounter Church (317 Main Street) will open at 10am on Saturday the 12th. Guests can pick up or purchase their passes at this location, which also serves as one of our screening rooms. The Films will roll at 11am at all three of our locations: Encounter Church, Innovation Pointe (318 Main Street), and Old National Public Theatre (2 Main Street). Panels and Workshops will begin at 11am and will run through 6p. Screenings on Saturday will cease at all locations at 7pm, but the day does not end there. All guests of the festival are invited to attend our Awards Ceremony at Encounter Church at 8pm. See who wins one of our awards, including the Audience Award which is decided by YOU! An After Party will follow at Arcademie (22 NW 6th Street).
Tickets are available now at victoryiff.com/tickets. We invite you to follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates about what is in store at our inaugural event.
Hours of Operation
Opening Night Celebration – Thursday, September 12
Our Red Carpet will begin at 6pm on Thursday at Showplace Cinemas East (1801 Morgan Center Drive). Tickets will be available for purchase or, in the case of pre-sales, pick-up at the ticket windows. Festival Passes are not for sale at the Victory during the Opening Night Celebration, only tickets for the Thursday night event. See the Tickets & Passes section below for more information. An After Party will follow the event at the theater bar just off of the lobby at the cinema.
Blair Witch Screening – Friday, September 13
The film will roll at 7pm at Showplace Cinemas East. At approximately 8:30pm Ted Haycraft and producer Gregg Hale will begin the Q&A session. There will be some background about the making of the film and then questions will be taken from the audience.
Full Day – Saturday, September 14
Our Headquarters at Encounter Church (317 Main Street) will open at 10am. Passes & Credentials will be for sale or pick-up at that time. Screenings at all of our locations will begin at 11am. Printed schedules will be available that list screening times and locations, or download our festival app in the App Store or Google Play. Screenings will end at 7pm with our Awards Ceremony beginning at 8pm at Encounter Church. An After Party will follow at Arcademie (22 NW 6th St).
Tickets & Passes
Tickets to the Opening Night Celebration, 1 day, or 3 day passes can be purchased on the tickets page. Anyone that pre-buys a ticket to the Opening Night Celebration, or a 3-day pass, will pick up a ticket at Showplace on Thursday, September 12.
Full Schedule
We will have a full slate of films and many panels and workshops scheduled for our three day run. With 65 films from over 20 countries being screened, workshops, discussions, award ceremonies and after parties this will definitely be a busy, fun time! You can also access our full schedule in our festival booklet or download our festival app in the App Store or Google Play.
Content Warnings:
L – Language
V – Violence
N – Nudity
S – Sex Act
T – Trigger Warning
MC – Mature Content
Showplace Cinemas East
6:00pm Red Carpet Opens for Networking & Photographs
7:00pm Film Screening Begins
9:00pm After Party at Cinema Bar
Showplace Cinemas East
7:00pm-8:30pm 25th Anniversary Screening of “The Blair Witch Project”
8:30pm-9:30pm Q&A with Producer Gregg Hale
Encounter Church
11a-1p
Three Colours – Dir. by Lana Gredelj
Foodlife – Dir. by Kyle Hufford
Beyond Silience – Dir. by JP Susantio
Voice Ever – Dirs. Celine Perreard, Pauline Archange
Pasture Prime – Dir. by Diffan Sina Norman
Essex Girls – Dir. by Yero Timi-Biu
Muna – Dir. by Warda Mohamed
1p-3p
Sack Race with Knives – Dir. by Jordan Barclay
Dangerous Plants – Dir. by Louisa Royer
Shalal – Dir. by Amir Ali Sisipour
Thunderbird and Killer Whale – Dir. by Jason Cheng
Business Trip – Dir. by Gerardo Coello Escalante
Je Suis Elodie – Dirs. by Tabs, Breese, India Wadsworth
Boi De Conchas – Dir. by Daniel Barosa
3p-5p
She (Snake) – Dir. by Renee Zhan
Leave – Dir. by Rama Sardar
Matta and Matto – Dirs. by Bianca Caderas, Kerstin Zemp
Three – Dir. by Amie Song
Floodplain – Dir. by Samuel Diaz Fernandez
Bird Drone – Dir. by Radheya
The Masterpiece – Dir. by Alex Lora
5p-6:30p
What Lies – Dir. by Hannah Johnson
Recaptured – Dirs. by Matt Tarr, Chris Turley
Terra Mater – Dir. by Kantarama Gahigiri
Memories of an Empty House – Dir. by Bruno Carnide
Been There – Dir. by Corina Schwingruber Ilic
Another Eight Seconds – Dir. by Keith Malloy
The Dick Andy Show – Dir. by William Andrews
8p-9p
Awards Ceremony
Innovation Pointe
11a-1p
Factors (V,L) – Dir. by Thomas Bernardin
Two Pine: Collage – Dir. by Thomas Bernardin
The Long Drive (V,L)- Dir. Matt Tarr
Bug Diner (S,L) – Dir. by Phoebe Jane Hart
Dreams Like Paper Boats (MC)- Dir. by Samuel Suffren
Bye Bye, Bowser (MC) – Dir. Jasmine Baumgartner
Border Hopper (L)- Dir. by Nico Casavecchia
Gunslinger – Dir. by Lincoln Reed
Latte for Jim (L) – Dir. by JJ Zink
1p-3p
The Man (V) – Dir. by Joe Jourdan
Sawo Matang (L) – Dir. by Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto
Racing to Respond (T) – Dir. by Lizzie Costello
As Easy as Closing Your Eyes (N,L) – Dir. by Parker Croft
Basri & Salma (L) – Dir. by Khozy Rizal
3p-5p
Me and My Shadow – Dirs. by Shalyn Grow, Asya Hildenbrand
Phoebe (L) – Dir. by Vaggelio Soumeli
Miisufy – Dir. by Liisi Grunberg
27 (L,N) – Dir. by Flora Anna Buda
Train of Joy (V,T) – Dir. by Jordi Boquet
Guts (L) – Dir. by Margaux Susi
Scraps – Dir. by Ryan Nordic
5p-7p
Jerry and the Plant (L) – Dirs. by Boston Cain Scarwath, Maria Kasesalu
Hawthorne – Dirs. by Josh Chitwood, Morgan Chitwood
Dona Beatriz Nsimba Vita (V,N) – Dir. by Catapreta
Bob’s Funeral (L,N) – Dir. by Jack Dunphy
An Artist’s Curse (V,N,T) – Dir. by Stephen J Mihaljevich
The Soul in My Head (T) – Dir. by Jung Jen Pao
WNIN
11a-1p
Reinita – Dir. Mariana Canelones
Pears (L) – Dir. Ryan McCurdy
Mystic Tiger (L) – Dir. Marc Martinez Jordan
Land of Lincoln (L) – Dir. Jack Dunphy
1p-2:55p
Lifeless: A Musical Zomedy – Dir. Christopher Shawn Shaw
New Fears Eve (V,L,T) – Dirs. PJ Starks, Eric Huskisson
2:55p-5p
Compression (L,V,N,S) – Dir. Jakob Bilinski
5p-7p
Salone Love – Dir. Tajana B. Williams
Calls (V,T) – Dir. Brandon Keeton
The Depths (V,L,T) – Dir. Tristan Reed
Arcademie Bar
9:00pm After Party Begins
Innovation Pointe
11am – 12:30pm Acting Workshop with Jim Dougherty
1pm-2pm A Conversation with McManus Woodend
3p-4p Producer Chat with Gregg Hale
5p-6p Promotion & Distribution of Your Film with Paul Nethercott
Locations
We will be at multiple venues over the course of our three day festival. Explore the tabs below to see where we will be, and what you can enjoy!
Our Opening Night Celebration will be at Showplace Cinemas East (1801 Morgan Center Drive) on Thursday, September 12th. Walk the red carpet beginning at 6:00pm with the event beginning at 7:00pm. Single night tickets to the celebration are available online or through the Showplace box office. More information on ticket options are available by clicking on “Tickets” in the menu bar above. All VIP and multi-day credentials will be available from festival representatives in the lobby.
Encounter Church (317 Main Street) will serve as our base of operations for the festival. While not open on Thursday or Friday, registration will be in the first floor lobby on Saturday. You can purchase passes here and WNIN but you can only pick up pre-paid credentials at this location. In addition we will be using the second floor space as one of our screening rooms. The church will also serve as the location for our Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening at 8pm.
The Old National Public Theatre inside the WNIN Public Media Center (Two Main Street) features a 48 seat cinema style theatre, stadium seating, and Christie Cinema Digital Projection. It will serve as one of our screening rooms all day on Saturday.
Located in the heart of Downtown Evansville, Innovation Pointe (318 Main Street) is a high-tech business incubator managed by the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership. We are using the Media Suite on the 1st Floor as a screening room on Saturday. We will have our panels and workshops in the Co-Work Space located on the first floor on Saturday – check our full schedule for time and topic.
After our Awards Ceremony, join us as we celebrate the close of our inaugural festival. We have chosen Arcademie (22 NW 6th St) as the back-drop for our final event of the festival. This downtown neighborhood arcade bar is located just off Main Street and features light fare, a wide variety of wines and spirits, iced cold beer, great cocktails and classic arcade games with a friendly local face. With filmmakers elated after receiving their awards, and a full bar, this is sure to be a great way to wrap-up this exceptional event.
Event Map
We have designed our festival to highlight our Downtown District – a vibrant and convivial environment for residents and guests to Evansville. By spreading out our locations we hope that attendees will appreciate all the area has to offer. Please use our event map to navigate between our screening rooms and event locations.
Transportation
Evansville is an active ride share community with drivers for Uber and Lyft. Just download the app on your smart device to secure a ride. Evansville also has multiple taxi services but must be booked in advance by phone or their website. Google “Evansville Taxi Service” to see options.
