Thursday, August 22, through Sunday, August 25
Downtown Davenport IA
Short works, feature-length offerings, comedy classics, documentaries, an awards party, and a Q & A with Midwestern success stories are just some what film fans can look forward to at this year's Alternating Currents festival, with more than two dozen screenings and events scheduled at three downtown-Davenport locales.
The Figge Art Museum (225 West Second Street) kicks off Alternating Currents' movie-themed lineup on August 22 with the Azubuike Urban Film Festival, designed to provide a creative channel allowing kids to express themselves constructively, non-violently, and with increased confidence. A 5 p.m. reception will be followed by the screening of participants' short films based on the practice that storytelling is one of the most powerful forms of communication. On August 24, talents from Rock Island's Fresh Films company will present a day-long filmmaking camp for ages 13 to 18, teaching the ins and outs of movie production as participants create short films about Alternating Currents artists and events. At 4 p.m. that Saturday, the Figge hosts a screening of the new, independent horror comedy Overdue – the tale of a mild-mannered custodian who doubles as a library's vengeful overdue-book collector – followed by a Q&A with the film's writer/director and Iowa native Stephen Folker.
Meanwhile, on August 25, the Figge serves as host venue for the 2019 Alternating Currents Film Festival that boasts screenings of student films, shorts, and experimental works, and that ends with nearly $1,000 in prize money awarded to those scoring first-place citations from a panel of local filmmakers. This year's student films include: Copper Harrison's Age; Paris Davis' Coming Out Straight; Vanessa Banks' The Wright Future; Angel Reighard's What Have I Done; Amber Krieg 's and Caroline Breitbach's A Love Affair (in Brief); Jonathan Quigley's Katie; and Marit Mei-tsan Stafstrom's Orchid. The included shorts are: Eric Lang's Special Delivery; Chris Alan Evans' Sad Man's Club; Courtney Grawe's Paths of Misfortune; Michael E. Berg's S3rial; Bruce Bales' Delineation; Marissa Vonn's Knee High; and Jessica Bursi's Meet Uncle Paul. And this year's linesup of experimental works features: Xiaoqing Sun's Don't Drink Water from Electronic Ocean; Seth D. Myers' and Sarah Stolar's Bella; P. Sam Kessie's and Lane M. Wooder's Mother of All Time; and Charles Borowicz's Placenta Et Al.
A filmmakers' meet-and-greet will be held at the Figge at 5 p.m. on August 23, and beyond the museum's events, Alternating Currents will continue its celebration of cinema with screenings at two downtown venues. Davenport's Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel (303 East Third Street) houses an August 23 screening of the 1966 cult classic Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, with running comedic commentary by comedians Donny Townsend, Chris Schlichting, and Andrew Stuart Cline. And at the neighboring Kilkenny's (300 West Third Street), two classics from the mid-'80s will be screened on Friday and Saturday: the beloved teen adventure The Goonies at 9 p.m. on August 23, and the iconic comedy Ghostbusters at 9 p.m. on August 24.
For more information on film events at this year's Alternating Currents festival, visit AlternatingCurrentsQC.com/film.
