We’re pleased to announce that Jack Forey, director of TERPSI’S CATCH, which is World Premiering Friday, October 7th will be attending the festival! Here’s a bit about him:

Jack Forey is a writer, filmmaker and founder of the recently established SwissFrench Films. He previously worked for the Daily Nebraskan as a film critic, and is currently working on several series for the SwissFrench YouTube page, including “Politics N’ Beer,” and “Ben’s Basement.” This is his first submission to PLFF.

Come check out the World Premiere of TERPSI’S CATCH on Friday, October 7th and then stick around for a Q&A with Jack, who will be participating in a Q&A with the other Flat Water Terrors directors!  Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, and free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show after party on Saturday, October 8th!

We’re pleased to announce that Joshua Weixelman, co-director of LOVE BITES, which is World Premiering Friday, October 7th will be attending the festival! Here’s a bit about him:

We’re excited to announce that BANJO LOCO and AUSTIN FRIESEN will be performing at the Bonzai Beach Club Wave Pizza Company Saturday night Prairie Lights after party! Bonzai is located just 2 short blocks from the theatre and all Weekend Pass Holders will pay no cover charge to get in! The festivities will begin when Day 2 closes at 10:30pm Saturday, October 8th. Caravan over to Bonzai for some great local Nebraska music and even greater 25% discounts on food and drinks for Weekend Pass Holders. If you haven’t got yours yet, get em right now for just $10.00! Here’s a little about the bands:

BANJO LOCO is a two man electric banjo pop-rock hit machine! Bluegrass Today says:  “This slightly odd, banjo-fusion duo performs primarily rock and pop covers, along with some original numbers, on a a pair of electrified banjos. Matt plays the five string, with Troy on a custom banjo bass.”

AUSTIN FRIESEN  is a 22 Year old Lincoln, Nebraska HipHop Artist/Producer/Songwriter who has a number of albums and whose music videos have been directed by filmmakers who have screened right here at Prairie Lights!

Prairie Lights would like to thank Brent Lindner of Bonzai and Sin City Grill for not only being a great sponsor of Prairie Lights but for putting on this rad after party for Prairie Lights attendees! Enjoy some great World Premiere films Saturday night and then head out to Bonzai for great eats, drinks, and music!

Don’t forget, all Weekend Pass Holders get in at no cover charge! Pick up your tickets right now for just $10.00!

The special guest announcements will not stop! We’re pleased to announce that Patrick Lambrecht, director of LOVE BITES, which is World Premiering Friday, October 7th will be attending the festival! Here’s a bit about him:

We’re stoked to  announce that Sam Rocha, Director of THE BAGMAN , World Premiering at this year’s PLFF will be attending the festival and doing a Q&A. Here’s a little about him:

Sam Rocha is an aspiring filmmaker from Omaha, NE.  He has been an avid horror movie fan from a very young age.  This genre influenced his style and his ability to think outside the box when it comes to creating, and in turn, paved the way for his own interest in videography to develop further.  

 

He has produced numerous music videos for various types of musicians and artists, many whom became regular customers, providing them clean, crisp visuals with his own creative flair and storytelling added to the mix as needed.  Sam also has four short films under his belt at the time of this writing.  Most of his shorts have been horror themed, which he filmed and directed, going back to his roots and original fascination with movies; though he has also delved into the comedy movie scene with one venture.  He has done video work for the local television program, “Dr. San Guinary’s Creature Feature”, as well as commercials and other video work for local businesses and a non-profit organization.

 

Sam is self taught and has an intense passion for learning all of the tricks of the trade, bringing his interest and hobby to a professional grade level of work, which has proven over time to only get better.  He plans to continue building on this foundation to provide nothing but quality entertainment to the audiences eagerly awaiting his next visual masterpiece.

We’re stoked to  announce that Justin Senkbile, Director of YOU’RE WELCOME , World Premiering at this year’s PLFF will be attending the festival and doing a Q&A. Here’s a little about him:

Justin Senkbile writes and makes movies and lives in Omaha. He is a former film critic for The Reader, NET Radio, and a contributor to various other publications. “You’re Welcome” was filmed in downtown Lincoln in March 2016.

Come check out the World Premiere of YOU’RE WELCOME and then stick around for a Q&A with Justin, who will be participating in a roundtable discussion with many of the other filmmakers in the short film block!  Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, and free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show after party on Saturday, October 8th!

We are stoked to announce that Nebraska artist Michael Burton will have two short animated films screening at PLFF this year! GROUNDING and NO ORDINARY PEOPLE will be added to the Saturday afternoon short film block. This adds to the proud tradition of animated films being shown at Prairie Lights and goes to show that every type of film artistry is in full display here in Nebraska. You can click the video above to learn more about Mr. Burton and here’s a quick synopsis for GROUNDING and NO ORDINARY PEOPLE.

GROUNDING:  An animation that attempts to draw parallels between our current digital revolution and the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad in 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah.

NO ORDINARY PEOPLE- HERBERT HEYWOOD: An animation seeking to recover a small part of Herbert Heywood’s story, a child laboror working in cotton mills in Fall River, Massachussets.

Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show afterparty on Saturday, October 8th, and much more!

The Guest filmmakers keep coming! We’re proud to again announce that Benito Garcia, Director of WALK A MILE and SKELETON DANCE, both World Premiering at this year’s PLFF will be attending the festival and doing a Q&A. Here’s a little about Mr. Garcia:

Benito Garcia, the co-owner of WETWORKS SFX STUDIOS, has been working in the local film industry for several years. Only recently has he began writing and directing. His love for the cinema shows in his devotion and dedication to his company and producing great special effects and movie makeup.

Come check out the World Premieres of WALK A MILE and SKELETON DANCE and then stick around for a great Q&A with Mr. Garcia!  Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show after party on Saturday, October 8th, and a free DVD sampler (if ordered by September 4th) of local films!

We’re excited to announce that Tom Lombard, director of JESSE’S CHILI will be attending PLFF and participating in the Short Filmmaker Q&A session on Saturday! JESSE’S CHILI is Tom’s first film ever and we’re stoked to be World Premiering it! Here’s a bit about Tom:

Having been involved with various functions of live theatre for 6 deca… several years, I’ve often wondered about the film end of things. My first exposure came with Community Watch a few years ago which led to The Wolf’s Robe. At that point, I was pretty hooked. Then came the trip to GI and Prairie Lights Film Festival last year. As I came away from that, the wide eyed 2 year old in me boiled over as I found myself jumping up & down with clinched fists yelling “ME WANNA DO IT!!!”. So I did it. Armed with some great mentoring, an amazing cast, a script that came from… I dunno where it came from, and a disregard for letting technical details and conventions get in the way (HINT – don’t stop watching just because the closing credits appear to be over), Jesse’s Chili was born. At this time, I’m showing tremendous restraint in staying focused on the last bits of cleanup (meh, as clean as I’m gonna) on JChili while very consciously keeping plans for my first feature length on the back burner. As well as the thoughts on the couple of additional shorts I wanna do before that feature. And the couple of other features I wanna do after that one. I know I can stop after those. Maybe. See what you started Mat? Thanks.

Come check out the World Premiere of JESSE’S CHILI and then listen to how this rad film was made! Tom will be participating in a Q&A on Saturday so don’t miss it!  Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show after party on Saturday, October 8th, and a free DVD sampler (if ordered by September 4th) of local films!

We’re excited to announce that Brandon Fix, director of CYBERBOY will be attending PLFF and participating in the Short Filmmaker Q&A session on Saturday! Here’s a bit about Brandon:

Brandon Fix is a Nebraska native and grew up in Lincoln Nebraska. As a boy he immediately knew animation, filmmaking, sparked a passion and drive into becoming an animator. He began learning animation by watch and studying character movements in slow playback. Years later he obtained a collage Bachelor’s Degree in Media Arts- Animation, currently has 14 years in working in animation, started personal production studio: FixProductions, completed a series of short animated projects. The latest: “Cyber- Boy the Animated Series”, which set to have its full pilot launch in late 2017. Brandon’s other passions are staying active and healthy and spending time with his family, which are represented serval times in Cyber- Boy.

Come check out the World Premiere of CYBER-BOY and then listen to how this rad film was made!  Head over to the Tickets page and pre-order your Weekend Pass for the low price of $10.00 to see this and a ton of other awesome Nebraska films! All weekend passes come with free popcorn and soda vouchers, discounts to local restaurants, free access to the Bonzai Blowout rock show after party on Saturday, October 8th, and a free DVD sampler (if ordered by September 4th) of local films!