Moxie to show free local filmmaker series

The Moxie Cinema has partnered with the Missouri Film Alliance to air a free five-month film series dedicated to area filmmakers.  The first of the Queen City Cinema series starts tonight.

The series will take place every first Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. at the Moxie, 431 S. Jefferson Ave., according to a news release.

The first set of short films will include "oops," created by Drury University graduate Chris Beckman. The 10-minute film - made entirely of YouTube video segments - was selected to be a part of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and placed first in the experimental video category of the Vimeo Awards, held last October.

The Queen City Cinema series kickoff also will include the short films:

• "This is the Orange Line," by Nathan Maulorico, a nine-minute film about the Chicago Orange Line L Train;
• "One Piece at a Time," by Max Rosen, a nearly 10-minute short about a man and his mail; and
• "Loose Cannon," by Brook Linder, a 20-minute film about a cop avenging the death of his partner.

"While the Internet offers amazing opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to show their work, there is something powerful, something irreplaceable, about a roomful of people watching film on a big screen,” Mike Stevens, Moxie executive director, said in the release. “We think these films, and these filmmakers, deserve that.”

The Moxie and Springfield-based Missouri Film Alliance are calling for submissions from filmmakers to be dropped off at the Moxie for consideration in the series.

"The hope is that a recurring event might provide an incentive for people to go ahead and finish that project, or even start one,” Steve Olson, president of the Missouri Film Alliance," said in the release. “By offering these free screenings, we hope the community will discover the quality work that is being done in the region.”

Donations will be accepted but are not required.

The Moxie is owned by nonprofit organization Downtown Springfield Community Cinema, which falls under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.[[In-content Ad]]