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LIVINGSTON - The Cheap AF Film Festival is coming to Route 66, and area filmmakers are invited to submit their work for the chance to win $500.
From 7–9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, the first annual Fall Film Festival will premiere at 600 Livingston Avenue in Livingston, Illinois. This free event encourages the community to come out and judge ten short films. The winning filmmaker will take home a trophy and $500 and have the chance to host their film on the Cheap AF Videos website.
“This is for any filmmakers. We’re trying to focus on the Route 66 area,” explained Cheap AF Videos founder Tony Allen. “We’re just trying to highlight the filmmakers around the area here.”
Any filmmakers from around the Route 66 region can submit their work for the chance to be featured at the festival. It costs $16 to submit a film, or $7 for students. Films must be less than ten minutes long, including credits, and rate at a PG-13 level or less. Filmmakers must be present at the event to win.
“It’s very exhilarating to watch a film that you’ve made with a crowd,” Allen added.
The film festival is free to attend, and attendees will be voting on the winner “like an American Idol situation,” Allen said. There will be water, popcorn and candy available for purchase.
Allen explained that he has submitted his work to film festivals before, and he loved participating as a contestant. He decided to host the Fall Film Fest so he could share that experience with other local filmmakers.
“It just was really fun for me and it was very inspiring and motivating,” he remembered. “It was nothing I had ever tried before, and it came out great, and it just made me feel so good to have that done. I just wanted to try to spread it to other people — and the possibility of winning $500.”
Cheap AF Videos plans to host another film festival in the future, which may expand to include R-rated films or focus on the horror genre. But in the meantime, they’re excited to share the work of local filmmakers on Oct. 5. All films must be submitted by Sept. 29, 2024, to be eligible for the contest.
The company also has a website where they host independent movies, short films and television shows. They hope to eventually have a subscription service where the filmmakers receive a cut of the profits. Allen is particularly excited for the upcoming movies “The Thing: Expanded” and “Memory Card,” which will be available for download on CheapAFVideos.com.
“More than anything, we want to fund people’s creative projects. We’re just hoping to fill this site up with as many independent creative projects as we can,” he explained. “Everybody can be successful at this with just what they’ve got…You just have to have vision, you have to have drive, and you have to have passion. I really believe that.”
You can showcase your vision, drive and passion at the Fall Film Fest in Livingston on Oct. 5, 2024. For more information about the festival, including how to submit your work, visit CheapAFVideos.com/FilmFest.
“It should be a lot of fun,” Allen added. “Either submit a film or judge a film. Come out, eat some popcorn and have some laughs. Support some independent filmmakers.”
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