The spotlight will be shining on independent cinema from both the St. Louis area and around the world this weekend. Now in its third year, the Always Late TV Movie Awards will take over the Hatheway Cultural Center on the campus of Lewis & Clark Community College (5800 Godfrey Rd.) in Godfrey, Illinois (about 35 minutes from the Arch, just north of Alton) for a weekend of screenings, improv comedy, awards, and even a red carpet.
Now in its third year, the festival has seen explosive growth, more than tripling the number of submissions received between year one and year three, with countries as far flung as Australia, New Zealand, and Nepal represented among this year’s featured nominees. That’s right: nominees, because not only are a selection of featured films screened for audiences, there’s also an awards show honoring the very best of the fest in 23 different categories. “We’re not just a film festival,” says the Always Late TV’s director, Kevin Edwards, “we’re a celebration built by filmmakers, for filmmakers, and for every movie lover out there.”
The first day of the festival is jam-packed with a full 12 hours of screenings. The first block runs from 8:00am to 6:30pm and features dozens of entries ranging from feature films to shorts to animation to music videos. The festivities break for a one-hour improv comedy showcase called “Help Choose Uncle Ricky’s Mafia Heir!” from 7:00 – 8:00pm, followed by one final block from 8:30 – 10:30pm featuring three more film shorts plus Dark at the Top of the Stairs, a feature-length horror film directed by Alton’s own Wyatt Weed and Gayle Gallagher that is in the running for four awards including Best Feature Film and Best Actor in a Feature Film. Sunday kicks off with another improv showcase from 4:00 – 5:30pm, this one modeled after Whose Line Is It Anyway? but fed off audience suggestions. Next comes the red carpet, followed by the award ceremony, which starts at 7:00pm and is hosted by actress, model, and improv comic Caterina Clayton and actor John Lehr, known for the TBS comedy 10 Items or Less and as the star and co-creator of the Hulu Western series Quickdraw.
Admission to the event is free (as is the parking!), though tickets are available via FilmFreeway. A more detailed schedule and summaries of the film lineup are posted to alwayslatetv.com. And if you miss out on the fun, hopefully this year’s ceremony will be added alongside the last two on Always Late TV’s YouTube page. | Jason Green
