Hobnobben Film Festival builds on 2016 success
After a successful first year, Fort Wayne’s Hobnobben Film Festival is back and bigger than before.
For those who missed it last year, Hobnobben is a multiday, multivenue “explosion of the art of film in downtown Fort Wayne,” explained Jonah Crismore, executive director at the Cinema Center, which helps coordinate the event.
“It’s really kind of crazy there wasn’t a film festival of this size already in the region,” he said. “A big part of why we took on this project was to really kind of create that film festival experience for northeast Indiana.”
The festival offers dozens of films from June 15-18, ranging from the dramatic to the lighthearted.
Films were submitted months ago and initially screened by two separate groups, Crismore said. Programming chairs then watched the best-rated films to whittle it down to the final list.
A lot of factors went into selecting the chosen films, Crismore said. Hobnobben members wanted to highlight Indiana filmmakers and also include a variety of films, especially for the Short Haul exhibition, where the films range from three to 24 minutes.
“We tried to curate it so there’s a flow and so that we’re also showing off the talent that is going to be there,” Crismore said.
In addition to submitted films, there will also be the Eye-Opening Film exhibition, which will showcase films that have been showing in festivals such as Sundance and Toronto, and the Shine On exhibition of films from the Children’s Film Festival in Seattle.
There was also a focus on nonfiction film, Crismore explained, with several offerings that will even have members of the film crew in attendance.
This offers an opportunity to show off Fort Wayne as well, he said.
In addition to the wide array of films, there will also be panel discussions and networking sessions for filmmakers.
“One of the reasons we call it Hobnobben is to expose the art of filmmaking to the community and to encourage more filmmaking,” Crismore said. “There are a lot of pockets and groups who are all filmmaking throughout the region who don’t know what others are doing. This way they can come to one place and be forced to interact, learn about other projects and find opportunities to collaborate.”
Also expanding this year is the festival’s block party, now named Blocknobben, which will take place the Friday evening of the festival.
The block party will include seven to 10 local breweries, food trucks and an arts marketplace for Fort Wayne and Indiana artists, Crismore said, as well as a showing of “No Country for Old Men” with a score performed by Ben Larson.
Also taking place will be the Film the Fort project, a 48-hour film project that will turn “the Arts United Plaza into a movie set,” Crismore said.
“Teams are given list of things they have to (include in their films) and they have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit the film,” he explained. “We’re doing that so people can see film crews running around like a scavenger hunt and make the art of film a little more alive.”
Last year’s inaugural Hobnobben Film Festival saw about 2,000 to 2,500 guests, Crismore said, and he hopes this year will be even more popular.
“We had a preview party May 11 where festival passes were available and people were buying them like crazy to get into anything they want,” he said. “We want to become a cornerstone for the arts festival landscape in Fort Wayne.”
HOBNOBBEN FILM FESTIVAL
June 15-18
General admission, single-screening tickets
Adult: $10
Kids 12 and younger: $8
6-pack tickets: $50
Awards ceremony: $20
Saturday awards package (6-pack tickets and awards ceremony): $60
Festival passes
Prices are for tickets purchased during indicated dates
Now-June 11: $89
June 12-15: $99
For more information, including a schedule, visit hobnobben.org
