The Flyway Film Festival is an annual independent film festival along the shores of Lake Pepin in Wisconsin and Minnesota, United States, held in October. It was founded in 2008 by Rick Vaicius in Pepin,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and has since expanded to include screenings in Stockholm and Alma, Wisconsin and Red Wing and Wabasha, Minnesota. In 2017, Rick Vaicius, Flyway's longtime executive director, departed the organization. A new non-profit and board were established to carry the organization forward. This non-profit, the Flyway Film Society, relaunched the film festival in 2018 under the guidance of interim director Lu Lippold. As of November 2018, Flyway was recognized as a 501(c)(3). In 2019, Flyway celebrates its twelfth year with Diana Masters-Penegor (formerly Vaicius) as executive director.

History

Started in 2008, the Flyway Film Festival screens both short and feature-length films, dramatic, comedic and documentary. Screenings were held at the Lake Pepin Art & Design Gallery 2008 and the Widespot Performing Arts Center in the Historic Stockholm Opera Hall beginning in 2009. In 2012 the festival started to use the new technique of

crowd-funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

to raise the funds for the 2012 festival. The festival hoped to raise $10,000 to cover the travel expenses of 120 film-makers and film experts. They reached their goal that September. The 2008 Flyway Film Festival included notable films such as '' Speedy Delivery'' and '' Older Than America'', an American Indian horror film that premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. It was produced by Christine Walker, who also line produced ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

'', and whose recognitions include a

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...

Diversity Award and the Sundance Producer's Institute Fellowship Award. The 2009 Flyway Film Festival debuted the International Zombie Summit, a genre-specific event of classic and cutting-edge independent zombie films, including ''

Dead Snow ''Dead Snow'' ( no, Død snø) is a 2009 Norwegian comedy horror film directed by Tommy Wirkola, starring Charlotte Frogner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Jeppe Laursen, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jenny Skavlan, and Lasse Valdal. The film cente ...

'', '' Colin'', and '' Redneck Zombies'', while standard programming in 2009 included the Dutch drama '' The Storm'', which was much praised at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

; and

Francesco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role ...

in the short '' The Gnostic''. In 2013 the 50 films screened included '' The Rocket'' and ''

A Field in England ''A Field in England'' is a 2013 British historical psychological horror film directed by Ben Wheatley. The film, shot in black-and-white, is set during the mid-17th-century English Civil War. The film was released on 2013 on multiple platforms ...

''.

References

External links

* Tourist attractions in Pepin County, Wisconsin Film festivals in Wisconsin Film festivals established in 2008 2008 establishments in Wisconsin {{US-film-festival-stub