The St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase (SLFS), an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, serves as the area's primary venue for films made by local artists. With advances in affordable digital filmmaking, more and more movies are being made in St. Louis and environs, but opportunities for moviegoers to see that work are scarce, because few of the films ever screen commercially. SLFS frequently provides the only chance area filmmakers have to display their talents on the big screen. Participating filmmakers have included students, film hobbyists, and seasoned professionals.

Cinema St. Louis has presented the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase since 2002, taking over from the now-closed St. Louis Film Office, which inaugurated the event in 2001. During its existence, SLFS has shown nearly 500 films with St. Louis ties. SLFS is held at the Tivoli Theatre in the vibrant Delmar Loop entertainment district. A carefully renovated art-deco theater from the 1920s with a 440-seat main auditorium, the Tivoli is regularly voted St. Louis' favorite theater in the Riverfront Times' annual "Best of St. Louis" poll.

• SLFS screens works that were written, directed, edited, or produced by St. Louis natives or those with strong local ties.
• SLFS annually features 15-20 programs over five days, ranging from full-length fiction features and documentaries to multi-film compilations of fiction and documentary shorts.
• SLFS includes post-screening Q&As with filmmakers and offers lively seminars on the moviemaking process.
• SLFS hosts a closing-night party at Blueberry Hill that features announcements of SLFS films chosen for inclusion in the St. Louis International Film Festival and awards given by the St. Louis Film Critics.

Tickets

Tickets for film programs at the Tivoli are $10 each; $8 for students with valid and current photo ID and for Cinema St. Louis members with valid membership cards. Advance tickets are on sale now at the Tivoli Theatre box office (5-10 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday). Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis. No phone sales, but tickets can be purchased online (see below).

Online Ticket Sales: Tickets may also be purchased in advance at http://www.landmarktheatres.com/tickets/. There is a $1 per-ticket service charge. You must pick up your tickets at the Tivoli box-office window. Bring the credit card that you used to purchase the tickets and the confirmation number. Online sales are limited to full-price tickets only. Cinema St. Louis member and student discounts can only be obtained in person at the box office because ID is required.

For more information, call Chris Clark at 314-289-4152 or e-mail chris@cinemastlouis.org

The films

• About A Girl directed by Michael Dorn
• After Thoughts directed by Anthony Sanchez
• And Seven Hours Later... directed by Lynelle White
• Battle of the Sexes directed by Hybrie Brownlee & Jarohn Johnson
• Being Born is Marvelous directed by Denise Ward-Brown
• Black Thorn directed by Josh Rolens
• The Blind Date of Coffin Joe directed by Raymond Castile
• Con Brio directed by Ben Hill Triola
• Continue Courageously directed by Tom Barry, Bryan Stevens & Suzy Farren
• The Death of Roger directed by Andrew Ritter
• Donnie Baker & The Pork Pistols: Live directed by Jay Kanzler
• Down the Rabbit Hole directed by Dana Hildenbrand
• Electrical Storm directed by Ryan Doris
• Ella Se Cayo De Cada Montana directed by Jacob Taylor
• The Ending directed by Lauren Staebell
• Evil Gal directed by Denise Ward-Brown
• Flamingo directed by Michael Speckart
• Gabriel and Romy directed by Sam Zvibleman
• Game of the Year directed by Chris Grega
• Have A Nice Day directed by Jason Britton
• Hope and Expectation directed by Chuzen Jalipa
• How I Got Lost directed by Joe Leonard
• I Always Wanted to Be A Teacher directed by Denise Ward-Brown
• Illinois Wants Me directed by Tim Maupin
• Isis directed by Denise Ward-Brown
• It's Not Me, It's You directed by Doc Crotzer
• Just Shy of Being directed by Derek Elz
• The Last Legend directed by Brant Hadfield
• The Life of James C. Holmes directed by Zlatko Cosic
• Life On The Edge of A Bubble: Blowing the American Dream directed by William Lewis
• Love Lost directed by Jay Kelley
• Lutz Bacher: Spill directed by Ben Kaplan
• Mei Artis, Mei Mundus directed by Rachel Kingen
• Ninjas Protest Pirate Festival directed by Jeremy Corray
• The Oberserver directed by David Uthus
• Oranges directed by Whitney Gelnett, Emily Hatcher
• Paving the Way directed by Brandon Wade
• People On A Row directed by Nathaniel Calvert
• Playing Dead directed by Mike Rohlfing & Carey Keane
• Ragman directed by Dale Ward
• Remember to Forget directed by Param
• The Rink directed by Ronald Butts
• The Rotten Corpse directed by Meatloaf Productions
• Salad Daze directed by Randy Prywitch
• Shadowland: Beneath the Soil directed by Brian Wessel
• The Sharp Edge of Revenge directed by Dan McGee
• Slice of Pie directed by Tim Reischauer
• Spaces directed by Zlatko Cosic
• Street Preacher directed by Brian Spath
• Sweet Revenge directed by Nick Young
• Tantalus directed by Matthew Rice
• Tarantula Consciousness directed by Nate Callaghan
• Theodore: Recording Defeated, TN directed by Aaron Robertson & Justin Johnson
• They Came From Above The Sea directed by Stephen Jones
• Third Times A Charm directed by Wilson Wood
• Unreal Housewives of Kansas City directed by Jon Davis
• The Weed directed by Elliott Geolat
• When the Body Speaks directed by James Freivogel
• William Clark: The Further Journey directed by James F. Scott
• You Got It Dude directed by Ryan Doris & Sean Gartner

The seminars

Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar Blvd.
10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Free Filmmaking Seminars: Working St. Louis filmmakers share their practical and professional experiences in four free seminar sessions.

10:30 a.m.-noon
Down on the Ground with "Up in the Air":
A look at the St. Louis film community's experience with a major-studio production.

12:15-1:45 p.m.
Why Go to Film School?
Film and media professors from area colleges and universities discuss their programs and the benefits of taking film classes.

2-3:30 p.m.
Feature-Film Distribution Out of St. Louis:
Local filmmakers who produced/directed narrative features the past few years provide updates on their distribution experience.

3:45-5 p.m.
Earning a Living as a Filmmaker in St. Louis:
A look at the variety of film-related "day jobs" that local filmmakers work when not pursuing personal projects.