The American Presidents Film & Literary Festival will take place Sept. 25 – Oct. 3, 2021 in Fremont, Ohio, home of America’s first presidential library. This new film festival focuses on the American Presidency through the themes of people, places, politics, and power.
Filmmakers of all ages and skill levels, from emerging to seasoned, are invited to submit a film to the festival and can do so at the Film Freeway here: filmfreeway.com/AmericanPresidentsFilmandLiteraryFestival.
2019 Sneak Peak
“This is the only festival that is devoted to the issues of social and political importance about where we came from as a country, where we are going and the people who brought us here through the American Presidency.” – Kirk Ellis, screenwriter for the HBO miniseries “John Adams” and 2018 Keynote Speaker
Film Submission Information
2021 Keynote Speaker
Arthur “Chip” Bok Editorial Cartoonist
Through Los Angeles-based Creators Syndicate, Chip Bok’s cartoons appear worldwide in publications including The Times of London, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time, and Newsweek. Bok, a graduate of the University of Dayton, has also authored two cartoon history books: Bok! The 9.11 Crisis in Political Cartoons and A Recent History of the United States in Political Cartoons: A Look Bok!.
Bok came from Miami, Florida to the Akron Beacon Journal as staff editorial cartoonist in 1987. His work has earned him numerous awards, which include; Best Editorial Cartoonist 1995, 1999 (National Cartoon Society), Berryman Editorial Cartooning Award 1993 (National Press Foundation and the H.L. Mencken Award 1993 (Free Press Association).
Bok was also a finalist for a 1997 Pulitzer Prize. In 2008, Chip Bok gave a lecture on political cartoons as part of a NEH educational program at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums.
Chip Bok’s keynote speech will focus on the role that the press, specifically political cartoonists, play during a presidential administration. Using a variety of cartoons created by himself, as well as other cartoonists, Bok intends to discuss the political nuances displayed in the artwork. He will also emphasize the 2020 election and the events of January 6, 2021.
Bok’s talk is made possible through a grant from Ohio Humanities as part of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums’ “The Press & The Presidency” exhibit. Hayes Presidential is one of the partners organizing the film festival.
Ohio Humanities is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed by this exhibition do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
2018 People’s Choice Award Winners
The 2018 People’s Choice Film winners tell us why they love the American Presidents Film & Literary Festival.
2019 Judges
Holly Hey
Professor of film and video production, University of Toledo
Filmmaker
Holly Hey is currently a professor of film and video production within the Department of Theatre and Film. She is also the head of the film program. Hey has a master of fine arts degree in film making from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in photography from Ohio University.
Her work has screened at professionally recognized festivals including The Aesthetica Short Film Festival – York, UK; the Ann Arbor Film Festival – Ann Arbor, Michigan; the Athens International Film and Video Festival -– Athens, Ohio; the Mix Festival – New York; the Onion City Film Festival – Chicago; the Denver International Film Festival; and the Vancouver Queer Film and Video Festival, among other national and international venues.
Hey has also had her short documentary, “Rat Stories,” distributed through The National Educational Television Association. “Rat Stories,” a 30-minute documentary, undermines stereotypes about rats to examine the importance of human connection. NETA distributes content for PBS licensees and educational entities in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Hey is an “undependent” filmmaker and an experimental weaver of media who strives to provoke active relationships between her cinematic art and the diverse audiences that it reaches.
Tammy Kinsey
Professor of film, University of Toledo
Filmmaker
Tammy Kinsey is the Faculty Advisor for the UT Film and Video Society. She was named a UT College of Arts & Sciences Master Teacher for 2009-2011. Kinsey teaches such courses as experimental film, advanced 16mm production, optical printing, documentary field production, film/video workshop, film censorship, The YouTube Phenomenon: Cinema in Cyberspace and history of video art.
Kinsey joined the University of Toledo Department of Theatre and Film in 1997. She has a master of fine arts degree in photography and film from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Virginia Tech.
Her research interests include visual language, experimental and documentary film making, arts censorship and issues of representation in popular culture.
Kinsey’s films have been screened in such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Anthology Film Archives in New York, the Kaunas Biennial in Lithuania, SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco, the Telluride Experimental Film Festival, London’s Exploding Cinema, the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
Kinsey’s written work appears in many publications, as well.
Craig Shoup
Reporter and columnist, Fremont News-Messenger
Craig Shoup is a 2009 graduate of Bowling Green State University, where he majored in broadcast journalism and minored in film studies.
He is currently a reporter with the News-Messenger in Fremont, a Gannett newspaper, and writes an entertainment column “Reel Talk.” He has worked for Gannett newspapers since 2014.
“Reel Talk” features takes on current movies, Hollywood trends and Shoup’s thoughts on the industry. Columns feature topics including Academy awards preview and predictions, the #MeToo movement and inclusion among female actors and directors.
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