The 2025 Flatwater Film Festival will be held September 26-28 at the historic Rivoli Theater in downtown Seward, NE.
Please stay tuned until we announce the official dates.
The 2025 Flatwater Film Festival will be held September 26-28 at the historic Rivoli Theater in downtown Seward, NE.
Please stay tuned until we announce the official dates.
SESSION — NIFP’S FISCAL SPONSORSHIP – A PRACTICAL GUIDE
Chad Haufschild – NIFP Representative
Nebraska Independent Film Projects’s treasurer, Chad Haufschild, walks you through how the fiscal sponsorship works, from the application process all the way to receiving disbursement checks. Learn what you need to apply, how and when to use it in your fundraising campaign, how to acknowledge your donors, and what it all means to you at the end of your project. He’ll even have PowerPoint slides!
DIRECTORS ROUNDTABLE
Tom Knoblauch – Facilitator
Gather to experience our roundtable discussion from Nebraska Filmmakers Kaylee Hatfield, Josh Labure, Peter O’Brien, Anna Reed, and Michael G White.
ANIMATION: FROM STOP-MOTION TO 3D ANIMATION
Kaylee Hatfield, Benjamin Reichle, William Reliford — Animators/Filmmakers
Stop-motion animators Kaylee Hatfield and Benjamin Reichle, along with 3D animator William Reliford, will take you behind the scenes of their animated films Take Care and Truth Detector. Get an inside look at the process of creating a story one frame at a time.
MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION: CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCES
Michael G White & Shelby Hagerdon — Filmmakers/Producers
SPEED NETWORKING
Flatwater Team
Are you looking to expand your network and meet new people in the Nebraska film community? Join the Flatwater team for a session of rapid-fire speed-networking! Speed networking is a bit like speed dating for screen practitioners, with a focus on finding your future project collaborators. Meet fresh new faces as well as touch base with old friends.
A non-narrative short film that reminds us what’s left behind never truly goes away.
After meeting a fan, a surly street mime is forced to confront an ever-looming threat that could destroy the only life he knows.
Jim, a former greaser and Linda, his kind hearted bride to be get tangled up in a military experiment that brings out the worst in man… and the end for mankind.
After his young brother’s death, a boy seeks peace in a chaotic home filled with small birds. Based on the short story “The Cowbird and the Baywing” by Calvin Bishop.
The coming out story of a young gymnast whose struggles have helped trailblaze the way for the next generation of queer athletes.
A man struggles to come to terms with his past.
An uplifting, if somewhat surreal, story of life and death… and life. A material disadvantage or uncomfortable position becomes an opportunity for a satisfying comeback.
A man and a woman meet up to exchange a bicycle, but as their encounter unfolds, things may not be as straightforward as they seem.
Will Ziffel and his cat Penny set out to rescue survivors of a crashed alien ship but soon fear for their own survival after encountering a mysterious entity.
When Finn can’t get a word out in front of his high school crush, his playground pals convince him that watching a porno tape will solve all his problems.
Mike had a dream about the end of the world. Another Mike thought that would make a great film. Thirteen years later he got around to making it.
A young man’s obedience to his father is challenged by the latter’s newfound craving for blood.
The film chronicles Nebraska’s Coney Island Lunch Room, a historic diner central to a Greek immigrant family’s American journey, where generations gather to celebrate life.
Coulda Beens & Wannabes tells the tragic story of RIPHOUSE, a metal band from Congers, NY that were on their way to becoming the next Metallica.
Alyssa, a woman who seems to have it all together, struggles to accept her court ordered therapy and the reasons that landed her there.
“Cowboys vs Prairie Dogs” follows British filmmaker Alex as he explores why cowboys hate prairie dogs in a thought-provoking journey through the American Midwest.
French Catholic immigrants, open a restaurant in rural Iowa in 1922 but face Ku Klux Klan harassment and must confront local prejudice to protect their three teenage daughters.
After her friend is assaulted by a powerful man, Jen launches a one-night vigilante mission that leads to a twisted version of justice.
Don, an aspiring writer and hopeless romantic, falls for Ellie. When her childhood cancer returns, Don vows to make the rest of her life as good, if not better, than before.
On January 24, 2022 the Flora Apartments were vacated due to dangerous disrepair, displacing nearly two dozen residents. Look back at what went wrong.
A new Kane Chasers board member upends the organization, pitting young against old. A group of rising operatives must defend their titles and protect their group.
Michael Shiner, an enslaved man at the D.C. Naval Yard, wrote a rare 56-year diary. This film shows the day he saved his wife from notorious slave traders, Franklin and Armfield.
“Jack Kerouac, Jacques Derrida and some Mexican food, plus dancing.” – WWD
Dirt is the literal foundation of our lives—we walk, drive, and build on it. But do we consider the importance of caring for it to ensure a solid base for a healthy future?
“Divisible” is a study on redlining’s history and impacts in the U.S., using Omaha, NE, to illustrate its ongoing harm to communities across various issues nationwide.
A woman comes back to her ex’s apartment to collect her things.
A greenhouse scientist and forest farmer showcase Dutch horticulture—Frank Kempkes with high-tech greenhouses and Wouter Van Eck with a self-sustaining food forest.
After enduring death after death, an immortal witch meets an unlikely friend.
After her father’s tragic death, Madeline convinces her friends to spread his ashes. Unbeknownst to them, a man who preys on the lower class is stalking them.
A couple has an argument on their first day of vacation.
A couple’s dinner date takes a surreal turn as reality and fantasy collide. A simple meal turns into an unforgettable adventure, blurring lines between reality and imagination.
A powerful short film that delves into the often-unexplored consequences of self-harm.
On the eve of a cross-country move, two longtime friends find their relationship to be on the rocks.
Film about a woman that goes on her first trip.
In Paris, a vacationing couple tries to keep refugees one step ahead of a Nazi officer – and their inquisitive, talkative daughter.
A patient struggles to find hope while in a skilled nursing facility during a pandemic.
A stand-up comedian balances his career with relationships involving his ex-wife, manager, best friend, adult daughter, and a potential love interest.
A group of thieves try to steal an expensive artifact.
Two robbers try to deceive a religious cowboy who has just found a huge gold nugget. Pretending to be priests, they hope to convince him to donate his gold to the church.
A young woman wants to have a lover. She sets out on a journey to attract one.
After the disappearance of close friends on her 21st birthday, Isa, driven by misplaced motivation, struggles with the tragedy, impacting both herself and her boyfriend, Liam.
A dejected man makes the ultimate choice. [Winner of the 2024 Flatwater 48-Hour Film Challenge.]
Grief can bring writer’s block or it can set our creative heart free.
Since childhood in the 1950s, John Foster has communicated with otherworldly entities and now channels these experiences into artwork depicting the path not taken.
Although he was dedicated enough to leave his sister’s peculiar wedding behind, Karl does not leave a good impression after arriving at his job interview.
While enjoying a quiet evening at home a man hears mysterious knocking at his door in the middle of the night. When he checks, no one is there.
After a collection of environmental disasters lead society to the brink of collapse a young mother must find ways to survive a near-future apocalypse with her small child.
As rural cobblers retire with no new replacements, Johnny Kolessa is likely to be the last cobbler at Young’s Western Wear.
A college student, Lethia finds herself on a very quiet, empty campus, but why?
After their ride breaks down, two Latina cleaning women are forced to spend the day together in a strange home, learning secrets and truths about themselves and each other.
In a world where people can’t look at each other or they die, two people have unexpected encounter.
Two mob men are tasked to take out one of their boss’s mistresses.
Sometimes the best decisions are the ones you don’t wait for.
May is stuck reliving the same year, trapped in the monotony of her office job and a lonely marriage. Everything changes when a kind moment is caught on camera.
While going through a mid-life crisis, two men rediscover their passion for music through Sound Cloud.
Employees at a dying record production company lean on each other for comfort of all kinds in their unsteady lives.
An injured woman shows up on two guys’ vacation doorstep.
When Sebastian’s missing father’s body is found, repressed memories surface in his dreams. Seeking comfort from friends, he struggles to separate reality from nightmare.
The 230-acre Nine-Mile Prairie is a rare remnant of the tallgrass prairie. Though much has been lost, dedicated efforts are underway to conserve and restore what’s left.
A lonely man retreats to drug induced vivid dreams to live a life of comfort and control, but discovers his real life isn’t all that boring after all.
The Orianne Society has determined the Timber Rattlesnake to be of vital importance to the Appalachian region, yet it is facing tremendous challenges towards its conservation.
Greenways serve as places of recreation and solace for people, transportation for plants and wildlife, and countless benefits for environment and society.
An absent husband returns home to find his house in disarray and his wife missing. As he investigates, he uncovers sinister and supernatural elements at play.
A card game goes array when a player is suspected of cheating.
A heartbroken college boy struggles to cope with a breakup by drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
An observational film following women hunters in Montana, exploring their relationship with public land, conservation, and alternatives to the industrial food complex.
A bereaved elderly man, whose life has fallen apart, finds solace when his deceased botanist wife reincarnates as a sickly plant.
In a world where you can only say three words at a time before the other has to respond, people have learned to adapt.
Formed by Dave and Donette Smith, Ivory Star was one of the most successful rock bands in Nebraska in the 1990’s.
A high school science teacher finds a device that changes his life forever.
Kerry returns to the family farm with a business idea for his estranged brother Thad and discovers he co-owns a rusty old tractor their father bought before his death.
A woman and her family grapple with her husband’s mental decline and his inability to recall details from his past as a football coach during an ongoing investigation.
This is a story about a community of people working together to improve fence lines, so pronghorn and other wildlife can move more freely.
A father struggles to give his daughter a merry Christmas after the death of his wife. Suddenly the man is awakened by a visitor in the night on Christmas Eve.
Monowi, Nebraska is the smallest town in America. Meet its sole resident, Elsie Eiler, who runs the Monowi Tavern and serves as the town’s mayor, clerk, and treasurer.
2 women wake up in the middle of the woods but don’t remember how they got there.
