The second annual Ottumwa International Film Festival returns to the Bridge View Center March 20-21 for a two-day celebration of cinema. This year’s program features 18 films ranging from shorts, features, animation and documentaries. It includes projects from local filmmakers in Iowa to international creators from as far as China.
In addition to the screenings, the festival will host a series of Q&A sessions with filmmakers and end with an awards ceremony, where 11 prizes will be handed out.
Festival Director Jason Bolinger said he’s excited to get the second year underway and hopes to see more members of the community attend the event. To him, the film festival gives people a unique chance to experience diverse cultures and art forms, especially through the international submissions.
“It's important to me and our group to just try to get as much culture as we can in this little town,” Bolinger said. “This year, there are a lot more from Iowa than last year. But, being an international film festival, they're coming from all over many countries.”
Bolinger said the 2026 lineup features more local documentaries than last year, which he thinks is a great opportunity to show off the state to visitors. Among the Iowa-made docs is The Collins Story – The Internet Connection, which explores the evolution of a Cedar Rapids technology company that helped shape the internet in the 1970s.
The Q&A sessions are another way attendees can learn something new and hear how movies are made directly from the people who created them. Bolinger said it’s also a beneficial experience for the filmmakers.
"As a filmmaker, it's the best thing, getting to just show your film in a room with strangers and watch and listen to them,” he said. “But then to get the opportunity to talk about your film and answer questions about your film is such a joy, and we're excited to give that opportunity to filmmakers.”
Andrew Paulson is one of the creators returning to the festival for its second year. During the 2025 inaugural showcase, he was awarded Best Comedy, and this year, he has a new project called Ideas 2: Orange Uses AI. The 7-minute animated comedy is about a “nerdy citrus fruit” who tries to use artificial intelligence during a comedy festival.
Paulson, who is based in the Des Moines area, said he appreciates the community that comes together during the festival and enjoys exploring different parts of the state.
“I've been all around Iowa, visiting film festivals here,” Paulson said. “They range from my home area to smaller cities like Waterloo and small hamlets like Corning. My favorite places to watch my stuff are in old theaters or opera houses.”
As the festival weekend approaches, Paulson is looking forward to meeting fellow filmmakers in Ottumwa and making new connections. For Bolinger, that’s a key part of growing the local film scene in Iowa.
“Another great thing that I love about film festivals is that networking opportunity for filmmakers,” Bolinger said. “You can just see them at an afterparty, at the table together, and say, ‘I want to come help you on your film, and you come help me on my film.’”
In addition to running the Ottumwa International Film Festival, Bolinger is a filmmaker and works for the Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress as a digital media specialist. He organized the festival through Partners in Progress mostly by himself but enlisted the help of friends and other film enthusiasts to screen the submitted projects.
Launching the film festival last year was not an entirely new endeavor for Bolinger. He has been running a horror film festival in Ottumwa for over a decade called Halloweenapalooza. Both film festivals are now certified with the state through Produce Iowa.
Despite his success operating the horror film festival, Bolinger admitted that the inaugural edition of the international film festival came with its own struggles.
“The first year definitely was tough and had its challenges,” he said. “It was more of a grassroots thing than I thought it was going to be.”
This year, Bolinger hopes to welcome more Iowans — from Ottumwa and beyond — to watch movies together and build lasting connections.
“I just want to help support the community of filmmakers that I have always been a part of and help bring a little bit of that to my town,” Bolinger said. "It's the arts; it's always a struggle. But it's a good one.”
The festival kicks off with a screening on Friday, March 20, at 5 p.m. and runs through Saturday, March 21, ending with an awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets and the full schedule are available through the Greater Ottumwa Partners in Progress website.
