A celebration of local arts and culture is set to take over downtown Ames this weekend. The city will play host to not one but two festivals on Sunday: the 55th Octagon Arts Festival and the inaugural Ames Documentary Film Festival.
Eric Smidt, vice president of marketing and communications at the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, saw Ames as the perfect place to start a film festival, given the city's connections to a university and its vibrant Main Street. That's why he stepped up to become executive director of the city's first documentary short film festival.
Soon after taking on the role, Smidt said he was inspired to pair the festival with the popular annual arts fair hosted by the Octagon Center for the Arts.
“We're kind of following the Des Moines Arts Festival and Interrobang model a little bit, in that it's not a film festival that needs to stand on its own, but it complements what's already happening here in Ames,” Smidt said.
The one-day documentary film festival takes place at the Ames Public Library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is open to the public. Whether attendees pop in for just one film or stay for the whole program, no tickets or reservations are required.
The lineup features 11 shorts, all under 40 minutes, and includes films from four countries and four states. Smidt said the festival team wasn’t sure how many film submissions they would receive in their first year, but they ended up with about 40 to choose from.
“For year one, we had no idea what to expect,” he said. “We didn't know how many submissions we were going to get. We didn't know the types of films or the quality of films that we'd get, and I'm really excited about the 11 films that we're able to show.”
The short films were selected by a jury of 13 community members, who screened and judged each submission. The finalists fell into four categories: Iowa film, student film, international film and best overall film. The top documentary in each category will be awarded a small cash prize.
Smidt said each of the winners are worth watching, but pointed to one in particular that made an impression on him.
“The Land We Fight For, which is a story about the Ukrainian war, but actually doesn't showcase any of the war — it showcases more of a civilian story and the impact of the war,” he said. “It was really well done, and it was easy to engage with.”
The film follows two 67-year-old farmers who once served in the Soviet Army but now live separate lives — one in Estonia, the other in Ukraine. As Russia’s war in Ukraine bleeds into their everyday existence, they're left to defend their land and the freedom they once fought for.
The Land We Fight For was one of three international submissions, and was also awarded the Best International Documentary prize by the festival jury. Smidt said a local Ukrainian representative will attend the festival in person on behalf of the filmmaking team.
Other local filmmakers with shorts screening at the festival will be in attendance, including Smidt himself, whose latest project, Urban Mining, will play on Sunday. Smidt has been making documentary films for over a decade but said starting the film festival helped renew his passion for storytelling.
“Documentary filmmaking is certainly top of mind for me,” he said. “I like telling stories that have this national impact, but they also have local ties.”
His film, which traces the extraction and refinement of rare earth elements from discarded devices through the supply chain, shows how global systems rely on technology that was developed right down the street at the Ames National Laboratory.
Smidt is looking forward to welcoming festivalgoers to the inaugural event, and encourages individuals at the arts festival to stop in the library to check out a different form of art on the big screen.
Ames Documentary Film Festival Schedule
Block One | 10 - 10:58 a.m.
Giving Back Breath*
The Congress
Henry Knox: Resolved Forged by Revolution
Block Two | 11:21 a.m. – 12:39 p.m.
Urban Mining
Keeping the Bees*
The Elk
Block Three | 1:02 – 2:36 p.m.
The Dying Business*
Resilient Roots: Food and Community in Marshalltown
The Land We Fight For*
Block Four | 2:59 – 4 p.m.
Middle Grounds
MOMdeszoon: A Mendeszoon Family Story
*Award winners:
- Best Documentary Film - The Dying Business
- Best Iowa Documentary - Giving Back Breath
- Best Student Documentary - Keeping the Bees
- Best International Documentary - The Land We Fight For
