Oak Park, IL Film Festival

06/07/2026

Eric is a founding member of the Oak Park Illinois Film Festival. 🎬

Eric values the opportunity to help establish a namesake Film Festival for Oak Park. One that has a good chance of longevity, serve as one of the many hallmark events for the community, and to further platform Oak Park IL and all the talented people connected to it.

With a bachelor’s in comedy and a master’s in journalism focusing on multimedia, he learned videography, photography, and editing skills that he now uses in his business to create affordable multimedia for small businesses.

When it comes to movies, he enjoys those from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
As a fan of the music of that era, he became interested in the production capabilities of that time period- finding it fascinating how a older films were able to create compelling stories despite having less to work with at the time.

06/07/2026

Who's ready for day in our Village? See you tomorrow. :)

06/03/2026

🎬 Filmmakers, this is your sign!!

Submissions for the Oak Park IL Film Festival are OPEN on FilmFreeway!

https://filmfreeway.com/OakParkILFilmFestival ⬅️⬅️

Whatever you've been working on, whatever genre, whatever budget, we want to see it!

Our 2026 festival is accepting submissions across all of the following categories:

🎥 Narrative Feature (over 40 minutes)
🎥 Narrative Short (under 40 minutes)
🎥 Documentary
🎥 Music Video
🎥 Animation
🎥 Teen Filmmakers (ages 13 to 18)
🎥 Young Filmmakers (ages 6 to 12)

From bold features to scrappy shorts, deeply personal docs to fever dream music videos, to hand drawn animation stories that are told by the next generation of OP filmmakers.
Every Oak Park IL voice belongs on our screen!

The only condition is that your film must have an Oak Park IL connection.

An Oak Park Connection can be:

- Producer or Director lives in Oak Park
- An actor that works in Oak Park
- Crew member grew up in Oak Park
- A location in Oak Park
- Film content related to Oak Park

Wondering if you have an Oak Park connection? Shoot us a DM and ask!

Head to FilmFreeway to submit your film today. Don't sit on that hard drive any longer. The world needs your work.

🎟️ Indie Film Festival weekend: September 19 & 20, 2026

📅 Submissions open through July 31

06/03/2026

Great question! 🎬❓

You don't have to live in Oak Park, but you do need an Oak Park connection! Whether you grew up here, filmed here, have a cast or crew member from the area, or your story is tied to the community in some way — that counts. 🙌

We love celebrating the reach of Oak Park's creative community, no matter where you are now!

Submission are open now on Film Freeway 🎞️✨

https://filmfreeway.com/OakParkILFilmFestival

06/02/2026

Joyce is the founder and President of the Board of the festival. 👑 Joyce Porter

She first established herself as an influencer in the culture of Oak Park when she headed the Oak Park Festival Theatre for several years and created new programs still used today. After receiving her M. A. in theater from Northwestern University she became a professor of theater, film, humanities and speech at Moraine Valley Community College.

While there she co-founded the theater department, introduced film into the curriculum, directed plays,
and was on the design team for the Fine and Performing Arts Center.

She took early retirement to focus on acting full time. She is a member of SAG and has acted in over 60
films. An acting highlight was an appearance on Better Call Saul. Her experiences attending film
festivals across the country with “Stairs” an award winning solo film, inspired her to create the festival.

She is also a voice over artist and author, having written “Mastering Senior Life: Thriving and Surviving”
and many letters to editors. She enjoys travel, photography, attending plays and spending time with her
grandchildren and other family members.

Her latest adventure is being a co-producer of “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway and being at the Tonys. She will be filming the lead in the short film “Benny” later this summer.

More information at www.joyceporter.com.

05/28/2026

For the third consecutive year, we're partnering with the amazing Madison Street Theater to bring you the independent film portion of OPILFF. 🎬 ⭐

A space built to create, teach, collaborate, and perform. It's the perfect stage for independent cinema.

Join us September 19 & 20. 🎥✨

05/27/2026

Community call-to-action🎬 Want to be part of the magic? ✨

We're looking for volunteers for the Oak Park IL Film Festival!

The fest is September 16, 19 & 20 but there are plenty of other opportunities to get involved outside of the fest too.

Help us bring incredible cinema to our community and be part of something special.

Link to sign up >> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmJUI1X93RCqmQ1FdSjW_gugYdKu0-NxJ3dpJ6BKnzczsC4w/viewform

05/24/2026

As we head into our third annual Oak Park Film Festival this September, we're thrilled to welcome Katelyn Capri Zenie to the team as our new Project Manager. The festival has grown into a destination multi-day event, pairing a curated slate of independent and Hollywood films that have connections to Oak Park, IL. A format that celebrates both our village's cinematic heritage and the working filmmakers, artists, and storytellers shaping its future. Katelyn joins us at an exciting moment in that growth.

A producer, production designer, and creative project manager based right here in Oak Park, Katelyn brings nearly a decade of experience across film, live events, and marketing. Most recently as Production Coordinator at Chicago's RA Imaging, where she has led large-scale film premieres, coordinated documentary productions featuring A-list talent, and produced a DCASE-grant-winning short film series.

What we love most is her genuine investment in Oak Park's creative community and her vision for our third edition. A thoughtfully programmed weekend that's a great experience for filmmakers, a welcoming gathering for our community, and a meaningful stage for the storytellers in our own backyard. Please join us in welcoming her.

05/21/2026

🎬 Is throwback Thursday still a thing? Throwback to the magic of 2024. 🎞️

Packed theaters, brilliant filmmakers, unforgettable Q&As, and a community that showed up for indie film in the best way possible. Swipe through for a few of our favorite moments from last year's Oak Park IL Film Festival.

The best part? We get to do it all again this September. 🍿

Submission are now open on FilmFreeway: https://filmfreeway.com/OakParkILFilmFestival

05/17/2026

Click this link to sign up as a volunteer for Day In Our Village: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B49A9AB2EA2F49-64069330-dayinour

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BNten1Aky/

🎬 Calling all film lovers, festival fans, and friendly faces!

Click this link to sign up as a volunteer for Day In Our Village: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B49A9AB2EA2F49-64069330-dayinour

The Oak Park IL Film Festival is heading to A Day in Our Village on Sunday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Scoville Park, and we need YOUR help to make our booth shine.
A Day in Our Village is one of Oak Park's most beloved community events, bringing together over 100 local organizations, live entertainment, food, and family fun. It's the perfect chance to introduce neighbors to our festival, talk up our incredible lineup of filmmakers, and spread the word about what's coming this September.
We're looking for volunteers to: Help set up and break down our booth, chat with curious community members, hand out info, and bring good energy to the day.
Shifts are flexible, no film experience required, just enthusiasm and a love for Oak Park. Whether you can spare an hour or stay the whole afternoon, we'd be thrilled to have you on the team.

📍 Scoville Park (Lake Street & Oak Park Avenue) 📅 Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.Interested?

Click this link to sign up as a volunteer for Day In Our Village: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B49A9AB2EA2F49-64069330-dayinour

Let's show the village what the Oak Park IL Film Festival is all about. 🎥🎟️

Click this link to sign up as a volunteer for Day In Our Village: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B49A9AB2EA2F49-64069330-dayinour

🎬 Calling all film lovers, festival fans, and friendly faces!

The Oak Park IL Film Festival is heading to A Day in Our Village on Sunday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Scoville Park, and we need YOUR help to make our booth shine.

A Day in Our Village is one of Oak Park's most beloved community events, bringing together over 100 local organizations, live entertainment, food, and family fun. It's the perfect chance to introduce neighbors to our festival, talk up our incredible lineup of filmmakers, and spread the word about what's coming this September.

We're looking for volunteers to: Help set up and break down our booth, chat with curious community members, hand out info, and bring good energy to the day.
Shifts are flexible, no film experience required, just enthusiasm and a love for Oak Park. Whether you can spare an hour or stay the whole afternoon, we'd be thrilled to have you on the team.

📍 Scoville Park (Lake Street & Oak Park Avenue) 📅 Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Interested?

Click this link to sign up as a volunteer: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmJUI1X93RCqmQ1FdSjW_gugYdKu0-NxJ3dpJ6BKnzczsC4w/viewform

Let's show the village what the Oak Park IL Film Festival is all about. 🎥🎟️