The 22nd Annual Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase runs July 15-24, 2022. Screenings will be held July 15-17 and 22-24. Individual tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid and current photo IDs. All film screenings will take place at Washington University’s Brown Hall, at Forsyth & Skinker boulevards. The festival’s closing-night party is held at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room, 6404 Delmar Blvd. 5-film passes are available for $60, $50 for CSL members; all-access passes are available for $135, $105 for CSL members. Visit cinemastlouis.org/st-louis-filmmakers-showcase to purchase.

The Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis (CSL), serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. The Showcase screens works that were shot in the St. Louis region or were written, directed, or produced by St. Louis-area residents or by filmmakers with strong local ties who are now working elsewhere. The Showcase’s 14 film programs range from narrative and documentary features to multi-film compilations of fiction, experimental, and documentary shorts. Feature programs include Q&As with filmmakers. In addition to the film programs, this year’s event includes four free master classes focused on key aspects of filmmaking.

Two films to put on your radar are A New Home and Night Life. A New Home is the latest documentary from Director/Producer Joseph Puleo and Executive Producer Rio Vitale and will premiere at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase on July 17, 5pm. In a follow up to America's Last Little Italy: The Hill, their new film examines the story of Bosnian War refugees fleeing to St. Louis, Missouri, 30 years ago. With the war in Ukraine currently raging and thousands of its citizens displaced and seeking new homes, the plight of the Bosnians remains as relevant as ever. Night Life is the full-length directorial debut of St. Louis resident Seth Ferranti, is slated to have its world premiere as a centerpiece film at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase on Sunday, July 17, 7:30pm. This call-to-action docu-drama focuses on Reverend Kenneth McKoy, known to St. Louis as the Pastor of the Streets, and his NightLIFE Ministry's mission to fight an epidemic of mental illness and drug addiction while they actively interrupt the gun violence crisis within a city notoriously known for being the murder capital of America.

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