Though the sound of holiday music echoes around our “downtown” illuminated Christmas Village over on the bookshelf, my thoughts this evening are on the brand new Naperville Independent Film Festival which will take place in September of next year (www.naperfilm.org).
Having been involved in the independent film world for a quite a few years now, I naturally have been pretty excited about the developments surrounding the festival. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the key organizers, Gary Pradel, at Fontanos for lunch to learn more about the festival’s origin and philosophy.
I’m sure many of you know Gary, but for those who don’t he is yet another glowing example of Naperville’s brightly shinning spirit. During our conversation, he elaborated on the festival’s vision which is to draw anyone who is interested not only in viewing some great indie films but also to learn more about the filmmaking process and meet others involved in the indie film community. He draws upon his lifelong interest and love for technology, filmmaking and the arts in wanting others to not only get a first glance at independent film up close but also to get a “hands on” opportunity which hopefully will inspire others to get involved in filmmaking.
We both agree there is tremendous future potential for bringing the Naperville arts community together in expanding the unique opportunities and resulting economic benefits of the arts. As I’ve discussed in past postings, the diversification and regular presence of unique arts experiences is a key not only to Naperville’s next great chapter, but also a key driver in local workforce and economic development not to speak of the overall economic impact of arts dollars.
The World of Naperville wants to thank all involved for their vision in bringing this exciting new Naperville event to life.
Festival Committee
Gary Pradel – Gary@NaperFilm.org
Edmond Coisson – Edmond@NaperFilm.org
Glessna Coisson – Glessna@NaperFilm.org
Daniel Nigg – DNIGG@aol.com
Sara Snyder – ssnyder@mcelroyassociates.net
Jocelyn Donkin – Jocelyn@NaperFilm.org
Susan Biggs – sbiggs1765@wowway.com
Mary Jo Brown – MJBrown@NaperFilm.org
Advisory Committee
Mary Ann Boboski
Jim Healy
Susan Hecht
Ray Kinney
Joe Lichter
Daniel Nigg
Deborah Venezia
Mary Lou Wehrli
Current Sponsors (as of 12/11/07)
Design Resource Center
City Club
Emphasis Entertainment
First National Bank of Naperville
Goldstine, Skrodzki, Russian,
Nemec, and Hoff, Ltd.
Jilly’s Restaurant
Lenzcap.com
McElroy Associates
Nigg Media
Our Path Productions, Ltd
Wheatland Omnimedia
If you are interested in learning more about the Naperville Independent Film Festival or submitting your work, visit www.naperfilm.org or send an email to info@naperfilm.org . SM
World of Naperville 
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