Fans of film have a chance to check out more than 20 shorts in genres including animation, comedy, documentary, drama, horror and science fiction during an event in downtown Lockport.

“Midwest Waterways Short Film Festival” from July 11-Oct. 5 takes place at the Art Deco-inspired Roxy.

“Trinity Services, which owns the Roxy theater, has given it a complete makeover and brought in the new screen, sound equipment and everything else. We just wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to bring people down to see the theater and experience downtown,” Lockport Mayor Steven Streit said.

“We have our new streetscape that’s just been finished. We have the Stagecoach restaurant that just came in. We have Tallgrass Restaurant, Mamma Onesta, Embers Tap House, etc. We just want to promote downtown Lockport,” he said.

“I went to a fine arts college so I always had a bent toward utilizing art and giving artists an opportunity to be part of the community. This was a great, fun way of featuring filmmakers who don’t oftentimes have a public venue to show off their work.”

Streit said film submissions range from five minutes to 30 minutes.

“We’ll have different hosts for the evenings. Also, there’ll be an opportunity to talk with the filmmakers between movies,” he said.

“It gives filmmakers the opportunity to get a little feedback from the people. It’s a very small theater. It’s intimate. It’s easy to talk to people, sit there and have a good conversation. I think it’s a fun, unique opportunity for the public and filmmakers to have some good dialogue.”

Films slated to be screened during Midwest Waterways Short Film Festival include “The Adventures of Kitty Zombie” by John LaFlamboy, an alum of Lockport Township High School East, and Maggie Mahrt’s “Unbound,” which won best sci-fi at the 2017 HollyShorts Film Festival in Hollywood, California.

The audience votes on a single best of category selection for each evening with that filmmaker receiving a $150 first prize and the opportunity to show his or her film at “Best of Fest” in October when the winner of that evening will receive a $500 grand prize.

“A lot of times short films are what independent filmmakers have an opportunity to create. Sometimes people are making short films so they can show it to a large film production company,” Streit said.

“We’re trying to look at the best way to arrange the shorts so people who come out feel it was a nice evening.”

The current schedule for Midwest Waterways Short Film Festival lists drama for July 11, comedy for July 25, horror for Aug. 8, documentary for Aug. 22, sci-fi with animation for Sept. 12 and “Best of Fest” for Oct. 5.

Food and drink will be available for purchase.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.