For Nebraska filmmakers and film enthusiasts looking for a community to be a part of, look no further than the Flatwater Film Festival.
The festival, organized by Emily Gale, Greg A. Gale, Patrick Lambrecht, Heather Waite, Elizabeth Weixelman and Josh Weixelman, aims to create a non-competitive celebration of local film.
“We wanted to make a safe place for the next generation of Nebraska filmmakers,” Emily Gale said.
Festival organizers achieve this by putting on the annual Flatwater Film Festival, an event that brings together both professional and amateur filmmakers. At the festival, Nebraska filmmakers get the opportunity to see their work on the big screen. Hosted by the Rivoli Theatre in Seward, this year’s festival will be showing 69 different films from Sept. 26 – 28.
But there’s more to the festival than just watching local films. Over the festival weekend, filmmakers will have the chance to network and learn from others in the industry, thanks to events like a director’s roundtable, a speed-networking session and workshops on how to write and pitch a script. A pre-festival mixer and post-parties will also be part of the line-up.
“We just want it to be a wonderful place for people to connect and grow their passion,” Gale said.
As a special addition to this year’s events, the festival will kick-off with a screening of a memorial video in honor of Julie Wisehart. The screening, held in the Rivoli at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, will be free for all to attend.
“Everybody loved Julie,” Gale said. “We partnered with her daughters and created a memorial video to cherish her passion for the arts and her unwavering support that she had for the film festival.”
In addition to hosting the annual festival, the organizers at the Flatwater Film Festival also recently finished up their second annual 48-hour film challenge. 48-hour film challenges are nothing new to the filmmaking community, but Flatwater adds some twists. Participants aren’t just required to create a short film in under 48 hours, they also have to incorporate a specific genre, prop, and line of dialogue into their works.
During Seward County Gives 2025, the Flatwater Film Festival raised over $2,000.
“We’ve only done this two years,” Gale said, “but each year we’ve been blown away by the support that comes out of Seward and the surrounding community.”
To continue supporting the Flatwater Film Festival, you can attend the screening of Julie Wisehart’s memorial video and attend the festival. To buy tickets for this year’s festival or to learn more about the Flatwater Film Festival as a whole, visit flatwaterfilmfestival.com.
