Iowa-California filmmaker Nik Heftman, an Emmy Award-winning producer, joins The Iowa Mercury’s Douglas Burns for a rundown of the just-finished Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival.
“The Negro Artist” earned a top award (Silver Eddy in the professional documentary) at the festival, which featured 62 films. Heftman is the director of the documentary, “The Negro Artist,” chronicling the life of prominent spoken-word artist Caleb Rainey.
Burns and Heftman talk about an array of films at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, and spotlight the Iowa talent and locations involved in the productions.
One film they discussed at length is a rip-roaring Iowa comedy “5683” from director Brittany Benedict and screenwriter Kevin Shepherd about a young woman who, after seeing an ad on a billboard, types 5683 on her phone (it spells LOVE) and the ensuing hilarity. The film is shot in Cedar Rapids, Keokuk and Newhall. “5683” is one of the “most Iowa” movies Burns and Heftman say they’ve seen. It’s engaging and destined for a nice run in Iowa and beyond.
About The Iowa Mercury
(Douglas Burns, founder of The Iowa Mercury and a fourth-generation Iowa journalist from Carroll, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Read dozens of the most talented writers in Iowa in just one place. The Iowa Writers' Collaborative spans the full state. It’s one of the biggest things going in Iowa journalism and writing now — and you don’t want to miss. This collaborative is — as the outstanding Quad Cities journalist Ed Tibbetts says — YOUR SUNDAY IOWA newspaper. )
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