Lake County Film Festival - Grayslake, Illinois

Brian M.

I was living in Lake County, IL and discovered that there was a local film festival. I met the festival director, Nat Dykeman, at his rental shop. When the next festival came up, I submitted my short film, LET GO, and it debuted there in a great venue. My short film, VACANT, was also accepted as a work in progress and was shown in a small program for filmmakers to give each other feedback. Nat treated the filmmakers like family, we were able to network and socialize and have fun. It was a wonderful experience. Though I had moved to Los Angeles, the following year VACANT showed at the festival and I flew back for it. It was literally like going home again and the experience was memorable. Nat later showed my short film, PROMISE. He was so supportive of that film that he reached out to other programmers which led to it playing at other film festivals. Nat loves films and filmmakers and I’ve never been treated better at a film festival. (And for those of you who know Chicago food, when I was picked up from the airport by one of Nat’s volunteers, they even indulged me in a drive-thru stop at Portillo’s, so I could get an Italian beef sandwich and Chicago hot dog, on the way to the hotel!)

Mac E.

There's nothing else like this in Lake County! As a patron, you get to support independent cinema, and you get a lot of filmmakers in attendance so you get to hear about what really went into filmmaking. And there are some really great films showing every year!

Independent theaters are gone in Lake County. It's all cineplexes now. If we want to support the arts the way we should, this is the exact sort of event we need to be championing. The more we support this festival, the bigger the festival becomes.

Bill R.

I’ve been to the Lake County Film Festival a few times and I will be going again. They show quality films. They are well organized with their schedule and it’s easy to get to the individual screenings because they are in the same vicinity. It’s also a casual atmosphere and easy to mingle with other filmmakers.

Austin Q.

Nat and the LCFF team are true lovers of film and filmmakers! The festival is well-organized with a positive and upbeat feel that always brings it back to the movies.

Dan J. B.

I've been to 3 of these & am looking forward to going again in a few weeks! This is a thorough & thoughtfully-prepared fest that punches well above its weight class in quality & curation! The groups of short films in particularly are brilliantly organized.