The Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists. The Showcase screens works that were shot in the St. Louis region or were written, directed, or produced by St. Louis-area residents or by filmmakers with strong local ties who are now working elsewhere.

Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, the Showcase will be presented virtually in 2020. This short video provides more information on CSL’s decision to move its 2020 festivals and events online. CSL is partnering with Eventive, which also handles our ticketing, to present the Virtual Festival.

The Showcase’s 15 film programs range from full-length fiction features and documentaries to multi-film compilations of fiction and documentary shorts.

In addition to the film programs, which will be available for streaming anytime during the July 10-19 run of the Showcase, this year’s event features five Live Streams. A series of four free master classes will focus on key aspects of Making and Distributing an Independent Narrative Feature: Finding Financing (1-2:30 PM July 11), Developing a Budget (1-2:30 PM July 12), Casting (1-2:30 PM July 18), and Securing Distribution (1-2:30 PM July 19). These will be offered at specific times/dates during the Showcase, but recordings of the presentations will also be archived and available on Cinema St. Louis’ YouTube channel. A free live stream of the Awards Presentation on the evening of July 19 will present the jury awards, including a $500 prize to the Best Showcase Film, and announce the films that will move on to the Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival in November. The master classes and $500 award are sponsored by the Chellappa-Vedavalli Foundation.