"Rated SGF" isn't Springfield's first film festival, but Lillian Stone, Communications Director for the Downtown Springfield Association, calls it "the first of its kind. Something that's really special about this festival is that, with a lot of festivals filmmakers will enter newer films as a form of competition. But we like to say that this festival is less of a competition and more of a celebration"--and a source of potential discovery for audiences. "We've hand-picked each of the films because we think that they will resonate well with our audience." Jonna Volz is an MSU alum, actor, and the driving force behind the new Film and Media Association of Springfield. "The other typical festivals," she says, "will basically be the first time you've ever seen the films for the most part." And often the entered films can only be seen at that specific festival--there are prohibitions against exhibiting them elsewhere before the film festival gets them. "We have people submit (films), and
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