Saugatuck Waterfront Film Festival

Other Prior Events

The Waterfront Film Festival

by Stef Piermattei saug1

Often referred to as the “middle coast”, Saugatuck draws healthy tourism year-round with numerous beaches, harbor tours, art galleries, golf courses, museums, restaurants, and shops. During the summer, however, the population triples in size. Much of this can be attributed to the Waterfront Film Festival, recently named one of the Top Five Film Festivals by SAGIndie.

One of the reasons the festival is held during the second weekend in June is because it is still considered off-season in Saugatuck. Business owners rave about the swell of visitors and all of the best breakfast nooks are booked up to a year prior to the festival.

Many residents boat into town, leave their boats in the marina, and go watch films.
The Waterfront Film Festival has brought in film lovers from all over the world, who blend nicely with the resident cinema sophisticates of Saugatuck, to share in discovering cutting edge artists along with celebrities such as Daryl Hannah, Jason Ritter, Justin Long, Kip Pardue, James Marsden, and Jason Lewis.

Kori Eldean Rentz, originally from Saugatuck, is one of the five founders who had the idea for the Waterfront Film Festival after producing an independent film and traveling around the country to film festivals. Eldean Rentz and the other founders got a taste of what they liked, saw what they thought could be improved, and decided to start their own festival.

“We knew Saugatuck was a quaint little community and thought it would serve as the perfect backdrop,” Eldean Rentz said. They began accepting submissions and a committee of judges in Michigan, New York, and Los Angeles chose the final selection of films.

The festival also hosts a screenwriting competition, which selects ten semi-finalists and three finalists, with a final winner announced shortly before the festival. This year, the competition received the highest amount of submissions to date, and the winner was Chris Dancy for his screenplay, The Undertaker’s Son.

The festival screens around 25 a day, over three days, and since the festival is non-competitive and no prizes are awarded during the festival, the focus stays on the films.

“We’ve always been a non-competitive festival, so for the filmmaker, that lends to more of a relaxed atmosphere,” Eldean Rentz said. “We’re all about celebrating the filmmaker and we wanted the filmmaker to come and relax and have a good time.”

The festival was built from the ground up by the community in Saugatuck. As a result, stylistically, the festival matches the lifestyle of the serene and laid-back town.

“The first year or two, we had a lot of local support whether it was individuals or businesses in the community,” Eldean Rentz said. “From there we were able to branch out to national sponsorships.”

Sponsorship is always challenging for annual festivals, especially given the current financial climate. The Waterfront Film Festival has fortunately been able to receive various grants from the community, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.

In recent years, the festival has hosted the Midwestern Premieres of the 2009 Academy Award Winner Man on Wire, the 2006 Academy Award Winner March Of The Penguins, and the 2005 Academy Award Nominee The Story of Weeping Camel. The Michigan Premieres of the 2006 Academy Award Nominee Murderball and the 2005 Academy Award Winner Born into Brothels were also part of the Waterfront Film Festival.

There have been more than one hundred Midwestern premieres the past five years. Among these films are Napoleon Dynamite, The Descent, Open Water, Pittsburgh, Riding Giants, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Word Play, Memories of Tomorrow, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang, Dakota Skye, The Linguists, Chapter 27, Waiting for Ophelia, Women in Trouble, Peter and Vandy, World’s Greatest Dad, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner American Splendor, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner Primer, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner Eagle vs. Shark, and the AFI International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner St. Nick.

Saugatuck has something for everyone and is revered for its scenic aquatic landscape long before its film festival emerged. Now, Saugatuck is helping to put Michigan on the map for world-class cinema.

Saugatuck, Michigan has been known as the “Art Coast” to visitors and residents alike since the late 19th century. The beautiful beachfront town has been home to the Waterfront Film Festival for the past twelve years. With no movie theaters to speak of, the town converts public facilities into screening areas for the festival’s selected independent films. These venues include the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Saugatuck Yacht Services, the Michigan Film Lodge at the American Legion Hall, The Dunes Resort, Saugatuck High School, the White House Bistro, and the Capital Lounge. The final screening is held outdoors at the Singapore Yacht Club, where a rustic boat shed is converted into a 750 seat theater.
Often referred to as the “middle coast”, Saugatuck draws healthy tourism year-round with numerous beaches, harbor tours, art galleries, golf courses, museums, restaurants, and shops. During the summer, however, the population triples in size. Much of this can be attributed to the Waterfront Film Festival, recently named one of the Top Five Film Festivals by SAGIndie.
One of the reasons the festival is held during the second weekend in June is because it is still considered off-season in Saugatuck. Business owners rave about the swell of visitors and all of the best breakfast nooks are booked up to a year prior to the festival. Many residents boat into town, leave their boats in the marina, and go watch films.
The Waterfront Film Festival has brought in film lovers from all over the world, who blend nicely with the resident cinema sophisticates of Saugatuck, to share in discovering cutting edge artists along with celebrities such as Daryl Hannah, Jason Ritter, Justin Long, Kip Pardue, James Marsden, and Jason Lewis.
Kori Eldean Rentz, originally from Saugatuck, is one of the five founders who had the idea for the Waterfront Film Festival after producing an independent film and traveling around the country to film festivals. Eldean Rentz and the other founders got a taste of what they liked, saw what they thought could be improved, and decided to start their own festival.
“We knew Saugatuck was a quaint little community and thought it would serve as the perfect backdrop,” Eldean Rentz said. They began accepting submissions and a committee of judges in Michigan, New York, and Los Angeles chose the final selection of films.
The festival also hosts a screenwriting competition, which selects ten semi-finalists and three finalists, with a final winner announced shortly before the festival. This year, the competition received the highest amount of submissions to date, and the winner was Chris Dancy for his screenplay, The Undertaker’s Son.
The festival screens around 25 a day, over three days, and since the festival is non-competitive and no prizes are awarded during the festival, the focus stays on the films.
“We’ve always been a non-competitive festival, so for the filmmaker, that lends to more of a relaxed atmosphere,” Eldean Rentz said. “We’re all about celebrating the filmmaker and we wanted the filmmaker to come and relax and have a good time.”
The festival was built from the ground up by the community in Saugatuck. As a result, stylistically, the festival matches the lifestyle of the serene and laid-back town.
“The first year or two, we had a lot of local support whether it was individuals or businesses in the community,” Eldean Rentz said. “From there we were able to branch out to national sponsorships.”
Sponsorship is always challenging for annual festivals, especially given the current financial climate. The Waterfront Film Festival has fortunately been able to receive various grants from the community, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.
In recent years, the festival has hosted the Midwestern Premieres of the 2009 Academy Award Winner Man on Wire, the 2006 Academy Award Winner March Of The Penguins, and the 2005 Academy Award Nominee The Story of Weeping Camel.
The Michigan Premieres of the 2006 Academy Award Nominee Murderball and the 2005 Academy Award Winner Born into Brothels were also part of the Waterfront Film Festival.
There have been more than one hundred Midwestern premieres the past five years. Among these films are Napoleon Dynamite, The Descent, Open Water, Pittsburgh, Riding Giants, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Word Play, Memories of Tomorrow, The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang, Dakota Skye, The Linguists, Chapter 27, Waiting for Ophelia, Women in Trouble, Peter and Vandy, World’s Greatest Dad, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner American Splendor, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner Primer, the Sundance Grand Jury Winner Eagle vs. Shark, and the AFI International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner St. Nick.
Saugatuck has something for everyone and is revered for its scenic aquatic landscape long before its film festival emerged. Now, Saugatuck is helping to put Michigan on the map for world-class cinema.