Get Ready For Year TWO

Join ArtsAltoona for a full day celebrating independent film, creativity, and visual storytelling at the 2026 Altoona Reel Film Festival!

From hands-on workshops and film screenings to conversations with filmmakers and our festival awards, ARFF brings filmmakers, students, film lovers, and the community together to experience and celebrate the art of filmmaking.

Admission

$10 General Admission
$5 Students with Valid ID

Your admission includes access to the day's workshops, film screenings, keynote speaker session, and awards presentation.

Festival Schedule

9:30 a.m. | Workshop: The Nuts & Bolts of Indie & Hollywood Film Production
Hosted by Penn State Altoona Professor of Communications Bob Trumpbour | Part-time Instructor of Communications Mandy Westrick

Jim Westrick and Mandy Westrick will offer an overview of the core elements of film production, drawing from their many experiences with projects while working in Los Angeles and locally. Jim and Mandy will explain how production unfolds in Hollywood and for a broad range of indie film projects. Bob Trumpbour will moderate the session, drawing from his broadcast experience as a freelance worker locally and as a broadcast supervisor while in New York City.

10:30 a.m. | Workshop: Shadow, Light, Story
Hosted by Director and Keynote Speaker Brad Grimm

Explore the core elements of storytelling in film, both on the page and on the screen. From the spark of an idea to the final cut, we'll break down how shadow, light, and narrative structure work together to bring a story to life.

12:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Film Screenings
Settle in for an afternoon of 18 independent films selected for the 2026 Altoona Reel Film Festival.

4:45 – 6:00 p.m. | Sit Down with the Keynote Speaker & Awards Presentation
Wrap up the festival with a conversation featuring keynote speaker Brad Grimm, followed by the presentation of this year's festival awards.

Meet Our Keynote Speaker: Brad Grimm

Brad Grimm is an award-winning cinematographer and director whose passion for visual storytelling began when he made his first film at age eleven.

While earning his film degree from Robert Morris University, Brad became the first student in thirty years to win both a College Television Award and a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship.

He went on to co-found GetGrimm, creating content for major brands including Lexus, McDonald's, Showtime, and CNN, before founding Firefly Films to pursue narrative storytelling. His television directing credits include two seasons of the History Channel series The Food That Built America.

In 2021, Brad developed the original television series Intrusion, self-funding a proof-of-concept pilot that attracted the attention of CAA and Grandview and propelled the project into active development with Littleton Road for Universal.

Whether you're a filmmaker, student, creative, or simply someone who loves a great story on screen, come spend the day discovering new films and celebrating the people who bring them to life.