Moviemaker Magazine, in its spring 2008 issue, listed the Route 66 Film Festival as one of the 25 festivals worth the entry fee. Ours was also a featured festival at the 2009 International Film Festival Summit in Las Vegas.

The Route 66 Film Festival began in 2002. Its founder was inspired by Roger Ebert’s Film Festival which was established the year before, and chose to name the festival after the iconic road which runs through Springfield, Illinois. Beginning as part of the Mother Road Festival, celebrating the vehicles and history of the famous highway, it separated from the car show in 2003. In 2012 a six-member Board was formed. We have screened films from many countries, including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and United States.

We celebrate diversity and welcome films of all lengths and genres. We look for good stories that inform and touch us. Judges select films for official awards, such as Best Animation, Best Experimental, Best Made in Illinois. This is a festival that has something for everyone.

Several films screened at our festival have subsequently received distribution on Netflix and gone on to be honored at other festivals. We are proud that three of the short films screened at our festival have also been nominated for Oscars.

This year, the Festival returns to a live two-day event. Selected films will be screened November 1 and 2, 2024 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield, Illinois, with an award ceremony on Saturday night. Filmmakers are invited to attend, at no cost, and are encouraged to interact with other filmmakers and audience members. Door prizes and free popcorn!