Meet The Creators: Michael Mehuys

For Michael Mehuys, Alternating

Currents began with a simple invitation.

When the festival first launched 9 years ago, friends and fellow film enthusiasts Josh Ford and Harry Walker asked him to serve as a film judge for the newly created Alternating Currents Short Film Festival. For the first few years, Mehuys watched and evaluated submissions, never imagining he would eventually take over the entire program.

When Ford and Walker moved away from the QC, they approached Mehuys moving the AC Film Festival forward.

The transition was a leap of faith. Unlike many festival programmers, Mehuys didn't come from an event planning background. His qualifications were rooted in a lifelong love of movies. 

"I have a strong interest in film, is really the best way to put it," he said. " I just grew up a film fan."

Mehuys’ experience includes studying broadcasting at Black Hawk College and working at both Blockbuster Video and the former Showcase Cinemas. More importantly, he developed a reputation for caring deeply about the moviegoing experience.

Over the years, that passion has made him an advocate for both filmmakers and audiences. Whether helping improve projection quality, assisting with multimedia presentations or troubleshooting technical challenges, Mehuys has become a behind-the-scenes champion for film in the Quad Cities.

Each year, he and a panel of four other judges meet up at the Last Picture House in Downtown Davenport to review roughly 30 films across categories including drama, comedy, experimental film, and horror and science fiction. 

Using a scoring rubric, judges evaluate each submission before selecting the final lineup. The process helps ensure fairness while maintaining the quality of the festival.

While many films arrive through open submissions, Mehuys occasionally seeks out filmmakers whose work has impressed him elsewhere. He recalls attending the Snake Alley Festival of Film in Burlington, seeing a film he loved and personally encouraging the filmmaker to submit to Alternating Currents.

The film not only made the festival but went on to win an award. 

“I think there's definitely a burgeoning filmmaking community in the Quad Cities.  I think that it’s always been here – it’s gotten bigger, then smaller over the years. And now it’s bigger again,” he says. 

Local artists can make up a significant portion of submissions, and he has worked to create opportunities for them to connect with each other. This year, the festival will again feature an alumni panel with returning filmmakers sharing their experiences and discussing new projects. 

For Mehuys, that's one of the most important parts of his role. "I knew the filmmakers were here in the QC, because I've been doing the festival for so long," he said. "What I didn't want to see happen was all these people continuing to work in their own little bubbles."

He sees filmmaking as an inherently collaborative art form, one that brings together writers, directors, actors, makeup artists, cinematographers and countless other creative people. And Film's presence at Alternating Currents keeps those connections growing.

"I’m always wondering how we can boost that local filmmaking scene and get more of these filmmakers to meet and interact and make stuff together," he said.