Homegrown Talent Returns to Victory International Film Festival

When the Victory International Film Festival returns to Evansville, Ind., today for its sixth year, it will do so with more films, more categories and more recognition than ever before. For filmmaker Jakob Bilinski and actress/producer Emily Jean Durchholz, the festival holds a uniquely personal place in their journey.

Last year, their feature film Compression screened to sold-out audiences at Victory, earning rave responses and awards — including Best Hoosier Made Film, Best Feature Film, Best Actress for Durchholz and Grand Prize Winner. For Bilinski and Durchholz — both Evansville natives — the experience was unlike anything else on the festival circuit.

“Honestly, I wasn’t quite prepared for how much it was going to mean to me,” Bilinski said. “There’s this idea that it’s hard to get recognition in your own backyard. We’d had success elsewhere, but the kind of reception we got at Victory was overwhelming. It felt like a homecoming.”

That sense of home carried through in unexpected ways. Bilinski compared the atmosphere to his high school days, when he and friends staged small projects for themselves and were surprised when others embraced them. “Compression was deeply personal,” he explained. “We thought it might live in its own little corner. To see it resonate here, with our community, was something special.”

For Durchholz, the moment was equally powerful, though she wasn’t physically present when her Best Actress award was announced. She was in the middle of a stage production, learning of her win through castmates’ congratulations.

“At first, I thought the most surreal part was winning at HorrorHound, where no one knew me,” she said. “But then to be recognized at home, against such strong performances, meant something different. It wasn’t just ‘hometown favoritism.’ The festival has integrity, and people really saw value in what I did.”

This year, Cinephreak Pictures has two films that it co-produced showcased at the festival.

The Ghost That Wouldn't Die — directed by Matthew Packman — is nominated for Best Hoosier Film, Best Horror Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor. Bilinski is nominated for Best Cinematography for the film. It will be shown at 7 p.m. tonight at Showplace Cinemas East as part of the opening night celebration. It will also be shown at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Victory Theater as part of the Hoosier Block.

Wet Bulb Temperature — directed by Joe Atkinson — is nominated for Best Feature and will be shown at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, in its world premiere at Showplace Cinemas East.

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Both Bilinski and Durchholz see the festival as part of a larger movement in Evansville’s creative community. International films share screens with local projects while shorts with Oscar pedigrees are programmed alongside regional stories.

“It’s easy to fall into the mindset of, ‘We’re just in southern Indiana, who are we to be doing this?’” Durchholz said. “But Victory changes that. It proves there’s space for serious, affecting work here — and for audiences ready to embrace it.”

This year’s festival promises to build on that momentum, with an expanded schedule and even greater visibility for local and global talent alike. For Bilinski and Durchholz, it’s another reminder that Evansville isn’t just home. It’s a place where their art belongs.