Patrick McDonald [1] reporting from last night’s (December 2nd) event.

CHICAGO, IL – The Midwest Independent Film Festival gave its “Best of the Midwest” Awards Tuesday night at the Rockit Nightclub in Chicago. The awards recognize the achievements of local filmmakers in 2008 based on their appearances at the once-a-month film festival throughout the year.

Among the major winners was Writer/Director Steve Conrad, a filmmaker based in Chicago and recognized as Best Director and for Best Feature Film with his excellent, locally shot film “The Promotion.” John C. Reilly also won Best Actor for the feature.

“We got to work with Chicago actors and a Chicago crew. We shot the movie here about Chicagoans. I couldn’t be in a place that means more to me in getting this award. I grew up wanting to be a movie director, and this is my first movie director award. There are so many more movies to be written after tonight,” Conrad said in his acceptance speech.

Steve Conrad was interviewed by HollywoodChicago.com [2] upon the release of “The Promotion,” which is available on DVD [3].