NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) – The free event aims to foster independent filmmaking in East Texas and provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work to audiences, Midgley, the festival director, said.<\/p>\n
The Nacogdoches Short Film Festival will take place Feb. 28 in the movie theater at the Student Center on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the foundations of the next short film festival is to foster independent filmmaking in East Texas,\u201d Midgley said. \u201cAs a filmmaker, unless you get your film in front of an audience, you really don\u2019t know what works and what doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival will screen films from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., followed by a Q&A session with filmmakers. Attendees will vote for their favorite film for the Audience Choice award, which comes with a $100 prize.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe show all the films, and afterwards we let the audience vote on their favorite film and whoever has the most votes,\u201d Midgley said.<\/p>\n
The festival accepts submissions from filmmakers across Texas and beyond, with free entry for East Texas residents and students.<\/p>\n
This marks the fifth year of the festival, which evolved from the larger Nacogdoches Film Festival that included feature films before the pandemic. Midgley decided to focus on short films as they are easier to manage and allow audiences to see diverse storytelling in a shorter time commitment.<\/p>\n
\u201cShort film is three, four or five minutes long. It\u2019s not as big a commitment as a 70 minute film or a 90 minute film,\u201d Midgley said. \u201cYou get a chance to see so many different types of films, a lot of different types of diversity of science fiction or drama or comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Midgley said the festival has attracted submissions from filmmakers in Shreveport, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and other locations, as well as international entries.<\/p>\n
Midgley, who teaches history of rock and roll classes at Stephen F. Austin State University, has worked on more than 80 short films, including about 30 of his own productions.<\/p>\n
He emphasized the importance of creating and sharing work, even if imperfect, as essential for artistic growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t show your art, I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s music or filmmaking or writing or whatever it is, if you don\u2019t show it, you\u2019re not going to know if it\u2019s good or bad or you\u2019re not going to improve as an artist,\u201d Midgley said.<\/p>\n
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