Wednesday night will be an exciting evening for cinemaniacs living in the Detroit area and across the river in Ontario, because it marks the beginning of the Fifth Annual Detroit Windsor International Film Festival (DWIFF). The event opens that night at the Detroit Institute of Arts and continues through Sunday at Wayne State University's Detroit campus.
It features film screenings as well as trainings, forums and demos to help aspiring filmmakers get involved in the industry.
Suzanne Janik, DWIFF's director of operations, said the event receives movie submissions from all over the world and has a special focus of supporting filmmakers from Michigan and Detroit.
"We've seen a lot of Michigan filmmakers from the first years," she said. "They've gotten finance and recognition for their films. We've seen a definite progression."
This year, attendees will have a chance to catch over 100 movies including "Somewhere West," a film by Michigan director David Marek about a terminally ill man who turns down treatment and undertakes a journey to find the perfect place to spend his last moments; "The Dance", a silent romantic comedy; and "Ecstasy" a dark Scottish comedy, based on a best-selling book by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh, that explores the culture surrounding the club drug MDMA.
The festival will also be a chance to see the results of DWIFF's 48 hour film challenge, a competition that asked local filmmakers to assemble a brief movie in an incredibly short period of time.
DWIFF is also partnering with WSU's Moving Media Student Film Festival. They will highlight student film work from across the state and sponsor a day-long Tech Fair Saturday that is free and open to the public.
The fair will give participants an opportunity to learn from experts and insiders about topics like storyboarding, makeup and special effects, producing an indie film or perfecting a pitch.
The film festival takes place at the DIA and Wayne State University from June 20 to 24. For a complete listing of films, schedule and to get tickets visit DWIFF's website.
Flickr photo by ToastyKen.