Campus and community members will have the opportunity to watch an evening’s worth of new and locally-produced short films when the Fine Art Department of the University of Maine at Presque hosts the first annual Fiddleheads Film Festival, starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, in UMPI’s Wieden Auditorium.

Several short films, each 15 minutes or less and created by local students and community members, will be showcased.

Genres are expected to include everything from art films to action to suspense/thriller. Many of the short films selected to be shown are the work of students in the University’s ART 235-Video Production course.”I wanted to make it more visible, the kind of art that’s being created on campus, because in addition to traditional art classes, there is computer art and video production work happening here,” Renee Felini, UMPI Assistant Professor of Fine Art, said.

Felini came up with the idea for the local film festival last year when she was preparing for her video production class, which is underway this spring with 15 students participating.

“I thought it would be a great way to end the semester if they knew they would be taking part in something bigger than the class,” Felini said. “Students in these classes don’t often get to share their work with a group larger than their class or in a very public setting.”

From here on out, Felini said the plan is to grow the Fiddleheads Film Festival as a venue for artists all over the state of Maine and regionally to show their work.

All are invited to attend this free event. For more information about the Fiddleheads Film Festival, contact Felini at 768-9441.