Dozens of films, videos and animations from across the country and around the world will be screened during the second annual West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival, to be held at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center and at the Mountainlair from April 30-May 1.

Sponsored by the Electronic Media Area of the Division of Art and Design in the College of Creative Arts, this international and competitive two-day film festival will also showcase works by regional filmmakers and students from WVU’s Division of Art and Design.

The festival will take place Saturday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall (200A) of the CAC and Sunday, May 1, from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. in the Gluck Theater of the Mountainlair. It is free and open to the public.

Screenings span a range of genres and styles including narrative, documentary, animation, experimental video and student productions.

The festival’s mission is to foster creative and artistic approaches to these genres, while connecting WVU students and the surrounding Morgantown community to the world of independent filmmaking and new media art.

According to art professor Gerald Habarth, one of the organizers of the event, the festival also serves to highlight issues and themes that help define contemporary culture and experience in West Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian region.

“This year, festival organizers have established an additional thematic category for works that explore issues relating to energy,” he said. “As the nation’s fourth leading producer of energy, West Virginia plays a critical role in the nation’s energy sector, placing it at a crossroads as energy problems loom ever closer on the nation’s horizon.”

The centerpiece of this year’s festival is West Virginia filmmaker Jordan Freeman’s production “Low Coal,” which takes viewers on an insightful and heart felt journey through the lives of West Virginia coal miners as they struggle to find their place in relation to this important and at times controversial industry.

“Low Coal” will screen Sunday, May 1, at 4 p.m. in the Gluck Theater of the Mountainlair. Freeman will be on hand to answer questions following the screening.

The entire festival is a non-profit event. There is no charge to submit work for consideration, and admission to all screenings is free. There are no rules governing content or artist approach. Festival organizers only seek to display well-crafted, compelling or conceptually challenging works in video, film and multimedia. The only restriction for competitive entries is a 20-minute maximum running time.

For more information and to see the entire schedule of films to be screened, check the website at: www.mountaineerfilmfest.org.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Gerald Habarth, Division of Art and Design
Phone: 304-290-3067, Gerald.Habarth@mail.wvu.edu

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