by Olivia Newman, staff writer

Crowds of film enthusiasts gathered around the red carpet at the Icon Showplace Theatre for the beginning of the fourth annual Twin Cities Film Fest on Oct. 17.

The Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) is a Minneapolis-based, non-profit organization that offers audiences a selection of the year’s great films. It took place this year at the Kerasotes Showplace ICON theatre at the Shops at the West End.

“I think the big thing about film festivals in general is that they’re all designed to really connect the audiences and the filmmakers,” said Bill Cooper, Managing Director of the festival. “One of the biggest reasons why people come to a festival is so that they can be part of not only seeing the film, but part of the people that make films.”

The festival also celebrates Minnesota talent and connections, highlighting more than 20 international premieres of locally-made movies, features, and short films. Last year, the festival received over 400 submissions of features and films, but only 20 percent were selected.

The theatre has been busy in the weeks leading up to the event. The directors of the TCFF chose the venue for the West End’s popularity, and have been raising awareness outside the theatre, too.

This year, the festival is featuring several film award contenders, like Nebraska with a nomination for Best Actor, the Armstrong Lie, by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney, among others The festival attracted many students, but some were more skeptical than they were excited.

“Some of the movies look really good, but some of the others look a little contrived,” said Estelle Bayer, junior.

The festival is a showcase for some of Minnesota’s most prominent filmmakers. Pollywogs, a film by Karl Jacob, an actor/filmmaker from Hibbing, was featured. The horror film Delivery, by Minnesota natives Brian Netto and Adam Schindler, too spotlight Minnesotan talents.

“I like that there exists a smaller platform than the broad-distribution releases. I love indie movies,” Bayer said.

During the four years the festival has been in Minnesota, it has grown in size, in numbers, and in reputation; Hollywood is taking notice of these filmmakers and the festival in general.

“We have a total of 70 films playing at our festival – that’s short films and feature films – and about 40 percent, almost half, have Minnesota connections,” Cooper said.

In addition to movie screenings, the festival also had educational aspects, like seminars on screenwriting, and how-to’s on networking, legalities, and crowdfunding.

“We really want to encourage young people to come to the theatre. It’s amazing when the lights go down and this wonderful story that’s bigger than life is in front of you,” Cooper said.