After its inaugural year did so well by bringing in approximately 300 movie-goers, the Lanett Film Festival is already gearing up to open doors on Sept. 7 and 8.

The festival took form thanks to Eric Wright, a filmmaker from Atlanta who worked with Mayor Kyle McCoy to spawn interest, review submissions and ready venues for people interested in indie productions.

Wright and McCoy put the work into putting on the event primarily because of their passion for the art of filmmaking. They are both people who appreciate a well-scripted, acted, scored and edited piece, so when they received approximately 1,700 film submissions last year, they were excited to pan through the silt to find cinematic gold.

Their other reasoning for the festival, though, is what it does for Lanett and the Greater Valley Area as a whole. There are a handful of events that bring together community and culture, but few do so while also bringing in so many people from outside the area. With a phenomenon like a film festival, something normally reserved for metropolitan areas or college campuses, McCoy is helping put Lanett on the map for more and more people who may have never heard of it.

Such an artistic display is unique to the area, and the movies themselves are only part of the event.

Directors and people who work on blockbuster films will be there, answering attendee’s questions about what the film industry is like on the other side of the camera. When the movies have been watched, judges will take all aspects of them into account and award the best of the bunch.

The Lanett Film Festival is something to get excited about. Supporting the event by buying a ticket and inviting friends plays a big role in ensuring more and more things like this are brought to the area and the culture of Lanett is expanded upon. Let’s all go to the movies.