The Atlanta Film festival, ATLFF, will be located in the Poncey-Highland area on March 20 – 29. This will be the 39th year for the funky, independent, non profit organization to show locals the vibrant energy and unforgettable memories created when sharing a film experience with a stranger, friend or coworker.

The Plaza, Atlanta’s oldest operating cinema, is the mosh pit for Atlanta Film Festivals’ array of films. They range from shorts, only 20-40 minutes, to documentaries, narrative features and special presentations. The Highland Ballroom, 7 Stages on Euclid Avenue and the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown will be hotspots for parties, lounges, screenings and conferences before and after the films.

Historical buildings throughout Atlanta seem to blow up with anticipation as ATLFF comes to town for their yearly film festival. ATLFF, however, hosts events and screenings throughout the year. Screenings at the Plaza are every Wednesday in collaboration with Mountain Film, another film organization. Educational programs such as month-long workshops, screenwriting and “Eat, Drink, B-Indie,” a night of networking at Manuel’s Tavern, make up a large portion of the events. ATLFF is more than an avalanche of films. It portrays the film industry from many different eyes and uses a variety of methods to communicate.

Amy Tippett, the business manager for executive director Chris Escobar, describes the atmosphere of the community as warm and fun.

ATLFF will kick off its week-long festival by opening with James Franco and Zachary Quinto in the film I AM MICHAEL on the first day. Franco will be at the premiere. Based off of a true event, I AM MICHAEL tells a story of a proud gay man who slowly renounces his homosexuality and turns to Christianity after a health scare.

Following opening night will be the unveiling of films that are categorized and displayed in an array of variation. The first night will closed to the public with extravagant parties with musicians and DJs.

The main attraction, the films, are unveiled throughout the week with breaks in between films for Happy Hour, workshops and conferences hosted by the filmmakers to give the attendees a feel for everything. ATLFF is the only film organization with an all-female programming staff. This year, ATLFF is introducing the importance of women in the film industry by featuring films directed by women and films with female leads.

The anticipated film, Sisterhood of the Night, directed by Caryn Waechter, revolves around female cast members Georgie Henley from the Chronicles of Narnia, Kara Hayward from Moonrise Kingdom, and Willa Cuthrell. All three actresses will be attendees at the festival to celebrate women and Women’s month. A creative conference dubbed Filminism, will take place to “talk about women in the film industry and why it is such an important thing for us,” Tippit explained.

The educational portion of ATLFF occurs towards the end of the week with creative conferences, which include workshops, open cast calls and many more events that give the audience an understanding of the ideas portrayed by filmmakers. The big closing film, Suntime Superman, wraps up the overall memories and feeling at the end of the week.

The passion for independent films drives all of the hard work and inexhaustible energy that ATLFF puts behind these events. As a result, he festival highlights under-recognized issues involving films that large, commercialized movies don’t touch.

That same passion and drive is carried throughout the workplace in the office for ATLFF, where the growing number of staffers are always busy yet friendly and ready to collaborate, share and joke with each other.

“We try to prop everybody up and help them as much as we can,” Tippit said. “We had a meeting just last week to go over our meeting guide at 8 a.m. We came in here and looked through the schedule and marked it up and a couple hours later we were winding down, and all of a sudden we realized we were all still in here doing our other tasks and other responsibilities, but we were all doing it here together as a family.”

Tippit herself started out as an intern for ATLFF, then was hired into a position right after her interview. Grady students are encouraged to volunteer at ATLFF and gain experience  and serious resume points. Once in college, volunteers can apply for an internship that, based on current employees, often leads to a job offer.

“ATLFF is a direct reason for a lot of success in my other jobs,” Tippit said. “People see you work for a film festival and know that you are a hard, dedicated worker.”

According to Tippit, local film communities are an excellent way to network with people and find opportunities.

“You never know who you  are going to meet  standing in line to grab a coke zero,” Tippit said. “I know a lot of friends who are working on projects with people they met at ATLFF.”

While students are highly encouraged to attend local film festivals, pricing makes the final decision. ATLFF offers students fifty dollars off any ticket they purchase whose original price is more than $50. The All Access Pass, $325, gives access to all the films, conferences and parties. The Film Pass, $125, allows access to all the films unveiled during the festival. The Movie Hopper, $50, is a pass most encouraged for students on a budget, which allows the attendee to only go the films they they are interested in, without paying the individual fees for films.

An impactful week is careening towards the small, bright city of Atlanta with intentions of giving unforgettable experiences and depth into the vast film world.