The Washburn University WiFi Film Festival is in its sixth year.
This year's festival theme is “Community and Belonging.”
Festival director Matt Nyquist said the theme is a big deal “in terms of making sure everyone involved feels like they're part of a community and feels a sense of belonging, both through Washburn and through the festival.” He said it was meaningful.
When does the WiFi Film Festival start?
This year's two-day festival begins April 20 at 10 a.m. with film screenings at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library's Edge Room (1515 SW 10th Ave.) until 5:30 p.m.
Workshops by Andy Farkas, Lolo Lahren and others will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the library's Menninger, Anton, and Learning Center rooms.
On April 20 at 3 p.m., Emmy nominee Sue Vicolya will lead a women's panel discussion on “The Art of Filmmaking.”
Nyquist said each workshop is different and the instructor sets the tone.
“But they tend to be very interactive,” he said. “Filmmakers tend to really want to engage with local groups, find out what they want to hear, and try to tailor certain topics to them.”
A filmmaker talk featuring director Alan Holtzman will be held in the Rita Britt Gallery at the Mulvain Art Museum on the Washburn University campus starting at 5:30 p.m.
The award ceremony will be held on Facebook from 2pm on April 21st.
more:Connections, people, and joy — how Topeka and Shawnee County Public Libraries see the next five years
What films will be shown at this year's festival?
Nyquist said filmmakers will be notified on Sunday whether their films have been selected for the festival. Typically, around 30 films are selected to be screened throughout the festival.
The WiFi Film Festival was created by Washburn University's Mass Media Department in fall 2018, and the first festival was held in spring 2019.
For more information about this year's WiFi Film Festival, visit its website.
Keishera Lately is a business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact her at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.