The Film Club GSU is hosting the first Georgia Southern film festival Thursday for students at 6 p.m. in Sanford Hall, room 1002.

The festival will also be sponsored by the film club.

There will be 11 films shown for GS students to see and film students Ben Barks, Jared Cobb and Franchette O’Neal will have their projects shown during the festival alongside other films from across the nation.

“We are expecting guests from other film programs from the state,” Connor Rentz, president of Film Club GSU said. “We think this will be a really good opportunity to connect these programs.”

The festival will show a variety of genres from entertainment, suspense, comedy and drama.

“The main point of the festival was to give a voice to student films,” Rentz said. “We want to celebrate film production on a university level and we really feel that’s possible with these films.”

Selected judges from outside the university will be in attendance at the festival to judge the films.

Awards will be given out at the festival. A jury award, runner-up, honorable mention, achievement in story/scene-play, best actor/actress, achievement in cinematography, achievement in production design, achievement in editing and an audience award will all be given out at the festival.

“Film Club does not create the community, the community creates Film Club,” Rentz said. “I’m excited for the students that get to continue pushing Film Club forward next year.”

A reception will be taking place after the film festival at Sanford.

Davon Johnson, The George-Anne Candidate, gadaily@georgiasouthern.edu