Local movie buffs will have a lot to choose from at the second annual Rails to Reels film festival, which kicks off Saturday at 10. a.m. at the Temple Theatre for the Performing Arts in Meridian.

      “We felt that Meridian was a viable player for a film festival,” said organizer Thomas Burton. “Other cities are doing it, so why can’t we? We have one of the greatest showplaces in the South and we are living in a time where it doesn’t cost as much as it used to to make a movie.”

    The idea for the festival, which will feature work by local and regional filmmakers, started two years with a small group of “like minded people” who started a film club, Burton said. “Basically, the idea is to promote downtown Meridian,” he said.

    Students from Meridian Community College are volunteering to help with the event.

    “Their group, Stage 2, has been a big help,” Burton said. “We’re thankful for them. They’re a tight-knit group that’s full of energy.”   

    On tap for the festival are 14 films ranging from shorts, music videos, documentaries and a television pilot called “Stagrassle Paranormal” directed by Glenn Payne and written by Casey Dillard. The show, which was shot in Tupelo,  is described as a mockumentary style comedy series chronicling the adventures of a rural ghost hunting team and the filmmaker following them.

    “This group is great,” Burton said. “They are on fire with creativity.”

    Another film called  “Sturgis: Rallying Back”  documents the struggle to bring back a motorcycle rally to Sturgis, Miss.    “This was my first film project, and I jumped into it with very little time to plan or prepare,” director Thomas Haffey said. “As a feature-length documentary, it was probably a bigger undertaking than I would have chosen if I had given it more thought, but I am very pleased with the film.”

    The festival closes with “Max Peril,” which as described as a “movie within a movie.” The film’s tagline reads: “in an effort to finish a film before turning 30, Riley Young documents and re-creates the supposedly-true stories of a retired secret agent.” Burton says the film has already won numerous awards at film festivals all over the country.

    The films will be shown in three blocks, with a meet and greet and question and answer session with the cast of “Stagrassle Paranormal” at the end of the night.

    One of the judges for the festival is Robbie Fisher, who has produced several award-winning documentaries including “Boogaloo and Eden: Sustaining the Sound”, “The Gulf Islands: Mississippi’s Wilderness Shore” and “A Mississippi Love Story.”  Fisher has also produced commercials and worked on feature films in Mississippi.

    Burton says the wide variety of films should suit any filmgoer’s taste. “We couldn’t ask for a better lineup,” he said.

Want to Go?

Rails To Reels film festival

The festival begins Saturday at 10 a.m at the Temple Theater for the Performing Arts in Meridian. Tickets are available online, at the Temple Theatre box office, or at the door on the day of the festival. Tickets are $25 all day, $15 for military and students with ID all day, or $15 per block,

Full Schedule

Block A

10 a.m. “Colt” and “Expiration Date” directed by Felicity Flesher

10:30 a.m. “Captive” directed by Wade Paterson

11:15  a.m. “Lake Drain” directed by Jerry Griffin

1:00 p.m. “Dead Saturday” directed by Benjamin Stark

Block B

2 p.m. “Pinky Swear” directed by Chuck Jett

2:30 p.m. “Footsteps” directed by Sean Taylor

2:45 p.m. “Melody Gardot” music video by Amile Wilson

3: p.m. “About Time” directed by Charandle Sumrall

3:45 p.m. “Talkin’ Bout Blues” a documentary by Mark K. Brockway, Matthew A. Furey and Timothy G. Givens.

Block C

5:30 p.m. “Sturgis: Rallying Back” directed by Thomas Haffey

6:45 p.m. “Meridian’s Flash Films” three filmmakers

7:30 p.m. “Stagrassle Paranormal” directed by Glenn Payne and written by Casey Dillard

8:15 p.m. “First Date” Directed by Tony Boutwell

8:30 p.m. “Max Peril” Directed by Frank Ladner