Ann Arbor will be hosting its first-ever Cinetopia International Film Festival this week.
Russ Collins, executive director of the Michigan Theater, says festival organizers expect about 5,000 attendees this weekend.
Over the four-day festival, 35 mainstream films will be screened primarily in the Michigan and State Theaters.
Collins notes that this festival is different from the longstanding Ann Arbor Film Festival because that event's focus is on experimental films.
"The Cinetopia International Film Festival is a festival that celebrates the feature length, story-based films that you're going to see at festivals like Toronto and Sundance," Collins says.
The festival opens Thursday night with a party and screening of Tod Louiso's "Hello I Must Be Going" and continues with Sundance-acclaimed films like "I Am Not a Hipster."
"It seems like our ambient interest in cinema and the ability of our town to host festivals and special events would make Ann Arbor an exceptionally good place to do a film festival of a large scale," says Collins,
There are high hopes for this pilot event. Festival organizers plan to expand the event into an 11-day festival for Ann Arbor and Detroit.
- Julia Alix Smith-Eppsteiner, Michigan Radio Newsroom
