Inaugural Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival kicks off today

Running from today to Sunday, the very first Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival aims to unsettle viewers and upend expectations with movies that "shatter convention and incite spirited debate." Organizer Todd Morris says the festival channels "the rebellious spirit of the Molly Maguires, welcoming the boldest, most defiant filmmakers."

The exciting 2017 line-up includes Erika Stone: Funeral Day by Jon Weinberg, Street Scene by Lars Gerhard, Red by Branko Tomovic, Even Lovers Get the Blues by Laurent Micheli, The Fastest, Most Romantic Love Yet by Shane Butler, Quaker Oaths by Louisiana Kreutz and many more.

Screening at the Mauch Chunk Opera House are nine feature films and 77 shorts, most of which will have area premieres. "I've been to a lot of film festivals over the years, from Cannes — seven times — to the grittiest of underground festivals, and I can truly say that I'm incredibly proud of our films and I stand behind all of them 100 percent," says Morris, a filmmaker ("A Gun For Jennifer") who moved to Jim Thorpe in 2014.

Selections range from American independents to movies from Egypt, Russia, Germany and Spain. There are comedies, thrillers, romances, horror films, documentaries and LGBT fare.

"I'd say most of our films have a dark, irreverent, rebellious tone and will definitely press buttons and take the viewers on a journey far from their safe spaces," Morris says.

The shorts and features are cleverly programmed into blocks that spotlight experimentation, grindhouse fare, action, issues of identity, justice, young love and "the dark side.""Like the tagline of our festival implies — come to the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival with your 'Eyes and Minds Wide Open,'" Morris says. "And we definitely mean that!"

For more information, visit http://www.jimthorpeindiefilmfest.com