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At just three years old, the Fairbanks Arts Association’s annual Film Festival is continuing to grow and, organizers hope, will become a bigger and better tradition each year.

“This already is a tradition. Naturally we expect to see more submissions as the festival continues to grow, but we’ve gotten strong response so far,” said Tatiana Piatanova, program director for the Fairbanks Arts Assocation.

FAA has opened the door for filmmakers throughout the state to submit their work in any of the available categories — feature, documentary, short, music video and animation— before the June 20 deadline. Offering an outlet for all forms of creativity is a major goal for FAA overall, and, Piatanova said, developing an outlet for film talent is a way to “keep up with the times.”

“We have a lot of talented filmmakers in Fairbanks and throughout Alaska and we want them to have an outlet to present their work,” she said.

The festival is a juried survey, with three jurors viewing and rating each submission. The panel will consider technical and creative merit in their choices for winners in each category. There will also be a Cinema Commmittee Award, presented by the Cinema Committee, a local group that locally supports arts related to cinematography in the community.

An important element of the festival, Piatanova noted, is the invitation for adults and youth — in the K-12 competition — to make submissions. Including young talent is not only a way to introduce youth to the art of film and “inspire interest for the future,” but also to encourage confidence.

“This is a chance for youth to see their stuff is treated with just as much respect as the adults and they can see the possibilities of what they can do,” she said.

Winning films will be viewed at the festival, to be held on Sept. 1 at the Pioneer Park Theater. For details regarding submissions contact FAA at 456-6485 ext. 227 or tatiana@fairbanksarts.org.