You might call it the “people’s” film festival.

The eighth annual Flathead Lake International Cinemafest offers area residents the chance to “hob nob” with film makers and actors from across the globe.

It’s a bonus for the film makers, too, says David King, who co-produces the festival with his wife, Jessica. “They love to come here. They get treated more personally. They love the feedback they get from folks who just come to see the movies and aren’t necessarily involved in the industry.”

This year’s festival will feature 64 independent films, Friday night through Sunday at Polson’s Showboat Cinemas, from around the globe.

Twenty of those films are considered “Montana-grown,” with several made locally or with a local connection.

Kaleb Unger of Polson High School is presenting his film “The Chase,” a documentary profiling senior wrestler Hunter Fritsch in pursuit of a state championship. Unger is also a character in “The Night Shift.”

“The Avant-Gardener” was written and directed by Lindsay Katt, known in the Plains community where she grew up as Lindsay Catalanello. This “experimental music feature” has won awards at several world events, and this is its first U.S. showing.

“Sand+Box” is a 13-minute film directed by Brandon Smith, with Eden Bryant as director of photography, and was accepted to play at the famed Pinewoods Studio in London.

Visit flicpolson.com for tickets and schedule information. Encore screenings of all the films will run Sunday night through Thursday of next week.