Special to the American Press

The 12th annual Lake Charles Film Festival will roll 5-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Holiday Inn, 2940 Lake St. in Lake Charles.

Attendees can view more than 20 independent films ranging in length from 3 minutes to 2 hours.

The films are from all over the country and are in a variety of genres such as comedy, animation, music video, horror, sci-fi, student film, documentary, and comedy. Some of the films were made in Calcasieu Parish.

Admission costs $5 Friday and $10 Saturday.

Guest of honor is Hollywood celebrity Johnny Whitaker who was a child actor in the ’60s and ’70s. Whitaker starred in TV shows and movies like “Family Affair,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Sigmund and the Sea Monster.” He will give a Q&A and will be available for photos and autographs.

There will be a no-host mixer at Rikenjaks Friday night following the film screenings where people can come mix and minge with the filmmakers and other film buffs.

An awards ceremony and no-host mixer will take place atat MacFarlanes on Saturday night following the film screenings. Come hang out again with filmmakers and film buffs. Our celebrity guest of honor will be in attendance.

In addition to the film screenings, there will be special presentations, Q&A sessions, and seminars on filmmaking, Louisiana Film History, and movie poster collecting.

– This year, there will be a special block of films on Friday night presented by the Filmsquatch podcast, a podcast that reviews Bigfoot movies. This block of films consists of 4 Bigfoot short films entered into their first ever “Bigfoot Short Film Challenge.”

This event is sponsored by Louisiana Film & Video Art, Louisiana Entertainment, The Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA, and the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.

“This is a great event to watch films from around the country, network with filmmakers, and learn some tips on making films,” said Festival Director Patrick Bennett.

For more information visit Facebook/LCfilmfest or www.LakeCharlesFilmFestival.com