WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting will sponsor its 15th annual Western Film Festival (WFF) from May 4 to May 8. The five-day event will include screenings of works by recognized filmmakers as well as an opportunity to view the projects of up-and-coming film artists in the annual awards competition.

“Our film screening choices this year are some of the best we’ve ever offered,” said Cory Lash, WFF Director. “We look forward to bringing these accomplished filmmakers to our campus to learn from their experiences in the industry.”

The film festival schedule follows. All seminars are scheduled in Mass Media and Technology Hall room 232 at 3:30 p.m. and evening screenings will be held in Downing University Center (DUC) Theatre at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

May 4

The Festival screening kicks off at 7 p.m. Monday with short films and a screening of “The Bell Witch Legend.” Introduced by the film’s director and producer, Nashville filmmaker Zac Adams, this documentary is a ghost story of American Southern Folklore. It’s a tale of a sinister spirit who haunted the Bell family in Robertson County, Tenn., for a period of four years. The hauntings involved special creatures, disembodied voices, unbelievable violence, and even resulted in the death of John Bell all at the hands of the infamous Bell Witch. A question-and-answer session with Adams will follow the screening.

May 5

At 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nashville film producer and director Jon Cring will present a seminar on feature films. Cring will discuss how he attempted to produce 12 feature films in 12 months (it actually took him 23 months — still an unbelievable feat in that time frame) and other insightful information on producing low budget feature films.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the screening of one of producer/director Jon Cring’s feature films “Lenders Morgan” which presents colliding forces of repression and sexual curiosity in a small Southern Ohio town fostering the disappearance of a young girl. Swept away on a whirlwind of mania, she is thrust back home, everything changed yet still the same. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the film director.

May 6

At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Ken Cravens, a freelance writer, producer, director and editor from Los Angeles, will discuss his experience as a producer and director in the film industry. Cravens has also edited numerous independent projects, some of which have won Indy awards. He has also edited commercials for Spike TV and directed music videos airing on MTV.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, the festival will feature screenings of short films reflecting the work of independent and student filmmakers, many of which are finalists in the film competition. The presentation of awards to college and independent filmmakers will follow at the conclusion of the film screening.

May 7

At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Kevin Crisp will discuss trials and tribulations of producing short films and the importance of short film festivals. Crisp is a commercial film director in St. Louis and writer, producer and director of independent short films. His current short film “Helpline” will screen in competition at the Western Film Festival. Later in May it will screen at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in France. The Cannes festival is one of the oldest and most coveted film festivals in the world and is a true honor and achievement to have a film selected for screening at Cannes.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, the festival will present short films and the feature film “Spiral State” produced, edited and scored by Ken Cravens.

Also at 7 p.m. at Diddle Arena, filmmaker Spike Lee will be speaking on the subject of diversity.

May 8

At 3:30 p.m Friday, Bently Tittle and Theresa Carpenter-Beames will team up to discuss their decades of writing, producing and directing in the film industry.

Tittle, a writer and director from Los Angeles, has worked for MTV, Viacom, the Disney Channel, FOX Television, CMT and VH-1. He has also directed a number of commercials, music videos, and has won a Cable Act Award, Addy Award and ICE TV’s “Best New Video” Award.

Beames, a writer, producer and director from Louisville, will discuss her expertise in developing and delivering high-end video programs. She has worked with clients such as the PGA of America, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Papa John’s Pizza, the Red Cross, ABC Sports, Churchill Downs, Maker’s Mark, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, and the Ford Motor Company.

At 7 p.m. Friday, the festival will feature the premiere screening of the feature film “The Time Closet” by Nashville independent filmmakers Seth Worley and Jeff Venable. While house-sitting for a friend, a young man discovers that the upstairs closet has been engineered into a time machine by a boy from the future. A chase ensues and he finds himself thrown one minute into the past … again and again. Worley and Venable will introduce the film and do a question-and-answer session immediately following the screening.

For information, visit www.westernfilmfest.com or contact Cory Lash at (270) 745-5890.