Six new independent films are coming to the Capitol Arts Center in downtown Bowling Green, and they may be bringing more than simple entertainment value.

The Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center announced Tuesday a partnership with South Arts Inc. that will bring the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers to Bowling Green.

The six films, all free to the public, will start with the documentary “Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry” on Aug. 29. This movie about Berry, a Kentuckian whose writings about agrarian virtues and sustainable agriculture have earned accolades worldwide, will start a series that SKyPAC officials hope will benefit the community in many ways.

“Having this series come to Bowling Green does a number of different things,” said William Skaggs, SKyPAC’s chief development officer. “It provides a component for the arts that we’re not often exposed to. Independent films don’t get as much exposure, but they are often more creative and enjoyable than what you see in movie theaters.”

Skaggs pointed out that this film series is enhanced by including visits by the filmmakers.

“We’ll have the screening of the film, then a talk by the filmmaker,” Skaggs said. “Having the filmmakers themselves here provides a lot of value.”

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon, on hand for Tuesday’s news conference announcing the film series, agreed.

“I’m excited about it,” Buchanon said. “This is a great use for this venue. It’s a wonderful thing for downtown and a great promotion for the film industry in our region.”

Kentucky in general and southcentral Kentucky in particular are fast becoming known as popular sites for filmmakers. Spurred by state tax incentives, filmmakers have set up shop in the region to make such films as the Hallmark movie “An Uncommon Grace” and “Summer of ’67.”

Having the independent film series at the Capitol Arts Center can spur more interest in Kentucky movie-making, according to Hart County Judge-Executive Terry Martin, president of the Southern Kentucky Film Commission.

“This brings in people who, when they get to see the area, maybe will want to come here and make more movies,” Martin said.

And that can have a big economic impact, according to Southern Kentucky Film Commission member Sandra Wilson of Horse Cave.

“There is a real tourism connection with filmmaking,” she said. “The people who come in, they go out to eat and shop locally and they hire local people.”

Warren County’s Buchanon sees another possible beneficial outgrowth of the independent film series.

“I hope this will be an impetus for a film festival in Bowling Green sometime in the future,” he said.

In addition to the film about Berry, the Southern Circuit series includes these five films:

• “Pushing Dead,” a movie about an HIV-positive man and his struggles to pay for his medication, to be shown Sept. 12.
• “Score: A Film Music Documentary,” which looks at how composers developed some iconic movie scores, to be shown Oct. 24.
• “Romeo is Bleeding,” a documentary about an inner-city youth who helps mount an urban adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, to be shown Nov. 7.
• “Deej,” a documentary about an autistic boy who overcomes his disability to excel in school and life, to be shown Feb. 20.
• “Purple Dreams,” a documentary about the value of arts education that follows the experiences of three high school students who use arts to escape poverty-stricken lives, to be shown March 20.

The film series is made possible, Skaggs said, by these sponsors: the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Warren County Public Library, Western Kentucky University Cultural Arts Enhancement Series, Gallery 916, 440 Main, White Squirrel Brewery and Susan and Chuck Webb.

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