The 2025 Georgia Film Festival brought three days of screenings, workshops and community connection to the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus from Oct. 16 – 18.

The festival, held at the Hawk Cinema inside UNG’s Performing Arts Center, drew filmmakers, students and film fans from across the region.

The lineup included independent features, shorts and student projects, workshops with industry panels and Q&A sessions woven throughout the weekend. The focus remained on emerging voices and locally sourced narratives, the kind that often go unseen in larger festivals dominated by multi-million dollar studio productions.

Beyond entertainment, the Georgia Film Festival plays a vital role in connecting independent creators with audiences and professionals. It helps sustain a network that supports year round production in the region.

For students, the event also served as a bridge between classroom learning and the professional world. UNG film students volunteered at screenings and attended workshops led by industry experts, gaining insight into the realities of production, editing and distribution.

In room 115 of the Performing Arts Center, the GFF also had free miniature painting. It was nice to sit down and relax after some short films and paint with the other patrons. At other tables around the room, brand new board games were being taught and played by volunteers and attendees.

“I learned more from one festival weekend than a semester of theory,” said James Magee, a junior film major. “Hearing from working filmmakers gave me a real sense of how to start my career here in Georgia.”

The festival’s educational approach is a defining feature. Co-Executive Directors Dr. Jeff Marker and Alicia Marker design the programming to bring films to the audience creating accessible entry points for both casual moviegoers and aspiring filmmakers.

“The sense of community is immense…it shows how much trust and support that the film students have for the program.” – Dr. Jeff Marker, Director of the School of Communication, Film & Theatre at UNG

When asked about how the campus community got started in the Film area Marker stated “The building kickstarted that cultivation of community here. It really allows everyone to be comfortable and shows how everyone interacts with each other in expressing each person’s impact within the program.”

As Georgia continues to attract major studio productions, local festivals like GFF ensure that independent storytelling maintains a foothold. The event’s blend of screenings, workshops and networking mixers fosters a community and campus allowing students and residents alike to participate in the state’s creative industry.

The feature film “Myth of the Ghost Kingdom” on the final day was presented and was as the synopsis states, A psychological drama about identity, belonging and the enduring quest for self-understanding. The term “Ghost Kingdom” in the film entails about a late discovery adoption that the main character discovers about themselves and how they deal with the sudden change in their journey. When asked about the project Mullis explained the reasoning behind choosing the topic of a “Ghost Kingdom”.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of people were taking Ancestry.com and 23 & Me DNA tests… people were discovering family that they had never even known and these stories kept speaking out to me because of the question, “What if you found out you weren’t who you thought you were?” Multiple people were sending me their own stories of their discoveries and from there I started to do my own research… Myth of the Ghost Kingdom aims to authentically explore the poignant and tumultuous path of late discovery adoption and give people something to resonate with their own experiences. ” – Jason Mullis, Writer/Director, Myth of the Ghost Kingdom