VALDOSTA — People of all ages are invited to attend a film festival of a different kind this Saturday.

“Causes” is a mini-festival created by Dr. Matthew Richard in the anthropology department of Valdosta State University.

“I came up with this in 2008 when Facebook and YouTube were new,” said Richard. “It’s a neat way to challenge students and to show that things learned in class can be applied to real life.”

To Richard, this project embodies the best in education by combining critical thinking and creativity.

“It allows students to look around local society and identify issues that they learn about,” said Richard. “I think this project represents a very grassroots phenomenon. In a forum like this, it makes people reflect and it challenges people.”

The festival has been hosted on and off for five years, with Richard learning something new from each experience.

“The first year, many made videos concerning global issues,” said Richard. “I decided I wanted to focus on the local after that so that people would feel empowered and obligated to acknowledge the serious issues right here.”

The 2016 festival will include roughly 25 videos, each lasting 90 seconds. Each entry was pre-screened and will be shown via YouTube. This format will allow for the videos to be posted on Facebook after the festival.

“Causes” will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, VSU’s Bailey Auditorium.

As for the future of the festival, Richard would like to see it become a VSU tradition.

“I would like to continue to do this project even after I retire,” said Richard. “I am convinced that this is a neat way to get people thinking about how to improve society.” 

Desiree Carver is Lifestyles Editor at the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be reached at (229) 375-5777.