Originally founded in 1998, what formerly was a three-day festival has grown exponentially throughout the years, switching to a fall time frame and showing films for nine days, Festival Director Susan Woods said.

Initially funded through a startup grant and continued through sponsors and donations, Woods said the festival has garnered more attention recently with the inclusion of awards for the Lake Michigan Film Competition, which gives cash awards to selected films at least partially made in the Great Lakes region.

For Woods, the continued success of the festival even in times of economic hardship is particularly rewarding.

“It was really spectacular in terms of organization, visiting directors (and) the films we were showing,” she said. “It was the culmination of all my dreams.”

Although some of the weekend showings had light attendance — a fact Woods partially attributes to the football game and the MSU men’s basketball game held in San Diego — Woods said overall attendance of the film events increased from years past.

East Lansing resident Mary Szlachetka, who saw a variety of feature and short length independent and foreign films at the festival, said she grew up with film, as her father was a projectionist.

To her, the East Lansing Film Festival and other festivals of its kind are unique because of the closeness in proximity to the filmmaker and actors.

“This is the kind of experience you don’t get when you go to the show,” Szlachetka said. “That’s what makes a film festival special to me — being able to talk to the actors you’ve just seen and the filmmakers.”

Szlachetka said her only regret was that she wasn’t able to attend more of the showings.

MSU alumnus and East Lansing filmmaker Brandon Laventure, who currently is working on “Apocalypse Theory,” an independent film, said he particularly enjoys film festivals because it gives him an opportunity to see work he might not have had the chance to see in a commercial movie theater.

“(Film festivals) can sometimes be a risky endeavor — I’m glad that we have them locally,” Laventure said. “I’ve been to the festival before, and I’ve seen great stuff I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.”

Laventure said he has been so hard at work on his own film that he wasn’t able to attend events at the East Lansing Film Festival this year, and although he said it was “a tragedy,” he plans to participate next year in an even more hands-on way — he will submit his film, once completed, to next year’s edition of the festival.

Those interested in attending the final film showings of this year’s festival can check out the East Lansing Film Festival website for film selections, times and locations.