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Yuma boasts a growing filmmaking scene, a fact organizers of an upcoming film festival hope to prove by showcasing some of that talent on the silver screen.

The Yuma Film Festival is accepting entries of short and feature-length movies. Selected cinematic creations will be shown during a special event April 21 at the Historic Yuma Theatre.

The newly born event will be held in conjunction with an established Yuma favorite: ARTbeat. Organizers of the film festival say they're excited to see both celebrations of all things creative join forces.

"We're blessed with some incredibly talented people -- from filmmakers, to actors, to painters, to photographers, to sculptors -- I could go on ... in our community and we have world-class facilities right here in town," said Isaac Russell. "Too many of our neighbors, our fellow Yumans, don't know this. This is an outlet for artists to reach out to them."

The deadline for submitting a film is April 16. For more information, go to YumaFilmFestival.com.

"Our goal is to showcase 20 to 30 films of varying lengths," Russell said, "from 60 seconds to feature length."

Submissions will be accepted in these categories: Short short (30 seconds to 5 minutes), general short (5 to 20 minutes), extended general (20 to 30 minutes), documentary, music video and animation.

"There is a huge film community here in Yuma," Russell said. "You name it -- from writers and directors, to actors and cinemaphotographers -- they're here. Plus, with today's technology, more and more people are making films and such, as an almost accidental hobby."

Visual art submissions are also being accepted for a juried gallery opening, which will be held in conjunction with the film festival's awards ceremony. "It has to be film- or music-related -- broadly understood -- but that's the only requirement," Russell said. "Any medium is acceptable."

Live music by Yuma's own Checker'd Past will follow until the dinner break at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and beer and wine will be available for purchase.

The Yuma Film Festival is being sponsored by Cocopah Casino, Big Bob's Flooring, NexGen and the Yuma Film Commission.