More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the eighth annual ASU Short Film and Video Festival on Saturday. The evening will take place under the stars in the Nelson Fine Arts Center plaza, where attendees can bring blankets, chairs and food to watch a variety of short films in a picnic-style setting.

According to the organizer, John Spiak of the sponsoring ASU Art Museum, the festival is a great opportunity to see films you wouldn’t see in movie theaters. Plus, it’s free.

“The films have a different range, not just narrative stories,” Spiak says. “They make you think. And it is just a social kind of beach party event with a great atmosphere.”

The three-hour festival will feature artistic works from around the nation and the globe. This year, 329 entries were received from 27 states and 21 countries, ranging from 60 seconds to 10 minutes in length.

Jurors Spiak and Bob Pece spent a weekend choosing the films to be shown at the festival.

“We selected 18 works that we thought kind of fit together in one way or another,” Spiak says. “Ones that intrigued and were of quality.”

Spiak and Pece each give out a Juror’s Choice award to their favorite film, as well as an Arizona award to an Arizona filmmaker. A fourth award is voted on by the audience at the festival.