The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival is back in 2024 with a four-day extravaganza from April 18-21. Hosted by the Digital Art and Animation area in the WVU School of Art and Design, this year's edition showcases 130 professionally crafted videos and animations from both regional and global creators. 

Alongside film screenings, attendees can participate in workshops, engage in an insightful panel discussion, and join artist Q&A sessions. Adding to the excitement there will be three live audio-visual performances. Spread across three venues in Morgantown - the Morgantown Art Party, the Canady Creative Arts Center, and the WVU Mountainlair - the festival promises an unforgettable weekend of experimental and multimedia art, film and creativity. All festival events are free and open to the public.

The festival commences on Thursday April 18 at 6 p.m. at Morgantown Art Party on Walnut St. featuring a selection of multimedia art works by current WVU students specializing in video and animation. Works will be on display throughout the evening.

The festivals’ competitive film and video screenings begin on Friday evening at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center. Kicking things off at 8:00 p.m. is an eclectic showcase of 16 spectacular works from both regional and international artists working in multiple genres. The event opens with a recent animation by New York based artists Dean Winkler and John Sanborn called In C, Too, an animation created using generative images and AI algorithms combined with video of dancers shot on green screen and whose natural, human motion drives this mesmerizing animation. Another highlight from this opening set is the hilarious short film I Wet My Plants by Pittsburgh filmmaker Caroline Collins, as well as the equally funny character animation called Deer Heaven by Washington D.C. based animator David Malone about a family deer hunting expedition gone awry.

The festival continues on Saturday with a jam-packed, day-long lineup of films, animations, discussions, and live audio-visual performances. The day begins with a focus on the issue of artificial intelligence and its current and future use in the creation of artworks.

All festival events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://www.wvmsff.com/.