Once again the arts community in Alpena will be shining this weekend with the inaugural Sunrise 45 Film Festival.

More than 40 films and music videos will be shared at three venues beginning today and continuing through Sunday. A $40 all-access pass will get you into all the venues all three days, or you can pick and choose with single day passes which run $15 for Friday events, $20 for Saturday events and $12 for Sunday’s shows.

The event is the culmination of much planning and preparation of the Thunder Bay Film Society, and more particularly seven volunteers who made up a committee whose job it was to screen films, pick offerings and arrange for all the details of this weekend’s events.

The venues selected to host the film festival include Thunder Bay Theatre, Alpena Civic Theatre and the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.

We are excited, for these type of independently produced films rarely get shown outside larger cities. There are several international offerings that will be made available this weekend as well.

This is yet another example of the quality offerings Northeast Michigan residents have available to them.

For specific times and information on the shows, consult the Sunrise 45 Film Festival website at sunrise45.org.