It’s the Eighth Annual Columbia University National Undergraduate Film Festival today, so put on your most debonair outfit and strut the red carpet glass ramps up to the Lerner Cinema at 2:00.

This year’s films include:

Afectación by Sebastian Rea (SUNY Purchase)

A Heart Felt by Jingyang Cheng (Northwestern)

The Arm by Jessie Ennis (Sarah Lawrence)

Dear Hunters by Zack Bornstein, Eric Binswanger and David Shuck (Brown)

The Perfect Hurl by Will Eisenberg & Michael Lewen (USC)

The Understudy by Hayley Kosan (Arizona State)

2-4 pm, Tickets are on sale through TIC for $3 with a CUID, $6 for non-CUID holders. After showcasing the films, there will be awards, presentations, and a short question-and-answer with the filmmakers.

Started in 2002 by mostly engineering/non-film students, CUNUFF has grown into a group comprised of both film majors and students who just enjoy the art of film. In the fall, they usually host a small event devoted to the art of film (past years have included a workshop with London Squared, an animation production company, and a cosponsored event with Bacchanal that brought Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his HitRECord project to CU). However, the main event is the festival.

“In the fall we send out a call for submissions to hundreds of schools across the country. Before, we targeted mainly schools with film production programs, but in recent years we have expanded to include schools with programs in digital production, film studies and other related disciplines,” says Kylie Petti (BC), current president of CUNUFF. “We begin receiving submissions in January […] Many of our club meetings are devoted to watching these films and finally selecting the ones we believe are best suited for the festival.”

The films will be judged by a panel of selected professors and professionals from the filmmaking industry to receive awards in categories such as the Frontiers Award (for most original film), Best Screenplay, Best Directed, and Best Picture. Additionally, the Concord Award will be awarded separately to the film selected by the audience as their pick for best film. The Best Picture recipient is awarded $500 in prize money, the Best Directed $200, and the Best Screenplay and Frontiers award winners win $100 each.

Described by the festival runners as the six “most hilarious, moving, beautiful, provocative, creative or repulsive-sometimes all at the same time” submissions this year, the festival promises to be a fantastic showcase of extraordinary original films. Though this is a festival celebrating undergraduate accomplishment in film, this still isn’t just for film majors. “Many of us (like me) don’t know very much about filmmaking at all!  We just love watching movies. Who doesn’t?” says Petti. “The most important thing is that our festival gives these student filmmakers from all over the country the opportunity to have their films screened at one of the most important undergraduate festivals in the country.”