A total of 40 projects, including one feature-length fantasy film, were selected for this year's Local Flavor series — the premier showcase for area filmmakers. More than 60 — documentaries, shorts, comedies, videos, animations — were submitted to the free series, which doesn't hand out awards. We let the applause do the talking.

We've broken them down into four programs, all of which are free and will be shown in the El Paso Community Foundation's Foundation Room at 333 N. Oregon (across from San Jacinto Plaza). We've added two other special programs, a fundraiser for Ilana Lapid's new short, Yochi, and the film projects from this year's second Plaza Classic Film Camp.

The series is generously sponsored by the Texas Film Commission.

The series opens with the 12th annual and always popular The Good, The Bad, The Indie, Vol. 12, which makes its ninth annual appearance at the Plaza Classic at 8 p.m. Saturday, August 6.

The title accurately describes this compendium (you just have to figure out what's what). Several of the filmmakers will be in attendance to discuss their projects.

The Good, The Bad, The Indie, Vol. 12 The films and their creators are: • Everywhere I go *(Chris Hanna) • *Memories (Andrew Barahona) • The Violin (Claudia Castaneda) • Second Chance: El Tiradero (Arturo Contreras) • The Force Within (Angel Rodriguez) • Tacos (Eric J. Vasquez) • Pope Francis: Visit to the Borderland (Irving Garza and Grisel Rojas) • Seed (Michael Torres) • In Limbo (Gustavo Garza) • Sun City Divas (Rayell Abad) • Don't Forget (Tito Arenal) • Midnight Vagary (Diego Davila) • Nacho L. Garcia Jr. (Larry D. Powers) • Like a Bomb (Angel Rodriguez) • Winter Morning (Cruz Barajas Lujan) • El Camino (Victor Carrillo) • A Singularity (Kirk Ryde) • Simple Happiness (Alberto J Pedroza) • A Dark Matter (Leonardo Sotelo) • Ball Busters (Michael Huante)

Song of the Starslayer The second program at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 7 is devoted entirely to a new, 188-minute feature film by local filmmaker and Plaza Classic returnee Robert Towne. The director and members of the cast and crew will attend.

Shorts 1 The first of two shorts anthologies will be at 8 p.m. Friday, August 12. The films and their creators are: • Creative Kids (Aurelia Digital Media) • Got all my guns huh? (Noah Spivey) • Promise Me (Kevin Machate) • Plasma Sword (Roberto Urrea) • A Little Enchanting (Stella Gutiérrez) • Paleta Power (Ruben Chang) • Little Match Girl (Carlos Arreola)

Yochi Fundraiser New Mexico State University associate professor Ilana Lapid will discuss the making of her new, 26-minute short Yochi, filmed in Belize with amateur actors. She's trying to raise money for a top-notch sound mix and we're glad to help out. She'll show the movie, do a Q&A and, as Obi Wan would say, you will donate! It's at 4 p.m. Saturday, August 13 in the Foundation Room. Admission is $10 at the door.

Shorts 2 The second of the two programs is at 8 p.m. Saturday, August 13 in the Foundation Room. The films and their creators are: • La Loteria (Isaac Marquez) • Again and Over/Nuevamente *(Pedro Omar Dominguez) • *Good Cop, Good Cop (Keagan Karnes) • Lotus (Edmund Lozano & Jazmin Harvey) • Buffalo (Julian Alexander) • Cycle (Jesus Nunez & Jaime Blanco) • Portrait of an Addict (Andrew Shebay) • Slow Wallet (Sheridan O'Donnell) • The Talk In The Night (Chris Hanna) • Gatekeeper (Gerry Facio) • La Catrina (Ilana Lapid) • Theotokos (Mark Martinez) • PEN (Diego Rico) • Wolff's Law (Sheridan O'Donnell)

Plaza Classic Film Camp We close out this year's Local Flavor series with movies made by future Scorseses, also known as the 20 or so kids who took part in the second annual Plaza Classic Film Camp at the El Paso Public Library. We will show what they came up with in a free program at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 14 in the Foundation Room.