The lights fade out, and the audience falls silent.

There is something about great movies that is hard to describe, but impossible to ignore. The images, sounds and the darkness of the theater create a feeling that grabs you and says, “Pay attention, this is important.”

The Puffin Collaborative Film Festival (PCFF) is built around that feeling. Ten organizations from Central Ohio have come together to sponsor films that tell stories of overcoming struggle, celebrating difference, and creating change. In the dramatic fashion that only the big screen can provide, these movies remind us of our connections to each other, and what is possible when we work together.

View the full festival schedule and buy tickets here.

This spirit of collaboration defines the festival’s purpose. While Movies with a Mission is the centerpiece of this five night event, PCFF goes a step further. Organizations advancing disability rights, community activism, arts organizing, and LGBT media will be present each night to provide the link between the movies they sponsored and the mission that drives them. They will provide the opportunity for festival-goers to add action to the lights and camera of these great films.

The ACLU of Ohio has a special role at PCFF this year. To connect the energy of great films to the avenues for making change, representatives from the ACLU will be present every night of the festival to educate people on their voting rights. Access to political participation is a fundamental right, and the ACLU is working hard to ensure all Ohioans can exercise this right.

You know the feeling of a great film. Join the ACLU this September to make that feeling part of something greater.

The Puffin Collaborative Film Festival runs for five nights from September 21st-25th. For a complete list of organizations, films, and to purchase tickets, see our Events Calendar, or visit the Puffin Collaborative Film Festival website.