Harrisonburg thinks indie films are ‘Gr8’

Last October, Court Square Theater hosted the Super Gr8 Film Festival, which featured 46 super 8 short films directed by local filmmakers.

Split into three separate viewings — two at Court Square and one on the James Madison University campus at Grafton Stovall Theater — the total attendance was estimated between 600 and 700.

Organizers Tim Estep and Paul Somers say the festival’s success is a testament to how much enthusiasm surrounds the local independent film scene.

“It’s truly the epitome of a thriving local film scene when the downtown theater is packed with viewers and showcasing close to 20 short films a night,” said Combs, who also had a film featured in the festival. “Seeing so many individuals take part in that particular filmmaking process was inspiring.”

Estep and Somers hope the event, which is scheduled again for the fall, will continue to attract up-and-coming filmmakers to the local scene.

“[Paul and I] wanted to open that experience [of filmmaking] up to anyone who wanted to be creative and have their works become accessible to large amounts of people,” said Estep.