The theme of this year's Global Film Festival, "Film and Community," is much more than a subject matter."We're really trying to not just program films around it, but to live it," said Kate Previti, the festival's senior assistant director and programming director.
In a way, the festival has lived it since the start, founded with a mission of "commitment to using film as a global medium, an international medium, to bring our local community together," said Timothy Barnard, festival director.
Presented by the College of William and Mary, the ninth annual Global Film Festival will pack Feb. 18-21 with screenings of nearly 30 short and feature-length films from around the world, presentations from guest filmmakers, filmmaking workshops, themed receptions and more.

It's a big year for the festival organizers say has built on its successes since 2008.In a special sneak preview, audiences will be first in the U.S. to view "Angry Indian Goddesses" at 9 p.m. on Saturday. Featuring leading Indian actresses, the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015, followed by screenings at European festivals. As India's first female "buddy" film, the comic drama highlights both the beauty of female friendship and the challenges women face in Indian society.Other exclusive screenings include "Embrace of the Serpent," shown 5 p.m. Sunday, and "The Boy & the World," shown at 1 p.m. Sunday; both are Academy-Award nominated films. "Embrace of the Serpent" is Colombia's first-ever Academy Award nominee for "Best Foreign Film," following the relationship between an Amazonian shaman and two European scientists.For filmmakers and distributors to see the festival as a place to exclusively release films speaks to its reputation, Previti said. "It's a dedicated community of film-lovers, and that speaks to people."With feature, documentary and animated films, the lineup explores "Film and Community" in subject matter as much as it does through experience.

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