Thin Line to feature six world premieres

"We have so many countries participating in the festival this year, from Australia, to Ireland, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel, just as an example," said independent filmmaker and producer Susan Carol Davis, who heads the festival's film committee. "It shows how much of an international festival we are - which we have been for some time - but we're getting more participation from filmmakers in other countries."

Thin Line is a free, five-day documentary film, music and photography festival that takes place April 18-22.

Davis said the submission committee judged the films on quality and subject matter. The committee picked up topical titles, such as Dodging Bullets, a documentary about the lingering effects of historical trauma on the Native American population in the U.S. Dance Hall Days takes a wistful look at Lone Star dance halls - which began shuttering their doors as the younger generation turned their interests from country and western couples dancing. The Exorcist and Me follows a filmmaker as he pursues the truth about a Argentinian Catholic priest who builds up a celebrity clientele by offering exorcisms for less-than-demonic problems.

"You want the films to be as relevant to the moment as they can be," Davis said. "But above everything, you want to have quality storytelling."

Davis said the festival's film submissions grew this year, and more women submitted films they produced.

"Nine of the 31 films we're screening were made by women, and 12 of the films are related to [the University of North Texas] in some way," Davis said.

The festival will screen films at the Campus Theatre, 214 W. Hickory St., and Denton Movie Tavern, 916 W. University Drive.

Admission to the festival is free, but registration is encouraged. Additional perks and privileges are available for supporters at $19 per person, streaming ticketholders at $49 and VIP patrons at $99.

April 18

6:30 p.m. - Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable. The first documentary film on the life and work of American photographer Garry Winogrand. 91 minutes. USA. North Texas premiere. Campus Theatre.

April 19

5 p.m. - Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable. The first documentary film on the life and work of American photographer Garry Winogrand. 91 minutes. USA. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

5:45 p.m. - WASP - A Wartime Experiment in WoManpower. The WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, were a group of civilians who flew military airplanes so men could be freed for combat during World War II. The WASP Archive is housed in the Woman's Collection on the Denton campus of Texas Woman's University. 88 minutes. USA. World premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

7 p.m. - Elk River Sessions. Twenty musicians from Denton travel to a cabin in the Missouri Ozarks to write and record an original album. 80 minutes. USA. World premiere. Campus Theatre.

7:45 p.m. - The Reluctant Radical. Activist Ken Ward confronts his fears and puts himself in the direct path of the fossil fuel industry to combat climate change. 77 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

8 p.m. - The Last Dog. At age 70, Peter decides never to adopt another dog, until a friend takes him to see a litter of Saint Bernard puppies. 67 minutes. Canada. U.S. premiere. Paired with the short film "A View From the Window." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

9 p.m. - Ask the Sexpert. The story of a highly popular 93-year-old sex advice columnist for a daily newspaper in India. 81 minutes. USA. Paired with short film "Ready for a Baby." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

April 20

2 p.m. - The Last Dog. At age 70, Peter decides never to adopt another dog, until a friend takes him to see a litter of Saint Bernard puppies. 67 minutes. Canada. Paired with the short film "A View From the Window." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

4:30 p.m. - 101. Stylistic silent film from Germany created in reverence to French director Abel Gance's 1919 film J'accuse! North American premiere. 80 minutes. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

4:30 p.m. - Ask the Sexpert. The story of a highly popular 93-year-old sex advice columnist for a daily newspaper in India. 81 minutes. USA. Paired with short film "Ready for a Baby." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

6:15 p.m. - The Cleaners. A documentary about the people who scour the Internet of "inappropriate" material. 90 minutes. Germany. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

6:30 p.m. -Dodging Bullets. Native Americans have dodged bullets since the first contact with Europeans. This documentary explores historical trauma and its lingering effects. 101 minutes. USA. World premiere. Campus Theatre.

6:45 p.m. - Out of State. Shipped thousands of miles away from the tropical islands of Hawaii to a private prison in the Arizona desert, two native Hawaiians discover their traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence. 80 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

8:30 p.m. - Between the Shades. Documentary explores the many shades of being gay by what connects us all: love. Texas premiere. 81 minutes. USA. Paired with short film "Purity." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

8:45 p.m. - The Exorcist and Me. A presenter-led doc uncovers the murky truth about a priest in Argentina. Mature content. 44 minutes. Argentina. World premiere. Paired with short film "6th Graders School Roy Moore's Attorney." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

9 p.m. - Sex and Broadcasting. A feature length documentary about New Jersey's WFMU, the world's strangest and most unique radio station. 75 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Big Paradise." Campus Theatre.

April 21

10 a.m. - Born in China. Disneynature's Born in China follows the adventures of three animal families - the majestic panda, the savvy golden monkey and the elusive snow leopard. 79 minutes. USA. Campus Theatre.

10:30 a.m. - Jane. An intimate portrait of the most famous primatologist on Earth, Jane Goodall. 90 minutes. USA. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

11 a.m. - The Sunrise Storyteller. Teenage filmmaker and social justice advocate Kasha Sequoia Slavner sets out for six months on her 16th birthday. She travels across the world in search of stories of hope and resilience. 64 minutes. Canada. Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Acres of Diamonds." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

11:30 a.m. - The Reluctant Radical. Activist Ken Ward confronts his fears and puts himself in the direct path of the fossil fuel industry to combat climate change. 77 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

12:45 p.m. - Shake Sister Shake. Female blues singers are followed from around the Chicago area to New Orleans. 83 minutes. Australia. World premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

1:30 p.m. - The Island. An intimate glimpse into the St. Louis French Hospital - a hospice for terminally ill patients situated on the border between East and West Jerusalem. 59 minutes. Israel. Texas premiere. Paired with the short film "Birth of a New Art Form: Lineillism Revealed." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

1:45 p.m. - The Exorcist and Me. A presenter-led doc uncovers the murky truth about a priest in Argentina. Mature content. 44 minutes. Argentina. World premiere. Paired with short film "6th Graders School Roy Moore's Attorney." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

2 p.m. - Dance Hall Days. Dance halls once were as common as cattle in Texas. Now, the ones that remain exist in a time when their past is legend and their future is uncertain. 82 minutes. USA. World premiere. Paired with the short film, "A Taste of Home." Campus Theatre.

3:30 p.m. - The Modern Jungle. A portrait of globalization filtered through the fever dream of a Mexican shaman. 71 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

3:45 p.m. - Battlefield Home - Breaking the Silence. In an effort to unravel her own journey of dealing with PTSD and the aftermath of war, a Vietnam-era military child speaks with family members. Texas premiere. 68 minutes. USA. Paired with short film, "Butterfly." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

4:15 p.m. - Between the Shades. Documentary explores the many shades of being gay by what connects us all: love. Texas premiere. 81 minutes. USA. Paired with short film "Purity." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

5:45 p.m. - Two Worlds. Laura, age 12, guides the filmmakers through life with her deaf parents. 51 minutes. Poland. Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Wild as Can Bee." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

6 p.m. - Fatherhood. In this fusion of documentary and songwriting, street-involved kids from Memphis, Los Angeles, New York and London talk about their absent fathers and perform music videos of original songs they wrote for the film. 74 minutes. United Kingdom. Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Barcelona in Black." Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

8 p.m. - Crime + Punishment. Meet the NYPD12: a group of minority whistleblower officers who risk everything to expose racially discriminatory policing practices and smash the blue wall of silence. 112 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

8 p.m. - Sickies Making Films. A look at our urge to censor films and an examination of why we do it. 85 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Campus Theatre.

April 22

Noon - Elkarrekin-Together. A crew of modern day explorers arrives by boat on a small island off the coast of Maine to start an excavation. 99 minutes. Spain. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

12:15 p.m. - El Muro/The Wall. The documentary examines the story of Dr. Eloisa G. Tamez vs. the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which used eminent domain to seize part of her own Lipan Apache ancestral land in El Calaboz Rancheria. 73 minutes. USA. North Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Terraform." Denton Movie Tavern theater 2.

12:30 p.m. - Sickies Making Films. A look at our urge to censor films and an examination of why we do it. 85 minutes. USA. Movie Tavern, theater 3.

2 p.m. - BOSTON. The first feature-length documentary film about the world's most legendary running race - the Boston Marathon. 114 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

2:30 p.m. - Intimate Battles. Five women from different countries who were victims of domestic violence and their struggle to face and survive it. 85 minutes. Mexico. Paired with short film "ReMoved." Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.

2:30 p.m. - Out of State. Shipped thousands of miles away from the tropical islands of Hawaii to a private prison in the Arizona desert, two native Hawaiians discover their traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence. 80 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Campus Theatre.

2:45 p.m. - Shake Sister Shake. Female blues singers are followed from around the Chicago area to New Orleans. 83 minutes. Australia. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 3.

4:30 p.m. - The Sunrise Storyteller. Teenage filmmaker and social justice advocate Kasha Sequoia Slavner sets out for six months on her 16th birthday. She travels across the world in search of stories of hope and resilience. 64 minutes. Canada. Texas premiere. Paired with short film "Acres of Diamonds." Campus Theatre.

5 p.m. - The Sentence. Cindy Shank, a mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement in a Michigan drug ring years before. Winner of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. 85 minutes. USA. Texas premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

5:30 p.m. - Anote's Ark. The low-lying Pacific nation of Kiribati faces a daunting challenge: imminent annihilation from a rising sea level. 77 minutes. Canada. Denton Movie Tavern.

6:45 p.m. - The Island. An intimate glimpse into the St. Louis French Hospital - a hospice for terminally ill patients situated on the border between East and West Jerusalem. 59 minutes. Israel. Paired with the short film "Birth of a New Art Form: Lineillism Revealed." Campus Theatre.

7:30 p.m. - Elk River Sessions. Twenty musicians from Denton travel to a cabin in the Missouri Ozarks to write and record an original album. 80 minutes. USA. World premiere. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 1.

8 p.m. - The Cleaners. A documentary about the people who scour the Internet of "inappropriate" material. 90 minutes. Germany. Denton Movie Tavern, theater 2.