The eyes of the independent film industry will focus on downtown Norman this weekend.

The first Vacant Era Film Festival will run Thursday through Sunday at the Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St.

The festival will include more than 40 local and international films, performances from local bands, film workshops, paintings and sculptures from Oklahoma artists and a silent auction to benefit children’s programs at the Firehouse Arts Center.

Meleah Montgomery, festival coordinator and production manager, said the goal of the festival is to draw attention to the talents of filmmakers from around the Oklahoma area.

“There really is kind of a void here in Oklahoma,” she said. “We’ve got people that are coming out of OU with the editing skills and a lot of the filming skills, and we’ve got people with the equipment. The problem is it’s so scattered and so un-networked. Very few people in Oklahoma know that there is filmmaking in Oklahoma.”

Montgomery said surrounding states are bringing in large amounts of income generated by locally produced films.

“People get out of OU with a film major and they’ve been basically inbred from the time they started school to the time they get out being told they have to leave the state,” she said. “There is something here for them, it’s just not easily and readily known. What the festival is trying to do is unite Oklahoma filmmakers.”

Norman mayor Cindy Rosenthal declared the week Norman Film Festival Week earlier this month.

Cory Allen, festival director, said Mayor Rosenthal has been a big supporter of the festival from the beginning.

“The mayor has been very, very supportive of the overall big picture,” he said. “She was behind it the whole way.”

The festival focuses on local artists and projects, but also includes films that have gained international attention. “Emerald City,” a short film from Seattle, received positive reviews at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in France.

OU filmmakers Jason Holste, Travers Jacobs and Mark Potts will show films Sunday afternoon following the screening of “Okie Noodling II” by award-winning filmmaker Brad Beesley.

Local bands Galapagos, Mama Sweet, Kevin Watson and others will perform at Coach’s Restaurant and Brewery, 102 W. Main St., throughout the weekend.

Justin Witte, local musician and OU alumnus, said he thinks the festival will become a landmark event for the community.

“I think it will set a precedent for musicians, artisans and filmmakers alike,” Witte said. “It should help put Oklahoma on the map in terms of having a national voice for the arts.”

Tickets for the Vacant Era Film Festival can be purchased at http://www.vacantera.com/tickets.htm or at the Sooner Theatre. Daily passes are $15 and weekend passes are $50. Seating is limited and tickets are first come, first serve.