NARROWSBURG, NY — The fourth annual Big Eddy Film Festival will kick off this year on Friday, September 18 at the Tusten Theatre. About 20 to 30 films will be screened including feature films, documentaries, shorts and films for kids and made by kids. But how do all of those films end up at the Big Eddy Film Festival? Festival program director Tina Spangler explained the selection process.

Unlike other festivals where films are submitted by all comers, the Big Eddy is invitation based. Spangler says she “keeps an eye year-round on what other film festivals are showing,” like Sundance, and she also has film contacts whom she will ask for suggestions, or they will send something her way if it is connected to the Catskills region. Spangler, a filmmaker herself, worked in New York City for New Fest and the Sundance Channel.

There aren’t any official criteria for the selected films, but Spangler tries to keep it diverse. “Our community has a wide range of interests,” she said. But many films do focus on areas like art, nature and the urban/rural divide. Overall though, they are well-told stories that document the human experience. All of the films are new and some will make their premier at the Big Eddy Film Festival. “It’s a cool place to see films before anywhere else,” Spangler said.

She also likes to branch out and try to appeal to younger people in their 20s. The festival has an advisory board including actor Tibor Feldman and Marcy Granata of the Nantucket Film Festival. Spangler has also assembled a screening committee, to whom she shows her choices before they are officially selected. The committee includes filmmakers and people who are strongly interested in film and are balanced among gender, age, etc.

The opening night film this year is “Tumbledown,” starring Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis. Filled with tears, laughter and amazing music, “Tumbledown” is a story of love without being sappy, and a story about death without being somber. Spangler said the opening night should begin on an upbeat note, and when they started the festival, actor Mark Ruffalo gave the advice to “show a popcorn movie.”

Some films are connected to the area, such as this year’s documentaries “J. Morgan Puett: A Practice of Be(e)ing” and “Welcome to Kutsher’s,” which is making its Catskills premiere. And new this year, the festival will show an old movie, 60 years old to be exact, “The Night of the Hunter” starring Robert Mitchum, with a screenplay by renowned writer, journalist and film critic James Agee. “It’s widely considered one of the best American films, though it’s not widely screened,” Spangler said. To see the full list of films, go to www.bigeddyfilmfest.com/category/2015-films. More shorts will be added.

The Big Eddy Film Festival aims to advance the traditional art of storytelling by showing the newest and best independent films from around the world and our own backyard. It is produced by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance and will take place over three days, from September 18 to 20. Visit www.bigeddyfilmfest.com.