Forget the silver screen—Temple’s annual festival of student films is all about the gems. The Diamond Screen Festival, which starts tomorrow night and runs all weekend, will feature works from the next generation of filmmakers at the University.

All films screen in the multimedia theater on the first floor of Tuttleman Hall from 6 to 10 p.m. each evening. The bill will include a mix of undergraduate and graduate student films in a variety of genres, including drama, comedy, documentary, animation and experimental film.

New to the festival this year is an “Interactive Village” in the lobby of Tuttleman Hall. There, local media organizations will present their work to the community.

“We are very excited about the quality and variety of work being made by students at Temple,” said Carmen Dukes, festival coordinator and a senior film and media arts major. “And, we are excited that so many professional media organizations are going to share their work with our students and the Philadelphia Community this year.”

Participants in the Interactive Village will include the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association (PIFVA); The Philadelphia Community Access Coalition; Scribe Video; the Temple University Black Students Film Collective; and Susan Jacobsen, a documentary filmmaker.

Jacobsen will present her film, Countless Stories, a dynamic documentary that uses new video and computer technology to create documentaries from live input by the audience.

The opening night will include a special encore presentation of The Dictionary Artist, a graduate student Master of Fine Arts thesis film by Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, the Temple alumni who went on to international recognition with their documentary “Lost in La Mancha,” about director Terry Gilliam’s doomed attempt to make a film about Don Quixote.

The Dictionary Artist examines the inner world of a woman, played by local actress Sally Mercer, whose creativity is hampered by her job as picture editor in a dictionary publishing company.

Topping Saturday’s bill is Temporary Grace, a feature by Temple senior Adam Ahlbrandt. Exquisite cinematography and professional performances make this haunting story about a man with a failing marriage and career an impressive debut by a talented young filmmaker.

On Mother’s Day, the festival will close with a special tribute to the heroic mothers of filmmakers and filmmakers who are mothers, with films by, about, and starring mothers (and a few fathers as well).

“This festival reflects the diversity of Temple—we are screening work by students from as far away as China, Korea, India, and South America, and as close as South Jersey and North Philadelphia,” said Cynthia Baughman, assistant professor of film and media arts. “We have classic movie storytelling, political documentary and state-of-the-art animation. These are students ready to make their mark in the national and international film and video scene.”

For further information, including the complete schedule of films, visit the Diamond Screen Festival Web site at www.temple.edu/diamondscreen or contact the film and media arts department at 204-3859.