Join the producer of Star Wars for a film festival which promotes Oxfordshire talent with screenings of a diverse range of short movies.

Oxford International Short Film Festival is returning for its second year on Saturday March 28 at St John's College with an additional children’s day on Sunday March 29.

The film festival is located on the same road where Inspector Morse, CS Lewis, and JRR Tolkien famously all enjoyed a tipple and it is nearby the Hogwarts’ Dining Hall.

Guests will be able to view a diverse range of short films created by international and Oxfordshire film makers.

More than 140 short films will be screened across venues at St John’s College. Genres range from hard hitting dramas to fun animations, documentaries to science fiction.

Read also: Oxfordshire daredevil trains for motorbike races with her Harley Davidson

There will be talks from film experts including special guest speaker Robert Watts, the producer of famous films including Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The film festival is run by volunteers with the aim of creating a networking space and opportunity to promote the talent in Oxfordshire from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Laura Jones, children’s festival director said: “We have so many creative people in Oxford, why is Oxford not a creative hub? We should start getting together and creating beautiful things.

“We have amazing films from all over the world. Because it’s Oxford we attract a lot of international film makers. We have 15 film makers from America at the festival.”

Read also: Cowley Road Carnival reveals 2020 theme is 'Mother Earth'

She added: “We are aiming to grow, we want this event to become an event for professionals, students and for the public.”

On Sunday 29 the film festival is free and will open for families and children to view short films.

Children will be able to take part in workshops where they can learn what it is like to be behind the camera and have fun with a green screen.

There will be a drama workshop and Q&A sessions for kids, as well as an autistic friendly film screening at 11am on Sunday.

The volunteers of the children’s day aim to inspire the next generation of film makers and open the industry to a diverse range of backgrounds.

Ms Jones said: “We’re aiming for the kids to learn about what is behind a movie and because of the generosity of St Johns College we can run it for free. The creative industry is the fifth biggest industry in the UK, but unless you are privately educated, schools don’t have the budget to run creative schemes.”

Read also: Glass Animals bounce back with new single Your Love (Déjà vu) and worldwide tour

She added: “We have a whole range of films from all over the world and from different backgrounds. You usually get the upper-middle class’ in film making because often you have to work for free. We are talking to people who run a filmmaking scheme for kids from underprivileged backgrounds.”

There will be competition winners from each short film category including best screenplay, best actor and actress and an audience choice award.

Tickets for the International Short Film Festival cost £21.43 and Sunday is free for children. For information about the festival visit, www.oxisff.co.uk/filmfest/.