If you’re a local movie snob who wouldn’t dream of going to a regional film festival (thinking they pale in comparison to the likes of Cannes, Toronto, or Sundance), the folks of Pepin and Stockholm ask you to reconsider. Because their upcoming Flyway Film Festival is the biggest they’ve had yet, and features entertainment of high national regard with the help of a Department of Tourism grant. Screening features, documentaries, and shorts, Flyway gets upwards of 400 submissions every year and includes about 40. Highlights include the locally shot Sawdust City, Gerard Depardieu-starring Winter Frog, Jack Johnson-directed Thicker Than Water, and Collaborator by Martin Donovan (Insomnia, The Sentinel, and Opposite of Sex). There’s also the acclaimed documentary Tony and Janina’s American Wedding. Directed by Ruth Leitman, it tells the tragic true story of Janina Wasilewski, a Polish immigrant who came to the America in 1989 and, despite her efforts to become a citizen, was deported and taken away from her family in 2007. Leitman’s work was crucial in Janina’s return to the United States last summer. Leitman and members of the Wasilewski family will be present for a Q & A session after the film. They also have some short film collections, including the best of the LA Comedy Shorts Festival earlier this year. Their opening gala has the Minneapolis bands Greycoats and Byzantine Beatbox. The keynote of the event is director Jon Reiss, who presents the two-day workshop “Think Outside the Box Office.” More info can be found at the festival’s website.

Flyway Film Festival • Oct. 20-23 • three venues in Pepin & Stockholm • times vary • $85 full festival, $50 all screenings, $75 workshop, $8-$10 individual film • flywayfilmfestival.org