The 14th Newtown Earth Day Festival is being planned for Saturday, April 22, from 10 am-4 pm, at Newtown Middle School.

Ahead of that, the festival’s newest offering will be introduced on Thursday, April 20, when Newtown Earth Day Film Festival debuts in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

Screenings will begin at 7 pm. Admission is free, with donations appreciated.

Organizers say additional film screenings will follow throughout the year.

Newtown Earth Day Committee Chairman Dan Holmes reflects on the purpose of introducing a Film Festival to this year’s festivities:

“This film festival provides an opportunity for further engagement with like-minded folks in our community who appreciate our local natural surroundings. This series will feature documentary films that matter to us all, with a focus on celebrating New England’s forests, waterways, and habitats.

“A film festival staged throughout the year also allows our Earth Day event to reach beyond just the event day, effectively extending our scholarship awareness, and helping to educate and promote the protection of our environment,” Holmes added. “These films we hope will do just that.”

The film festival will feature The Lost Forests of New England, which tells the story of New England’s primeval forests and the factors that led to the nearly complete clearing of those forests.

The screening will include a Q&A session with the film’s producer, Ray Asselin. A filmmaker and naturalist, Asselin works to raise awareness of the importance of old growth forests and their complex role in nature.

A second short film, An Invitation for Wildness, will also be screened. This film explores a 20-year-old backyard permaculture featuring a thriving natural ecosystem of native and exotic plants and trees where birds, insects, and pollinators live in abundance.

For additional film festival and Earth Day Festival information visit facebook.com/newtownearthday.