The 16th West Chester International Short Film Festival will return to downtown West Chester. The festival will present short films that are 30 minutes or less from around the world, including Oscar nominees, comedies, dramas, animated films, and more. From Friday, April 22, through Sunday, April 24, over 70 films will be shown in Film Blocks, the West Chester Family Film Festival, and the West Chester Young Filmmaker Festival.

The main venue throughout the weekend will be the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, 226 N. High St., West Chester. An opening night party at the center will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 22, followed by the first Film Block. Each Film Block will include seven to nine films spanning genres, countries, and topics, and showings continue through the weekend.

Pop-Up Film Blocks will feature a themed block of films. The schedule on Saturday, April 23, will include a SciFi Block at 3:30 p.m. and a Horror/Suspense Block at 10 p.m. On April 24, the Coffee & Cartoons Block, a mix of animated films, will be shown at 10:30 a.m.; some of the films may not be appropriate for people of all ages.

The Filmmaker Meet-and-Greet as well as free Filmmaker Workshops will be held on Saturday. The festival will end on Sunday with award-winner screenings at the closing night party held at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center.

Tickets and more details are available at http://www.westchesterfilmfestival.com.