Macon Film Festival 2014 flyer.

For nine years, the Macon Film Festival (a Knight Arts grantee) has been making moves by choosing independent films for all of Middle Georgia to view and by accepting work from independent filmmakers from all over the world. Each year in February, they host one of the largest film festivals in Macon, and the momentum of this festival has drawn enough global attention to attract major filmmakers to our city. In the last few years, the movie “42,” “Need for Speed” and “The Trip to Bountiful” came and filmed parts of their productions in Macon. This type of attention was very good for promoting our city and boosting the economy for local businesses.

This year, the 9th Annual Macon Film Festival is scheduled to take place from February 27 until March 2. The center of all the fun lies around screening independent films during this four-day event. However, it includes other fun, such as happy hours, parties and big-time celebrities. For years, they have tried to book Matthew Modine as a special guest for this event. Finally, their goal was accomplished.

Matthew Modine, special guest at the Macon Film Festival 2014.

Modine will not only appear at the screening of “Birdy.” He will also be a notable guest for Macon Arts Alliance’s (a Knight Arts grantee) Art Matters Film Symposium which takes place March 1 at the 567 Center for Renewal (a Knight Arts grantee) at 5:30 p.m. located at 533 Cherry Street. A couple of hours later, at 7:30 p.m., “Birdy” will be shown at the Cox Capitol Theatre located at 382 Second Street. The screening of “Birdy,” which is based on Willie Wharton’s novel with the same name and directed by Alan Parker, stars Matthew Modine as Birdy and Nicolas Cage as Al. They are best friends who grow up together and go off to the Vietnam War with each other. This year marks a 30-year anniversary for this film. So, that adds even more of a spark to the Macon Film Festival’s programming.

Tickets start at $8 and go up to $100 for passes. For more information on the schedule and prices, visit maconfilmfestival.com. They will also have a headquarters open for you to purchase tickets, programs and merchandise from February 26 through March 2 at 567 Cherry Street in heart of downtown Macon.