The Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival features a lineup of movies that cannot be seen together anywhere else.

Some selections are made by creators in distant countries. Others are made by people who live in Carbon County.

“It’s become, beyond ‘independent’ film festival, the I in JTIFF is starting to become more international,” Todd Morris, co-founder of the festival, said.

The fifth annual festival starts tonight and runs through Sunday. The festival’s home, Mauch Chunk Opera House, will host 10 feature films and 70 short films throughout the weekend. In addition, there are parties at Jim Thorpe establishments, and live music.

The opening night feature begins with a performance by a Philadelphia-based band Slomo Sapiens - playing grunge-influnced, catchy rock - and an 86-minute horror film from Finland. A party at the Marion Hose Bar follows.

Throughout the weekend, viewers get the opportunity to interact with the people who made them. Saturday night, the filmmakers celebrate with a gala at the Victor Stabin Museum with live jazz. Tickets are available to the public.

Many creators also do Q&A sessions, including the directors of the Friday and Saturday night feature films. Scott Monahan, who directs and stars in Saturday night’s feature film, “Anchorage,” originally came to the festival to show a short film in 2019. He returns with his feature-length film which has been to over 30 festivals, taking top honors and getting write-ups in Hollywood publications like Variety.

Another director who went from showing short films to full-length films in the festival is Texas-based Jeffrey Garcia. Known as the Kong of Wrong for his controversial movies, Garcia is part of the late night, no kids allowed Grindhouse block Saturday night.

The other feature films, made by a diverse group of directors, are played throughout the weekend. Mixed in are blocks of short films which center around themes like “love hurts” and “mourning glory.” The films could be very different in tone, but share a common theme.

“It’s everything from comedies to dark, twisted tales that fit under that umbrella,” Morris said.

Two blocks, taking place Saturday and Sunday morning, feature movies made in Pennsylvania, including directors from Lehighton and Jim Thorpe. The local heroes block, which takes place Sunday morning, includes a short film by Lehighton-based director Ryan Sellers.

The movies in the festival are chosen from hundreds of submissions. Morris and his wife, festival co-founder Jocelyn O’Neil, watch them in the months leading up to the festival. Choosing just 80 films can be a heartbreaking process, Morris says. Not only do the selections have to be high quality, they also have to fit into a themed block.

“There’s a lot of good films I’m sending rejection letters to, and it kind of breaks our hearts,” Morris said.

The festival continues to evolve as it enters its fifth year. This edition has more music than ever, thanks to a partnership with a Philadelphia-based music collective called Great Circles. It includes an audio-visual performance before Saturday night’s feature film, and a DJ during the filmmakers’ gala.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the setting. Morris and O’Neil moved to Jim Thorpe and envisioned a festival because it is a destination with the ingredients needed for a film festival - venues for screenings and parties, all located within walking distance, and residents who support the arts.

“Successful, long-lasting film festivals, the ones that everyone knows about, the towns all have the same characteristics as Jim Thorpe,” Morris said.