Family movie night is coming to Backus. 

Set to begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Backus Community Center, the fifth annual “On the Edge” film festival will feature several independent, family films.

The first half of the evening, according to a news release, will feature nine short films, followed by a brief intermission and then a feature film and short film. The films are made by independent producers and directors and show what can be done by just about anyone with a drive to tell stories in fun and creative ways. Those selected were chosen from more than 40 entries.

The films showing include:

  • “The Animal Inside," an animated, coming-of-age story about a lonesome boy living in a destroyed city.
  • “Carrot Cake” is the story of a 97-year-old father wanting to meet with his daughters and their families to share some important news.
  • “The Treehouse” features a boy retreating to the treehouse he built with his father in the shadow of a family funeral, shutting himself in and the rest of the world out.
  • “The Word," is a documentary that questions what we get out of sharing our family history and the importance of accuracy when passing tales on from generation to generation.
  • “I Need My Monster” is a student animated film, based on the book by Amanda Noll.
  • “Say Something,” a music video of Pentatonix’s cover of "Say Something" by A Great Big World, is by former resident Rachel Adams. She also submitted “Happy Birthday Dad,” the short film she created to show her crew could produce a movie to raise funds for a feature.
  • “Relativity Explained to Children” is a short film in which a father explains Einstein’s theory of relativity to his 8-year-old son.
  • “Letters from Grandma” was created as part of the Minnesota 48-hour film project. Everything was done in 48 hours – the script, shooting, the score, titles, credits and editing.
  • “Pop Star Puppy” is the evening's feature-length film. Austin Brown’s family moves to Edgemont Village and Austin has a hard time fitting in. Being the son of a father in the military his family is always on the move and maintaining friendships is difficult at best. Before he is shipped to Afghanistan, his father buys him a dog, "Dino," from a man at the side of the road. As his friendship with Dino grows, Austin’s life is suddenly turned upside down when he discovers that Dino can sing. Problem is, Dino can sing the timeless classics with gorgeous dulcet tones, yet when it comes to performing, he’s as shy as a mouse. With the help of his younger sister, Vanessa, and his new friend, the awkward and nerdy Greg, they coax the shy dog out of his shell. When Austin discovers a popular talent search television show is coming to Edgemont Village in hopes of finding contestants, he quickly enters Dino.
  • “Thundercluck,” the final film of the evening, is an animated short film about an all-natural chicken that is half-mortal, half-god.

Audience members will be voting for their favorite films of the evening with prizes awarded to the top three choices. There is no charge for the event, but donations to the food shelf are appreciated.