Plot summary: A local rock star hosts a fundraiser in his hometown that not only raises money for a beneficial organization but gives an opportunity to other local artists. The evening starts off well and several people come out to give their support. But then, a casserole bake-off ensues, a murder detective gets followed by an uprising of zombies, and two pink elephants read everyone’s minds. Sound a little over the top?

Well it’s a true story, and it’s happening tonight at Cine.

Tonight, in partnership with The Spotlight Foundation, the theater will host a showcase of seven short films all produced and shot by local filmmakers.

“This is something that Cine has wanted to do since its opening a year ago,” said public relations director, Kamala Lyons. “Spotlight came to us and wanted to focus on the local scene, since it’s a local organization, and we thought, what would be a better opportunity than this one?”

The Spotlight Foundation was started by Blue Flashing Light front man Ian Schwarber and is a local chapter of the Red Cross.

“Too many people are skeptical of fundraisers, and this is a way for people to see their community impacted immediately,” Schwarber said. “There are all different avenues of local creativity rising up together for a cause that everyone might someday need.”

But the need for platelets and hemoglobin isn’t the only need that this event is fulfilling.

“There are tons of music venues in Athens, but there aren’t a lot of outlets for the emerging film scene,” Lyons said.

Heather Comeau, a 2002 University alumna and local film director, has experienced this problem firsthand.

“We have had to shoot in L.A. because we couldn’t get people here that we needed,” she said. Comeau has two films in the showcase – “The Pink Elephant” which is a comedy about an interracial couple’s engagement party, and “Bake Off,” which actually will be a trailer for a full length comedy to be filmed later.

“[The film scene] is growing – it’s getting a lot better,” Comeau said. “Having Cine here, and especially with the [local showcase] will help get people involved with the film scene that we need, like investors!”

Jason Miller, a senior from Gwinnett also will be showcasing a film tonight. “It’s about a detective who gets approached by a woman to kill her husband,” he said. “It’s a film noir, but a true film buff would probably not agree.”

Miller, and his friends, senior Jason Lutrell and recent graduate Ethan Payne, made the film in only one week for entry in Campus MovieFest, but the film, entitled “‘Til Death” has since taken off.

Although it did not win the University contest, the top 16 films were then sent for judging in Atlanta, and “‘Til Death” took home the regional grand prize.

“We made it specifically for the contest, so it’s pretty cool that it’s receiving any exposure outside of that,” Miller said. After being showcased in the town it was made, “‘Til Death” will make its way to the Campus MovieFest national competition on May 3.

Lyons said that Comeau, Miller and the other local directors/filmmakers all plan to be in attendance tonight to answer any questions, but to also encourage other filmmakers to pursue their ambition.

“It’s going to be a grab-bag kind of night – varied in content and production quality,” Lyons said. “There might be some films that you might love, or some that you might not like, but no matter what they are all worth showing to the community.”

For Cine and Spotlight alike, this is likely the first of many local film showcases. In the future, they hope to show not just a series of short films, but local feature lengths as well.