Inspire Film Festival returns for fourth year in The Woodlands

Running from Feb. 13-17, the fourth annual Inspire Film Festival will feature more than 25 feature-length and short films about visionaries this year across four locations in The Woodlands.

According to organizer Jane Minarovic, the visionary theme came about from a play on words for the year 2020 and its double meaning for perfect vision.

“We come up with the theme right after the [previous] festival,” Minarovic said. “Something usually pops.”

The curated festival does not contain submitted films, instead focusing on films that meet specific criteria. This includes films that hit a range of emotions and have uplifting messages, she said. The reason for doing so, Minarovic said, is to leave attendees feeling inspired.

“Some documentaries often make you feel guilty—not that you should not watch them and they are not great—but there are plenty of film festivals where you can see those,” Minarovic said. “Instead, [these films] will be about rising out of it. We are really careful about topics. You can bring your kids, and you can bring your mom; there is nothing offensive, and you will leave the weekend feeling refreshed.”

Minarovic said she begins making the list of featured films for each year the day after the previous festival ends to have a strong lineup. The lineup for this year’s films is available at www.inspirefilmfest.com.