Nearly a year into the pandemic, and events are still not back to normal, but a local film festival is getting creative to make the best of it.

The Waco Family and Faith International Film Festival is running Thursday through Saturday for its second year. Last year, the festival happened at nearly a dozen locations around the city. However, due to the pandemic, the festival will be mostly virtual.

Festival founder Dr. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren said people will be able to stream the films online. In addition, there will also be four churches in the Waco community hosting drive-in theaters for the films.

Dr. Lindsey-Warren said she wasn’t sure if they would be able to pull off the festival due to COVID-19, but she said it’s important to have.

“We need it now more than ever before,” Dr. Lindsey-Warren said. “We just need a little loving on each other, and laughter and joy.”

All of the films in this year’s festival fall under the broad themes of family, faith, military, disability, and do-it-yourself. Dr. Lindsey-Warren said she thinks those themes embody the Waco community, and she hopes people see the power of the films.

“We try to present a film festival that leverages the power of storytelling and wonderful and beautiful narratives to open hearts and minds,” Dr. Lindsey-Warren said.

“You know so at the end of the day, we will treat each other a little better, love on each other a little better.”

The festival kicks off Thursday with the first-ever Celebrity Golf Classic, and the first showing of “An Adam Experiment” at the Waco Civic Theatre. “An Adam Experiment” is a one-man play about the life of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., a civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman.

Festival events run through Saturday, with a final showing of the play on Sunday. A full schedule and the streaming platform can be found on the festival’s website.

—HNHH