Skyline College will be hosting a film festival on Wednesday, Feb. 9 featuring the films “Discovering Dominga” and “Daughter From Danang”.

The films will be shown in the main theater at Skyline at 1:30 p.m., however, audience members are allowed to come in for specific portions of the film if they wish. Admission is free.

The film festival, sponsored by the Skyline College Museum of Tolerance Alumni and the UNAFF Traveling Film Festival San Bruno, will give the audience a view of two historical events and the people they affect.

“Discovering Dominga” follows a survivor of a Guatemalan massacre as she learns about her heritage.

“Daughter from Danang” is a 2002 Academy Award Nominee and the winner of the Grand Jury award for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It chronicles a woman’s journey to be reunited with her mother in Vietnam.

Organizers hope that the films will “give students a wider view” and “promote values of tolerance,” according to organizers Barbara Daley and Donna Elliott. Another goal is that the films will bring life to the issues students are learning about in many different classes.

“The film festival is a great opportunity to discuss issues in classes pertaining to [that] area of study,” said Donna Elliott, Skyline Health Center program assistant.

A discussion panel following each screening will consist of local Bay Area filmmakers who created the film-Patricia Flynn and Mary Jo McConahay from “Discovering Dominga” and Gail Dolgin from “Daughter from Danang.” There will be a question and answer session, giving audience members the chance to inquire about the movies specifically or the process of making a documentary.

The festival event has something to offer students ranging from history buffs to those interested in the film industry.

“The film festival will let students know [what’s] going on and see other cultures and gives…some explanation,” Elliott said. “It will also give students interested in filmmaking, documentaries, or history, the opportunity to get information.”

Those attending will even get an opportunity to do what few other audiences viewing the films elsewhere have-the chance to find out what happens before and after the cameras stopped rolling. “The students will get to ask the filmmakers about their experiences making these films,” said Daley, Senior Library Media Technician.

The film festival ties the local and the global together by showcasing internationally recognized films about world issues, but made by filmmakers that are from the Bay Area.

“It’s really exciting to know that we have big time filmmakers right in our own backyard,” Daley said.