Two short films will be shown tonight at the Tommy Douglas Centre for the Performing Arts. The centre will debut its new technological capabilities for film viewing, showcasing two short films by local student filmmaker Morgan Jones.

"The event starts at 7, but people can arrive a little bit earlier," said Jones, who is going into her last year studying Film at the University of Regina.

Jones noted that the event is free of charge, but that a silver collection will be taken at the door for the Tommy Douglas centre.

"We're going to show 'Home Sewn', and then there's going to be a little bit of a break in there so we can get the other stuff ready for 'Bright Idea'," she explained.

The first film is five minutes long and the second film is eight minutes in duration.

The filmmaker plans to share some behind the scenes footage after the screening, as well as a presentation for local cast members.

In fact, the cast for 2018's 'Bright Idea' is entirely from Weyburn, featuring Owen Burdan, Chris Gillespie, Gord Husband, Freda Lautner and Ivy Ling.

"The films are based entirely in southeast Saskatchewan, so it's kind of a nice way to relive a little bit of history," she said, noting that 'Bright Idea' is based on a story from her own grandfather's childhood in the 1950s, when he used money he raised from cereal contests to install electricity in his family home.

She says the inspiration for both of the films came from her own family, with 'Home Sewn' coming from her mother's creative process with inappropriate embroidery art projects.

“It’s about kind of hating but kind of liking where you live, at the same time,” she said of ‘Home Sewn”.

The 2017 film has been screened at nine film festivals, including the Living Skies Student Film Festival, where it won Viewer's Choice, and at the Flamingo Film Festival where it won for Best Experimental Film. It won Best Overall at the UWpg Film Festival as well as having been nominated for a number of other festival awards, and has even been aired on CBC'd Exhibitionists in 2017. 

Jones added that there will be cake and refreshments served after the film event.

For a full view of the new setup and of the cast and crew, check out Summer Fun's Landon Field's post from the event.

Filming for "Bright Idea" took place in various locations in Weyburn, but since it was set in the 1950s, the Soo Line Historical Museum was used for some of it.

"Bright Idea" is about the filmmaker's grandfather in the 1950s, who used money he won from cereal contests to have electricity installed in his family home.