5 things to know about the Atlanta Film Festival

When it started: On May 14, 1977, the IMAGE Film and Video Center launched the Atlanta Independent Film & Video Festival at Piedmont Park

What you’ll see: 40 feature-length films, 84 short films and 27 “creative media” selections

Where they’re from: 100 countries are represented, including the U.K. with the fest’s opening might film “Polite Society by British filmmaker Nida Manzoor.

IF YOU GO

Atlanta Film Festival & Creative Conference. Presented by the Atlanta Film Society. April 20-30. $12, general admission single ticket. $75-$375, all-access badge. Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave N.E., Atlanta; Dad’s Garage Theatre, 569 Ezzard St. S.E., Atlanta; Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth St. N.W., Atlanta; and Carter Center, 453 John Lewis Freedom Pkwy. N.E., Atlanta. 470-216-0170, atlantafilmfestival.com.

Festival highlights

The fest will screen 40 feature-length films, 84 short films and 27 “creative media” selections. Among the offerings are:

“Judy Blume Forever,” a documentary on the legendary author of books for children and adolescents, whose work is often denounced by conservatives because of its candid treatment of puberty and sex (7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 20, $12, Carter Presidential Center).

“Quantum Cowboys,” a live-action and animated western featuring live musical performances by Neko Case, John Doe, Howe Gelb and Xixa. According to the film fest, “There’s gunfights, horses, cacti and time travel, too!” (3:15 p.m., Saturday, April 22, $12, Plaza Theatre).

“Still: A Michael J. Fox Film,” which uses Fox’s own words and archival footage to tell the story of “an undersized kid from a Canadian army base” who rises to stardom in the 1980s and then is diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29 (4 p.m. Saturday, April 22, Rialto, ticketing to be announced).

“Hundreds of Beavers,” a “19th-century slapstick epic,” detailing a drunken applejack salesman’s efforts to become North America’s greatest fur trapper (6:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, $12, Dads Garage Theatre).

“This World is Not My Own,” an artful account of the life of visionary self-taught Georgia artist Nellie Mae Rowe; the movie was created with the use of intricate sets and motion-capture technology (6:45 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, ticketing to be announced).

“The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster,” in which a teenage anti-hero goes on a desperate quest to cure death (10 p.m., Tuesday, April 25, Dad’s Garage Theatre, badge only, single tickets to be announced).

“Master Gardener,” by writer/director Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver”), a feature about the “meticulous horticulturalist” at Gracewood Gardens, who must take on the owner’s troubled great-niece as an apprentice (9:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 26, $12, Plaza Theatre).