The founder of a film festival debuting on March 21 hopes to inspire filmmakers to make more movies in the Cody area.

Festival Director Jacob Graham is behind the first annual Yellowstone Film Festival being held at Big Horn Cinemas. He grew up in Cody and has worked at the theater for the past 17 years.

“ I would like for it to become something like the rodeo and the museum, where people think of Cody and think of this film festival. That would be really awesome.”

Over the course of about a week, close to 80 short and feature length films will be screened. Graham hopes to offer screenwriting and acting workshops, and more film screening locations in future years.

“These businesses that are closed for a few days in the winter, why not just put some chairs up and have a screen? There's so much potential for it.”

The festival received more than 500 submissions and is featuring independent films from around the world, including ones made by filmmakers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Japan, among other locations.

The festival would also like to play more films shot in Wyoming in subsequent years. There’s one Wyoming-based documentary in the festival this year. It’s called, “The Great Wyoming Singer-Songwriter Competition.”

Some film industry advocates say fewer films are shot here because the state lacks a film incentive program. The head of the film office in Cody says the Legislature skipped it this year, but he hopes they give it another look next session.