Submitted Photo The fifth annual Sprout Film Festival will take place Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

JAMESTOWN — The experiences of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will be shared when The Resource Center presents the fifth annual Sprout Film Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The festival takes place at 7 p.m. in the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts at 116 East Third Street in Jamestown. Admission is free thanks to a grant from Filling the Gap, Inc., which works with The Resource Center to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Chautauqua County.

The Sprout Film Festival features short films that celebrate the diverse lives and creativity of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The films seek to challenge assumptions and break down stereotypes about people with disabling conditions.

Sprout is a traveling film festival, and each host community selects the films that will be screened locally. For this year’s festival, organizers have chosen 13 films. The films include some that have not previously been shown in Jamestown, as well as memorable films that have aired during the past four local Sprout festivals.

“Since much of the public has not been able to attend every festival, we wanted to re-screen some past years’ favorite films, such as ‘Bumblebees’ and ‘Ingrid’s Big Jump,'” said The Resource Center’s Kevin Anderson, one of the festival’s lead organizers. “These two films were crowd favorites and really get to the heart of what the festival is all about — that people with disabilities are just people, with hopes and dreams like anyone else.”

“This year’s new selections are sure to please as well,” said TRC’s Beth Jermain, who also helps organize the festival. “We have two music videos that will make people want to dance in their seats. One film that will be many people’s favorite is ‘Best Friends.’ It features kids and dogs, so how could it miss?”

For more information about the Sprout Film Festival, phone 485-4602 or visit www.resourcecenter.org/sprout, where visitors can also view the festival trailer to get a feel for some of the films.