When the Grand Cinema threw the first annual 25 New Faces of Independent Film Festival last year, it was a kind of palm-to-forehead moment - an idea that seemed so inspired and so obvious at the same time. The concept had been staring us in the face, and it finally materialized in Tacoma.

Every year since 1998, Filmmaker Magazine has assembled a list of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" - a compendium of rising talent edging on the cusp of stardom. These are filmmakers who run the gamut: actors, directors, writers, animators and even multimedia artists like last year's selection, Radical Friend. All the Grand Cinema needed to do was gather together work from the 25 new faces and screen them in festival format.

In addition to screening the works of these up-and-coming filmmakers, a few of them even flew in to introduce their films and participate in a Q&A, which was a real treat. This year will be no different.

For the second annual 25 New Faces of Independent Film Festival, Aug. 19-25 at the Grand Cinema, the list has been released, the films have been chosen, and the filmmakers have been invited to come and participate. Films from 20 filmmakers will be screened over five days and, just like last year, 11 filmmakers will attend in support of their work.

The hardest part about making a festival like this a success is a lack of huge name recognition for people to latch onto - no festival-opening blockbuster to ease filmgoers into the event, no stars in small roles to draw audiences to screenings. Each film on the schedule is high quality, but the notion of the "new faces" really does imply a certain level of obscurity to the talent involved.

"The biggest obstacle we face is that we're bringing in films that no one's heard of and filmmakers that no one's heard of," says Philip Cowen, executive director of the Grand Cinema. "I want people to recognize that these are really quality films and quality filmmakers, and to trust us a little bit on this. Last year, people were very happy with what they saw, and I think they will be again this year."

There's a certain virtue in the communal nature of having a film festival where all the submissions are equal. There are so many wonderful surprises and gems to be found through luck and persistence in attending an event like this. It's the kind of experience where you go down to the theater and hang around for the day, or pop in for a few days and roll the dice on a film you know nothing about. Even doing that, you can rest easy knowing these works and these artists have been vetted by people who know what they're doing at Filmmaker Magazine and the Grand Cinema.

More importantly, be sure to catch screenings where the filmmakers will be in attendance. The screenings schedule can be downloaded at grandcinema.com.

I say close your eyes, drag your finger along the page, and pick one at random.

25 New Faces of Independent Film Festival

Friday, Aug. 19–25
The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma
253.593.4474