However, attendees can be sure that the Cinecats Film Festival will retain one important quality that makes it unique, and more than just a bit nostalgic--all films to be shown have been created by Los Gatans.

The third annual Cinecats event on May 26 at the Los Gatos Cinema will show "shorts," meaning films 25 minutes or less in length, by some of Los Gatos' brightest aspiring filmmakers.

"We had quite a few films from young filmmakers under the age of 18 this year," says Maggie Creighton, co-chairwoman of the festival. "That's more than in the previous two years of the event."

One such young filmmaker is 14-year-old Christina Scamporrino of Rolling Hills Middle School. Her film, Empty Chairs, was one of 13 selected to be shown on the silver screen this week.

Christina says she enjoys making movies at home in her spare time. An admitted scary movie buff, she says Empty Chairs has a bit of the horror element to it, as many of her films do, but has a happy ending.

"It was filmed at my birthday party, and all my guests acted in it," she explains. "All of a sudden, the guests start disappearing one by one, and I think all these terrible things have happened to them."

Christina says her filmmaking hobby was born from the love she and her friends have always had for putting on skits.

"We decided we wanted to film one of them. We had also gotten computer software we wanted to try out--iMovie. It helps edit movies and has transitions and special effects you can use," she says.

As much as she loves making these films, Christina says she has not yet figured out what she wants to be when she grows up.

"I think it's more of a hobby for now, just something I like doing for fun," she says, but adds that she is really excited to see her movie on the big screen in the Cinecats Film Festival.

John Emison of Los Gatos High School is another of this year's bright young stars.

John has become quite the ultimate "go-to guy" for any organizations and clubs affiliated with his school that need a film for instruction or special events. A supporter of the New Millennium Foundation, John says he was asked to create his film, Search for Weapons of Mass Instruction, to be shown at the start of this year's annual auction, which raises money for the school.

"The point of the movie is to show how the money is spent and how the money could be spent," he says. "We wanted to show it before the auction to show people what their money would be going toward."

The film, a parody of the U.S. government's obsession in the search for weapons of mass destruction, was created by John and Justin Duckham, also Los Gatos High students, together with teachers Kurt Kroesche and Steve Hammack.

"This was all happening during the time of the presidential election, so it tied in well," John says. "It starts off as a debate between Bush and Kerry, and one of the teachers plays a weapons inspector. Then we start a search for weapons of mass instruction--tools in the classroom like computers, scanners, LCD projectors and scientific equipment."

John explains that all these items are tools that can be purchased with money raised by the New Millennium Foundation.

Despite his budding talent for filmmaking, John says that he knows the nature of the Hollywood film industry is cutthroat, and requires complete commitment. For that reason, he will put his filmmaking on hold until after college. John has been accepted by Colgate University in New York and plans to study anthropology and geography.

One of the most anticipated films in the adult category this year is a historical documentary by Lyric Media, a production company started out of their home by Los Gatos residents Valerie Archer and John Wainwright. Their movie, A Glimpse of Los Gatos, Then and Now, is a scaled-down, 15-minute version of what will be a feature-length film on the history of Los Gatos. The film includes historical photographs donated by Peggy Conaway, head librarian of the Los Gatos Public Library and author of Images of America: Los Gatos. Archer and Wainwright say they were inspired when they saw Conaway's book, released last year.

"When we first heard that Peggy was doing this, that she was digitizing all [the town's historical] photos, we wanted to be involved right away. She's been enormously helpful," Archer says of Conaway's support for the film.

Through computer technology engineered by Wainwright, the film includes photographs of Los Gatos dating back to the 1800s, morphing into pictures of the same sights as they look today. One transition shows the historic La Cañada building in downtown in the 1870s, when it was a drug store and candy shop, and the frame dissolves into a moving shot of what the intersection looks like today, with shoppers talking on their cell phones and automobiles whizzing by. Similar segments follow, capturing the history of such spots as the Opera House, the Tollhouse and the Glen Ridge area. The history is narrated by voice artist Mike McReynolds.

Archer and Wainwright say the full, feature-length film will premiere at a gala on Sept. 29 at the Opera House, with 10 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Los Gatos History Project.

In the meantime, the two say they are excited to be a part of Cinecats this year.

"It's very much in the spirit of Los Gatos," Archer says of the festival.

Joanne Talesfore, co-chairwoman of the Cinecats Film Festival and the person who first dreamed it up, says the entire committee gets immense pleasure from getting to reward all of the talented filmmakers with the opportunity to see their films on the big screen. "It's the thrill of a lifetime for them," she says.

Talesfore adds, "This year, the themes and genres of these films are really very interesting. There's some of everything--dramas, documentaries, experimental films."

Two other new elements of this year's event will be a "wrap party," generously donated by and being held at the Tollhouse Hotel, and a new scholarship that will be awarded to one lucky, under-18 filmmaker to attend a five-week course at the Digital Media Academy on the Stanford University campus.

Cinecats committee member Jim Creighton says he is certainly pleased to see how the event has grown.

"[The Los Gatos Cinema] seats something like 235, and there were at least 50 who showed up that couldn't get in [last year]. It was packed; we had to turn people away," he recalls.

So grab some popcorn and settle in Thursday for an exciting afternoon of 13 films from some of the brightest filmmakers Los Gatos has to offer. Since members of the audience could be sitting next to the person who made the film they're watching, it might not hurt to ask for an autograph--it could be worth something someday.

The Cinecats Film Festival begins at 3 p.m. on May 26 at the Los Gatos Cinema, and the wrap party at the Tollhouse begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 and include admission to both the film festival and the wrap party. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce or the Los Gatos Cinema. For more information, call 408.354.7377 or visit www.cinecats.org.