The Naples International Film Festival returns Thursday for a spirited 16th year — a full weekend of films, discussions and awards celebrating its independent artists.

And fittingly, in the aftermath of two hurricanes pounding Southwest Florida, it includes at least three tales of the sea’s dramatic power as part of its offerings, one of them about a neighbor in distress: Sanibel, 76 Days Adrift and The Calm Under the Water.

The festival opens Thursday, Oct. 24, at Artis—Naples with a tribute to independent filmmaking, a major reception with directors and red-carpet arrivals before the 7 p.m. feature … actually, features. This year, the stars are short films, “shorts,” with six creative and fastpaced stories for attendees.

The festival moves on the next day to screenings at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at Mercato, the former Silverspot, where the majority of the festival’s films were shown until it closed and was sold last year to the Austin, Texas-based higher- end cinema group. There’s plenty more:

• Two “Screenings Under the Stars” of films in the Norris Garden between Hayes Hall and the Baker Museum, with refreshments and drinks available. The al fresco screenings began as a safety precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the concept proved so popular it is now part of the festival.

• Two free panel discussions, both in Theater 11 at Alamo Drafthouse Friday and Saturday.

• A closing evening awards ceremony and screening of the 1989 edition of Batman directed by chillmeister Tim Burton. Its outsize soundtrack will come from the Naples Philharmonic under Chief Pops Conductor Jack Everly.

This year, NIFF will include 58 films: 10 narrative features, 12 documentary features and 36 short films representing 26 countries. Several of those films include an in-person post-screening filmmaker Q&A, and a number of filmmakers will also participate in panel discussions during the festival.

Events, films, locations and ticketing follow:

Opening Night Film & Party

6 p.m. opening 7 p.m. film Thursday, Oct. 24, at Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd. Film only, $40; film and opening party, $125; film and post-theater VIP Party, $225; available through Artis—Naples box office or artisnaples.org The films:

• In Adam J. Graves’ Anuja, A 9-year-old girl working in a back-alley garment factory is offered a rare chance to attend boarding school.

• Nick Russell’s thriller Favourites poses an impossible choice to two young parents during a family camping trip in the Australian Outback.

• Jumai Yusuf’s Nate and John follows a friendship that develops in the 1960s between a young Black barber’s assistant and a surly teenage hippie who’s forced to get a haircut by his father.

• Night Session, Ballard C. Boyd’s wry comedy, turns a burglary into an impromptu therapy session when the burglar assists the resident in processing his impending divorce — while the resident assists the burglar in robbing his apartment.

• TJ O’Grady Peyton’s Irish drama Room Taken follows a homeless man who secretly takes up residence in the home of an elderly blind woman — which results in an unexpected bond forming between the two.

• Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz’s SXSW special jury prize winner Trapped focuses on a janitor at a prestigious high school as he confronts a group of boys in the middle of a senior prank that puts him between the boys, his boss and his moral compass.

Film Screenings Under the Stars

Doors open at 7 p.m., film starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25 and 26, at the Norris Garden of Artis—Naples, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. Table for four, $80; available only through Artis—Naples box office or artisnaples.org; pairs, $40, available only via phone, 239.597.1900 Oct. 25 — Freedom Hair: Director Dianne Houston’s look at a determined mother who opens a natural hair braiding business to achieve financial independence. She must overcome unexpected obstacles imposed by a powerful cosmetology cartel and the state of Mississippi.

Oct. 26 — The Opener: After a young musician’s songs go viral, he’s invited on tour by one of his heroes and given the chance to prove himself on the big stage.

CINEMA SCREENINGS

Various times and theaters Oct. 25-27 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 9118 Strada Place, Unit 8205, Naples. $16.99; festival film 10Pack, $140; available through Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at drafthouse. com

Documentary films

76 Days Adrift: From the bestseller Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan, this documentary recounts an astonishing 76 days when he drifted helplessly across the vast Atlantic Ocean in an inflatable raft. Joe Wein directs.

2:40 p.m. Oct. 25; 7:35 p.m. Oct. 26; 12:25 p.m. Oct. 27 in Theater 9 The Accidental Spy: Director Anthony Wonke follows the chilling story of a man recruited from a Manhattan prison after 9/11 to become a CIA mole inside al- Qaeda, risking everything to protect his

Continued, next page family — only to be betrayed by the country he served.