Valley Film Festival serves as local showcase for filmmakers.

While attending film school at New York University, Tracey Adlai learned early on that she was not cut out to be a director.

But the San Fernando Valley native wanted to stay involved with film and took her talent for event planning to start the Valley Film Festival in 2001.

Now in its sixth year, the festival took place Sept. 13 to 17 at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, a 1920s-era theater that once hosted silent films and vaudeville acts.

"I like meeting the filmmakers and seeing their passion and enthusiasm for their art," Adlai said.

In an area where film festivals seem to be a dime a dozen--the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival and Method Fest, held in Calabasas, take place every spring--Adlai's creation sets itself apart with a focus on local filmmakers and promoting filming in the Valley.

A mix of independent and studio films, shorts and feature length work makes up the festival's schedule. The filmmakers range from those who have been nominated for the industry's top awards to those whose names are virtually unknown.

In past years, the festival included a "Valley After Midnight" showcase for what Adlai termed "racier" films in a nod to the Valley's position as a chief supplier of the world's adult entertainment.

For this year's festival, Adlai included a screening of "World Trade Center" to coincide with the launch of NYU's West Coast alumni programming. The film's director Oliver Stone is an NYU alumnus.

Other screenings included "Mojave Phone Booth," by John Putch, who also had a film in the 2003 festival; a series of eight horror and thriller shorts; "Reach for the Sky," a documentary on school teacher turned astronaut Christa McAuliffe; and "Chasing the Horizon," a documentary on the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

Putch, a Studio City resident, said the festival is just one stop of many for his film about the interaction between four people and a phone booth in the Mojave Desert.

The festival also gives filmmakers a chance to interact with each other, Putch said.

"It reminds me of a high school or college play," Putch said. "The filmmakers show up and cheer each other on."

The festival is funded through Community Partners, a not for profit organization, donations and out of pocket money, Adlai said.

Ideally, Adlai foresees linking the festival with a resource center to connect filmmakers with each other and allow them to pass along information and tips about what actors to work with and good areas to film.

The center would also promote filmmaking in the Valley. At least half of the films included in this year's festival were made somewhere in the Valley, Adlai said.

The Valley should attract filmmakers because every community within it is different, from east side where Studio City is the trendy area to the West Valley with its ranch-like settings, Adlai said.

"It's so big that you'll be able to find a pocket to suit whatever it is you are looking for," Adlai said.