A checkpoint on the Pakistan-India border and Peruvian workers traveling by boat to an island of birds are just two of the scenes from the upcoming opening of Doxita, a film festival that began in 2008 and showcases documentaries under 40 minutes in length.

The festival starts at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in the theater of the A.K. Hinds University Center at Western Carolina University. This year, Doxita consists of four films, each centered on a common theme of inside/outside.

The films are “Guañape Sur” (Janos Richter, Italy), about Peruvian workers who harvest soil from an island of birds; “Wagah” (Supriyo Sen, Germany), about national identity expressed daily by thousands of spectators at a flag ceremony on the border between India and Pakistan; “My Name is Sydney” (Melanie Levy, USA), about the complex inner life of a severely autistic teenage girl; and “Arsy Versy” (Miro Remo, Slovakia), a quirky portrait of a man who follows his own spirit.

The program represents a variety of documentary styles – domestic and foreign, short and longer format, serious and funny – and is designed to profile the content and artistic vision that nonfiction short films provide but that people don’t often get a chance to see.

828.227.2479 or bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.