Philadelphia has 40 film festivals.

Pittsburgh has 20 film festivals.

Allentown has no film festival.

Until now.

The Allentown Film Festival (AFF) is April 14-16.

The AFF is the brainchild of Allentown Film Festival Director Dr. Alan Younkin and Allentown Film Festival President Michael Schelp.

“We fled New York during the pandemic,” Schelp says in a phone interview with a reporter for Lehigh Valley Press. “And we said, ‘We can live anywhere for a few months.’ We ended up buying a place. We just fell in love with Allentown.

“When people find out we have an apartment in New York City, they say, ’Well, what are you are doing here?’ I just love the people and the area,” says Schelp.

The duo moved to Allentown about three years ago, purchasing a house in the West Park District. Younkin, a veterinarian, and Schelp, who works in the media, co-chaired the 2022 “Art in the Park,” presented by the West Park Civic Association.

Younkin and Schelp co-directed the documentary feature, “Broke(n),” with interviews of Allentown residents coping with the post-pandemic economy.

After premiering in September 2022 at Civic Theatre of Allentown, “Broke(n)” was screened at 16 film festivals, Younkin and Schelp got the idea to present a film festival in Allentown.

In the region, there is the Greater Lehigh Valley Film Festival, presented April 1, 2, SteelStacks, Bethlehem; sixth annual Jim Thorpe Film Festival, April 20-23, and 19th annual Southside Film Festival, June 13-17, Bethlehem.

Younkin and Schelp formed a nonprofit and announced AFF on FilmFreeway, the film festival and screenplay contest website.

“Allentown Film Festival and allentownfilmfestival.org was available,” says Younkin, a trace of incredulousness still in his voice.

Film submissions for festivals are uploaded to FilmFreeway. AFF received 600 film submissions from 50 countries from September to March 15.

At AFF, approximately 150 short and feature-length films will be exhibited in 15 screening blocks. One-third of the films are from filmmakers in the Lehigh Valley or nearby.

Films are screened in five Allentown venues: beginning April 1, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, and April 13, Downtown Allentown Market, and continuing April 14 -16, Civic Theatre of Allentown’s Nineteenth Street Theatre and Theatre514, and the Allentown Art Museum.

“A lot of people said, “I always thought it would be cool to make a film, but why? And then when I saw the Allentown Film Festival, I will make it for that,’” recounted Schelp.

“At Bradbury Sullivan, these two women from Brazil made this sweet. simple little film. And they have this bamboo tree. And it symbolized their being transplanted. And I said, ‘You have to do another film next year.’”

Younkin and Schelp are planning the second annual AFF.

This year, Younkin and Schelp premiere “Married to the Mayor,” a documentary short they produced and directed about Karen Tuerk, wife of Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk.

The film is emblematic of the community spirit they hope AFF engenders.

“One of the reasons we started the festival is that we wanted to get people out of their phones and to connect and to make it a community event,” says Schelp.

The AFF logo reflects that. An AFF press release states:

“The Allentown Film Festival logo features robust fonts that pay homage to the city’s industrial history. Capping the logo is the stepped profile of the iconic PPL Building, the windows of which echo the square sprocket holes of the film strip below in which ‘Film Festival’ is carved. A stylized Liberty Bell is concealed in the “a” of ‘Festival,’ a reference to Allentown’s historic role in safeguarding the actual Liberty Bell during the American Revolutionary War when it was hidden from the British in a local church.”

AFF will screen a mix of international, American and Lehigh Valley films, including dozens of short and feature films with several world premieres.

Screening blocks of short and feature films will be followed by question and answer discussions with filmmakers and audiences.

AFF categories are Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Music Video.

Awarded will be cash prizes to the best entries in the Lehigh Valley Shorts categories. Lehigh Valley residents submitted films, from one to five minutes in length, in three categories: K-12 students, college students, and Lehigh Valley film-makers.

“We’re going to put on a really fun show with VIP red-carpet parties, great films, engaging panel discussions, and a real sense of community,” Younkin says.

To that end, there will be music. “To make a fun festival, we also have live music from a group that we accepted music videos. The Dust Bowl Faeries will play four times between blocks and during the closing reception at Miller Symphony Hall,” says Younkin.

Says Younkin in an AFF press release: “The goal is to identify and encourage compelling, thought-provoking independent films.

“The Allentown Film Festival will not only boost Lehigh Valley pride but also remind people in the Mid-Atlantic region that Allentown is a vibrant, much-closer-than-you-think arts mecca,” Younkin says.

Adds Civic Theatre of Allentown Artistic Director William Sanders in the press release: “People have been talking about starting a film festival for years. We are thrilled to host what we hope will become a highly-anticipated annual tradition.”

The press release noted that, according to The Guardian, a British newspaper, a local film festival, large or small, can benefit a local economy.

“Today, film festivals operate more like micro-economies,” the newspaper stated, according to the press release. “They can make smaller cities boom by bringing in business, giving young people a reason to remain in the region, and developing a city’s national and international links.”

Schelp stated in the press release that the festival can introduce Allentown and the Lehigh Valley to people unfamiliar with the region.

“Many of North America’s largest cities are less than a half-day’s drive from Allentown,” says Schelp. “We want to spread the word: Allentown is a lot more than a Billy Joel song about post-industrial angst.”

Allentown Film Festival schedule, tickets, at venues’ door;

https://www.allentownfilmfestival.org