The 16th annual Syracuse International Film Festival (SIFF) is returning this week with films from over 20 countries.

The festival will kick off on Thursday, Oct. 3, with a screening of the 1919 German silent film “The Doll.” Local composer and midday WCNY-FM host Diane Jones will perform an original score to accompany the film that evening.

From Oct. 11 to Oct. 13, the festival will showcase films at the Redhouse Arts Center and Shemin Auditorium at Syracuse University, including Richard Bush’s “The Stunt Man" (1980) with a live appearance from actor Steve Railsback. Railsback is known as the first actor to play Charles Manson in the television mini-series “Helter Skelter” (1976).

There will also be a directors’ roundtable on Oct. 12 where 15 to 20 filmmakers and other film personnel from all over the world will share stories about their careers in the filmmaking industry.

“It’s going to be a big networking atmosphere,” said festival chair La Shaun Jones. “We’ll have filmmakers and actors there, and people can really talk to them [about the filmmaking process].”

Founded in 2003 by Syracuse University film professor Owen Shapiro and his wife, Christy Fawcett-Shapiro, the festival is dedicated to both highlighting local independent films and introducing international films to Central New York, said John Ginty, a SIFF board member and local filmmaker.

Jones said the festival also gives people an opportunity to watch films that aren’t out in movie theaters yet or may never be shown there. This year, over 140 films were submitted for consideration to be screened.

The festival also showcases films made by indigenous filmmakers and curated by faculty at Syracuse University’s disability studies program. Featured entries include “Denying Access: NoDAPL to NoNAPL" (2019), a documentary following the Water Protectors at Standing Rock and Seneca Territory as they protest the Dakota Access and Northern Access Pipelines, and “Miracle, Baby” (2019), a film about Syracuse Crunch’s Cory Conacher and his journey to become a professional hockey player despite health complications.

Other highlights include filmmaking competitions for college and high school students. Jones said it’s a great way to get the next generation and see what it really takes to make a movie.

From Oct. 4 to Oct. 6, college students have 48 hours to make a three- to seven-minute-long film with an assigned prop, famous movie quote and specific location that has to be featured in their film. The same criteria apply to high school students, but they have seven days before the festival to complete their film. All films will be shown at the festival.

“Nowadays with movies, we’ve become really accustomed to this Netflix or Hulu culture where we sit in front of our TVs by ourselves,” Ginty said. “But there’s something that happens when we get together in communion with other people when we watch a film. The energy and dynamic of what’s happening completely changes.”

Festival ticket prices vary from $15 for a Friday night screening to $100 for a special fundraising event, the silent film screening and an all-access festival pass. To see the full festival schedule, visit SIFF’s website.