Film buffs, mark your calendar: The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers series begins this month.

The tour, organized by The Arts Council, Gainesville State College and South Arts, brings six award-winning independent films and their filmmakers to Hall County over the next several months.

The first film in this series, "A Bird of the Air," is scheduled to be screened Sept. 15 at the Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St., Gainesville.

Directed by Margaret Whitton, the comic romance is based on Joe Coomer's highly acclaimed novel, "The Loop," about a bird that leads an assuming pair to each other.

A catered kickoff dinner to the series is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., followed by the film at 7:30 p.m. Tickets include dinner, and are $15 for adults; $13 for student and seniors.

Series tickets are $38 per person for all six films, which includes the kickoff dinner plus question-and-answer sessions with the filmmaker afterward.

Other films in the series include "Louder than a Bomb," set for Oct. 20 at Gainesville State College; "Ahead of Time" on Nov. 10 at the Smithgall Arts Center; "Barbershop Punk" on Feb. 9 at Gainesville State; "A Gift for the Village" on March 23 at the Smithgall Arts Center; and "You Don't Know What I Got," screened with "We Shall Not Be Moved: The Nashville Sit-ins" and "We Shall Not Be Moved: The Chattanooga Sit-ins," on April 12 at Gainesville State.

Individual tickets for the remaining films are $7 adults, $5 for students and seniors.

Trailers for each film in the series may be viewed at the Arts Council's website.

Series and individual tickets may be ordered online or by calling the Arts Council at 770-534-2787.