With various talents and film festivals calling it home these days, Austin has firmly made a name for itself as a major center for American cinema. One of the major reasons for the city's rise to prominence is due to the development of young filmmakers within the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas.

For decades now, students from across the state, nation and world have honed their skills in cinematic art, and this Saturday, local film buffs will get a chance to see a sampling of their works on display.

On May 12, the RTF Department will screen nine of the best student films produced this school year during the Longhorn Film Showcase. An event that is both free and open to the public, Austin cinephiles will have the unique chance to see what the next young stable of filmmakers has to offer the world of cinema. Consider it a special sneak preview of what’s to come from the next generation.

Created by both undergraduate and graduate students, several of the showcasing films have already received much acclaim from screenings at the Austin Film Festival, SXSW and other festivals around the world. Buzz has already built up after two of the selected films, Benny by Huay-Bing Law and Falconer by Micah Barber, were nominated for Student Academy Awards in the categories for Narrative and Alternative films, respectively.

Paul Stekler, the chair of the RTF Department, sees the Longhorn Film Showcase as a great way for the department to advertise what its students are capable of. He cites how the film production school is constantly rated amongst the top film schools in the nation, while having the lowest tuition rates.

And while UT may not have the same large-scale resources of other film schools, the quality of the work on display at the Longhorn Film Showcase certainly displays students’ ability to do “more with less.”

Some of the student filmmakers may have already reached impressive milestones, but for others, the Longhorn Film Showcase may be the beginning to collecting critical acclamations.

It's certainly a great opportunity for anyone from the local film community to lend his or her support to the next wave of film auteurs.