The fourth edition of Triq Cinemoon Festival kicks off on Thursday. The aim of this festival is rather unusual as it is the prospective audience that gets to pick the films to be screened.

The general theme this summer is ‘In Motion’. Each week, the organisers will propose three films on their Facebook page which in some way depict this theme.

The Triq Cinemoon Festival poster.

The film obtaining the most votes is then shown on Thursday in St John’s Street, Valletta, outside Café Society. The venue is a street that leads to the Grand Harbour . The audience can view the film seated on the stairs under the moonlight over a glass of wine.

The programme is kept secret until a few days before the screening when the choices are put up on a dedicated event page every week with links to their trailers. Voting closes on Thursday morning. The winning film that will actually be screened that evening will be announced around midday. Film ratings change depending on the chosen title.

This year, in keeping with the theme, August 11 is dedicated to flying, August 18 to driving, August 25 to running away, September 8 to sailing, September 15 to dancing and the final night, September 22, to time travelling.

The films proposed for next Thursday are What We do in the Shadows, a 2014 film from New Zealand which is currently topping the vote, Kaze Tachinu (The Wind Rises) by Hayao Miyazaki from Japan (2013), and Birdman by Alejandro González Iñárritu, a 2014 US entry which won the Academy Award for best picture.

To find out more about the festival and to access the relevant event pages where one can vote every week, look up Triq Cinemoon Festival on Facebook.

Screenings start at 8.30pm and entrance is free. For more information, call 9955 2859.