Lawrence filmmaker Patrick Rea describes his new feature, “The Empty Acre,” as a work that deals with small-town fears.

“It’s about the fear of never escaping a life that seems to be going nowhere,” Rea says. “Sometimes missed opportunity can sneak up and grab you, and before you know it, your life has passed you by.”

No one will ever accuse the 26-year-old Rea of falling prey to that fear.

Since graduating in 2002 with a film degree from Kansas University, Rea has been actively writing, directing and just plain “making” short movies at a remarkably prolific rate. With “Empty Acre,” he has finally delivered his feature-length debut.

As a result, Rea is being honored as the Emerging Filmmaker at this year’s Kansas International Film Festival. “The Empty Acre” will hold its premiere at the event, which runs today through Thursday at the Glenwood Arts Theatre in Overland Park.

Set in rural Kansas, the picture is about an unhappy young couple living on a farm where their land is drying up. One night, the dark “it” of the film emerges from a lifeless acre and steals their baby.

“‘Empty Acre’ is more of a thinking man’s horror film. In fact, it’s more of a supernatural thriller/art film,” says Rea (who is an employee of Free State Studios, which is owned by The World Company). “I feel like the film focuses more on characters than most horror/supernatural films. It isn’t weighed down by overuse of effects, an overpowering music score or over-the-top gore. We really tried to make something that was original, rather than doing something derivative.”

“I liked his film because it’s really ambiguous,” says Ben Meade, president of the Kansas International Film Festival. “When you feel fear, you feel fear for something that you don’t see.”

Lawrence filmmaker Patrick Rea watches a shot during the filming of his debut feature-length movie, The

Meade, who teaches film at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., says he’s been watching Rea’s cinematic progress for several years.

“Patrick sets a really good example for my students,” Meade says. “I think a lot of his short films are pretty good. But it was really good this year to pick someone who had a decent feature. Production quality-wise, he’s shown a lot of skill.”

True indie works

Now in its sixth year, the Kansas International Film Festival (KIFF) will showcase 50 feature-length and narrative efforts, about half of which are from overseas.

“We’re open for films – both competitive and noncompetitive – from anyplace in the world,” Meade says. “We’re inundated with stuff now. There is so much product out there. You really have to have something that no one else has done to get it screened.”

Among the can’t-miss highlights, Meade cites:

¢ “In Memory of My Father” – “It’s about this messed-up, dysfunctional family. The old man dies and they leave him in bed for several days while they through a big, wild party. It won AFI this year. And (filmmaker Christopher Jaymes) shot this in four days.”

¢ “Hand of God” – “It’s a documentary about abuse of power in the Catholic Church.”

¢ “Guatemalan Handshake” – “It’s the strangest film we’ve got. It’s about a demolition derby driver who vanishes and how it affects his girlfriend.”

¢ “Asparagus!” (a Stalk-umentary) – “It’s a really well-done documentary about ‘Asparagus.’ I’m not sure what else to say about it.”

(Many of the artists responsible for these films will be attending the festival.)

Meade will also be debuting his latest documentary, “American Stag,” which examines the history of “blue movies” and how they are a reflection of the country’s pop culture.

The festival organizer is proud that KIFF celebrates true indie works.

“Aside from ‘American Stag,’ which I just sold to Bravo, and ‘Flock of Dodos’ (the documentary about teaching intelligent design in Kansas), really none of these films have any type of distribution. That’s what film festivals started out being. But now that you have 4,700 festivals instead of 150 like you did 20 years ago, it gets really hard to do that,” he says.

Night of Romero

“The Empty Acre” will not be the only horror project associated with the festival.

Horror movie icons George Romero and Tom Savini will take part as the fest’s special guests.

Romero will present a screening of his 1968 cult classic “Night of the Living Dead” and his 1982 anthology “Creepshow,” which features makeup effects by “the godfather of gore” Savini.

“He’s really an independent filmmaker, if you go back to his roots,” Meade says of Romero. “Maybe a lot of it happened by mistake, but he changed the horror genre.”

Additionally, Romero and Savini will be judging the IFC Horror Competition, in which they will select a standout from local filmmakers’ submissions. The winner will be announced Saturday.

Rea says, “Romero has always been one of my favorites. Our short films, including ‘Hell to Pay’ and our recent ‘Woman’s Intuition,’ were influenced by my love for his film ‘Creepshow.’ I hope that if he sees ‘The Empty Acre,’ he sees we have an original voice out here, and that we are trying to make films that say something and that move down some new paths.”

Editor’s Note: Patrick Rea directed “Zero the Counter,” which will also be showcased tonight at the film festival as part of the noncompetition Kansas Connection shorts program. The film was written by Jon Niccum.