MADISON, Wis. -- The ninth annual Wisconsin Film Festival is rapidly approaching, and film fans have more selections than ever in this year's event.

This year's festival runs April 12-15 and features more than 150 films screened at 10 theaters in downtown Madison and on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

A program of the UW Arts Institute, the festival has grown in prominence each year. In 1999, some 30 films were screened with an estimated attendance of 3,000. Last year, the festival featured 117 films and saw the highest attendance yet at 26,000 tickets taken.

The festival shows a broad array of American independent dramatic and documentary films, world cinema, experimental, avant-garde and short films. In addition to its high-profile offerings, the festival also highlights a large selection of films by Wisconsin students and filmmakers.

"I work hard to try to find films that will be a great fit for the audience here but are so brand new or under the radar that it's unlikely that the audience would be aware of them outside of the festival," said Meg Hamel, director of the Wisconsin Film Festival. "It's honestly just terrific fun to put together such a complex mix of films and know that thousands of people from all over Dane County, and beyond, will be able to soak up some wonderful stories and enjoy some extremely talented filmmakers."

This year's festival collaborated with UW-Madison departments to bring festival-goers three special series. The Asian American Studies department helped select films for the category titled "Diaspora Melancholy." Festival organizers collaborated with the African Studies department on the series titled "African Action Figures." And the Department of Rehabilitative Psychology and Education assisted in picking films for the series titled "Film*ABLE: Disabilities on Screen."

Additional categories include Wisconsin's Own, Student Shorts, Contemporary European Cinema, The World of Jewish Film and Restorations and Revivals.

"All the restorations do really well, because people know this is really a great chance to see something that has withstood the test of time -- they know it's going to be good," Hamel said.

The various film programming categories can offer a possible starting point for selecting films, but the dizzyingly diverse array of films can still be a bit overwhelming; it's also one of the best aspects of the event.

"The festival is huge this year -- way more seats than we'll ever imagine filling, so there are tons and tons of choices for anyone who wants to come watch a couple of great movies that weekend," Hamel said. "Some days we'll have 10 theaters simultaneously running movies. That's a lot of options."

Not eager to sit through student experimental art films or avant-garde cinema? No problem. Those who might not consider themselves "film festival types" will likely find something they enjoy in the broad offering of films.

"People's choices have been really evenly spread out over the whole festival, which is terrific. Instead of a few films -- outside of "Chalk" -- getting the biggest audiences, everything seems to be pretty balanced. Lots of people are coming to see "Severance" and "Ten Canoes" is also popular," Hamel said.

Whether you're looking for something different to do for a weekend or feeling adventurous and want to see what the world of film has to offer, the film festival is a good bet. If nothing else, the event grants audiences an opportunity to see quality films that they probably wouldn't get a chance to see otherwise.

"There are certain films from around the world that have been getting really strong reviews in the national press, like 'U-Carmen,' 'Into Great Silence,' 'Manufactured Landscapes,' 'Absolute Wilson,' and 'Bamako.' People have read about these elsewhere and are pleased to have the chance to see them in Madison," Hamel said.

Hamel also said that documentaries like "Radiant City" and "The Cats of Mirikitani" have gotten some strong buzz, along with "Manhattan, Kansas" and "Sportsfan," a documentary about "Minnesota Vikings supermegafans." All the tickets for both screenings of "King Corn" -- a witty documentary about modern farming, the American industrial food system and the large amounts of corn that make it into our food supply -- were snapped up in the first weekend, Hamel said.

To give some further examples of the festival's scope, here are the just a few films playing this that caught my eye:

"Air Guitar Nation" -- A documentary about the Air Guitar World Championships competition, which follows competitors from the first New York regional playoff through to the finale in Finland. Intrigued by the quirky premise, I checked out the trailer and was immediately sold.

"The Boss of It All" -- A screwball comedy set in a spare Danish IT office that pokes fun at the egotism of actors along the way, in this new film by acclaimed Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, director of "Dancer in the Dark" and "Dogville."

"Everything's Gone Green" -- A Canadian comedy penned by writer Douglas Coupland ("Generation X," "JPod"). The film, which won the award for best Canadian feature film at 2006's Vancouver International Film Festival, is billed as a comedy "about finding earthy hipster love in an Ikea world." According to the film festival film guide, "Coupland's gift for sharp observation of contemporary Canadian living has created a modern story framed by dry wit performed by a top-notch young cast."

"Severance" -- A team of office mates from a UK arms manufacturer have been packed off to the Hungarian countryside to the company's new luxury lodge for a weekend of team building and bonding in this horror film. "With a wicked sense of pace, director Christopher Smith uses the cast's superb chemistry and his own script laced with exceedingly funny dialogue to concoct a truly scary, truly witty masterpiece," says the film festival guide.

"Exiled" -- In this Hong Kong film, director Johnny To plays Wo, a gangster making a new life for himself and his family, returning to 1998 Macau in the final days before the island comes under Chinese rule. "Johnny To is such a steady practitioner of the Asian gangster genre that the ease with which he tosses off the pitch-perfect "Exile" serves to disguise the superb craftsmanship and intelligence of its design … an accomplished suspense-action piece that touches on universal themes of brotherhood, exile, love and honor," writes Kirk Honeycutt in Hollywood Reporter.

"Son of Man" -- "The continuing turmoil of contemporary South Africa is the setting for a bold and inventive telling of the New Testament, translated into the story of a young African man who preaches tolerance and nonviolent resistance to the government’s abusive ways," says the film festival guide. Roger Ebert called it, "Extraordinary and powerful."

"Radio On" -- Featured in the Restorations and Revivals category, the 1979 British film "Radio On" follows a man driving from London to Brighton to investigate the mysterious death of his brother. "Stunningly photographed in luminous monochrome by Martin Schaefer (the brilliant cinematographer of Wim Wenders), and driven by a startling new-wave soundtrack (Bowie, Kraftwerk, Lene Lovich, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric and more), 'Radio On' is ripe for rediscovery by viewers attuned to its dramatic understatement. A masterpiece," says the film festival guide.

Advance tickets are on sale through April 11. People can usually get tickets the day of the show at the individual theater where the film is playing. Also, if you try to purchase advance tickets to a film, and it is sold out, there is still a chance you can see it.

Some tickets are set aside and many people buy tickets but might be unable to come to the show -- so there is a chance that open seats can be filled right before the start of the film. (This is why ticket-holders must arrive at least 15 minutes before a show to have a guaranteed seat.) To get more information on "Rush Tickets," visit the festival's ticket page.

To view the festival film guide, visit this Web page.