In today’s world of big budget blockbuster films, it’s hard for independent films to get noticed while everyone is rushing to the theaters to see the next multi-million dollar flick.For directors, it’s hard to get a film out to an audience when there’s a budget of only a couple of thousand dollars.For audiences and those who would love to see these movies, when there is nothing playing in your town except the new “Friday the 13th,” your choices are somewhat limited.That’s why the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers was established.Started by the South Carolina Arts commission in 1975, the Southern Circuit tries to bring these otherwise unnoticed films to communities across the South.”There are a lot of people in the South who would really want to see something else besides just the new Batman movie,” said Paige Heurtin, Louisiana representative for the Southern Circuit. “That is why we bring the circuit to Baton Rouge, so people can enjoy something different.”Heurtin, who is also the director of finance and operations at the Manship Theatre, is responsible for bringing the circuit through Baton Rouge and is one of the jurors who chooses the films to go on the tour.Each year, the tour accepts close to 100 films to be screened by a jury. The jury is made of representatives from each venue the tour visits, and those representatives narrow it down to 12 features.These 12 movies are then divided into two separate tours that go out to different locations simultaneously from September through November and February to April.Visiting more than 20 venues from Florida to Louisiana, the Southern Circuit is the nation’s only regional tour of independent filmmakers, providing audiences the opportunity to connect with the directors who travel with their films.After each screening, the audience is allowed a question-and-answer segment and a reception with the director to discuss the films and their meanings.”This is a great way for filmmakers and communities to connect and interact with each other, something you don’t get a chance to do very often with the larger movies,” Heurtin said.Southern Circuit transforms watching films from a solitary experience into a communal one.Audiences will have this opportunity Wednesday, when the Manship Theatre screens the documentary “Member of the Club.”The film, directed by New Orleans native Phoebe Ferguson, follows the story of Marisa Arianne Mitchell, a young woman who has been groomed to be a New Orleans Mardi Gras Queen since she was an infant.The documentary depicts her family through the 2003-2004 debutante season and the relationships between Marisa, her mother and grandmother and their hopes and struggles as Marisa works toward the crown.Tickets are $5 for the 7:30 screening Wednesday at the Manship Theatre.This is the first of three films on the last leg of the Southern Circuit. The fiction film “All About Us” will be shown in March and “A Man Named Pearl,” a documentary about topiary artist Pearl Fryar, will show in April.”The tour really provides a voice and a step up for these directors who normally won’t be seen,” Heurtin said. “Since there are no real independent theatres around Baton Rouge, then it gives a chance for people to step outside of the box and experience new film.”— Contact Jake Clapp [email protected]