Meet the directors at Oakton film festival

Movie aficionados, bring the popcorn for the Pop-Up Film Festival, a showcase of four independent films with the opportunity to meet three of the four directors, Nov. 1-4 at Oakton Community College's Footlik Theater, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines. Screenings are free and open to the public.

Selections include:

• "Thao's Library," 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, followed by a Q&A with director Elizabeth Van Meter: After seeing pictures of a Vietnamese girl's makeshift library, an American woman who is battling depression travels to Vietnam to forge an unlikely bond. The Boston Globe praises the award-winning film as "an extraordinary tale of resilience and serendipity."

• "Bloomin Mud Shuffle," 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, followed by a Q&A with director Frank V. Ross: Starring James Ransone of the "The Wire" and Natasha Lyonne of "Orange is the New Black," this bittersweet comedy focuses on aimless working class adults living in the suburbs of Chicago.

• "A ****load of Scotch Tape," 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, followed by a Q&A with director Julian Grant: Based on the work by pulp-fiction writer Jed Ayres, this musical drama is a throwback to crime films of yesteryear.

• "Buzzard," 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4: This black comedy focuses on a caustic, small-time con artist drifting from one scam to the next. Directed by Michigan filmmaker Joel Portykus, Village Voice heralds "Buzzard" as "one of the most original American films to emerge in some time."