Documentaries will take the spotlight in California State University, Northridge’s Fall 2024 Cinematheque series, which begins Sept. 18 and runs through Dec. 4.

The Wednesday night screenings are free and open to the public.

The series, “LA4Real,” features Los Angeles-based stories, told by Los Angeles filmmakers.

This edition of the Cinematheque is curated by CSUN cinema and television arts professor Judy Korin, who teaches documentary production and is a documentary filmmaker.

“Our students are going to go out in the L.A. community to find and tell their stories, and I wanted to connect this very, very vibrant Los Angeles documentary community, of which I’m a part, with our student filmmakers,” Korin said.

She is also hoping to reach audiences outside of the traditional cinema and television arts world.

“I love changing peoples’ perspectives about what documentaries are and can be. I hope to really share that love and passion with the greater CSUN community, and I hope people across the University and in the surrounding communities come,” said Korin, who teaches in the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

Korin’s passion for documentaries inspired her to curate this first-ever all-documentary Cinematheque series.

“A lot of people think that documentaries are nature films or educational films,” she said. “To me, documentary is the most expressive cinematic form, because you don’t get locked into a genre. Real life can be stranger than fiction, so these stories are compelling, funny, creative, inspiring, interesting, and real.”

Following most of the Cinematheque screenings there will be a question-and-answer session with the filmmakers.

The first film in the series is “Ovarian Psycos,” about a feminist Latina bicycle crew from East L.A. that works to build community. It will be shown at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The co-director, Kate Trumbull-LaValle, and two of the film’s on-screen participants will take part in the Q&A that follows its screening.

The second night of Cinematheque is scheduled for Sept. 25, and will feature “L.A. Times Short Docs,” the newspaper’s documentary series. Filmmakers from the series, as well as its supervising producer, will be present. A Q&A and reception will follow.

“Rebel Hearts,” a film about a group of nuns in the 1960s who were social justice activists that stood up to the patriarchy of the Catholic Church, will be shown Nov. 13. This film was produced by Korin who began her career in graphic design before becoming a filmmaker and often integrates animation into her films. “Rebel Hearts” features Sister Corita, a nun who “combined religion, philosophy and literature with pop art and activism.”

“Circus of Books” will be shown Oct. 2. It features the story of a bookstore that was an important chapter in queer history. “City of Gold” will be shown on Nov. 20. It tells the story of Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer Jonathan Gold, who brought attention to ethnic and family-owned restaurants across Los Angeles.

Cinematheque screenings take place every Wednesday at 7 p.m. with the exception of “Los Angeles Plays Itself,” scheduled for Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. Screenings are free and open to the public, and take place in the Armer Screening Room, located in Manzanita Hall, which is near the corner of Nordhoff Street and Darby Avenue in Northridge. For more information about the series, visit its website.