One of the beauties of Wheeling is that, even in a small city, its people like to think big. The latest example of that is the new Foxfire Film Festival, to run Sept. 11-14 at Towngate Theatre.

Kristin Seibert, who co-founded the documentary film festival with Molly Hughes, said they wanted to provide the Friendly City with a window into what’s going on around the globe.

“We want to bring the world to Wheeling,” Seibert said. “We want people to open up their minds and be challenged in what they think.”

The lineup, which includes documentaries from Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning filmmakers, does just that. It includes Elaine Sheldon’s “King Coal,” which looks at the culture around the Appalachian coal industry, and “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” which investigates the Russian propaganda machine following the invasion of Ukraine.

This festival shines a light on important topics, while offering local filmmakers and documentary fans the opportunity to learn more about the medium from some of the best who use it.

Bravo to everyone involved in bringing the Foxfire Film Festival to life. Hopefully it will be the first edition of many.