Auburn's Public Theatre hosts a film festival the first weekend in June, that pays tribute to Auburn natives who invented sound on film, making 'talkies' possible.

Theodore W. Case and Earl Sponable developed their process in the 1920's, and this year's film festival comes at the same time the Cayuga Museum's carriage house, which was Theodore Case's workshop, is also renovated and re-dedicated.

Stephen Kline, who is running the Case Festival, says the original site of Case's test film production studio will now be a multi-purpose theatre, to be used as the ne Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival gets underway in Auburn this summer.

The Festival itself includes a student showcase on Friday evening, June 1st at 6pm, free.  On Saturday there is a documentary on Case's process and a collection of test films from the Cayuga Museum Archives (10 and 1pm, both events free), and at 3pm, a screening ($6) of the Oscar nominated "Hugo" (3pm)

For more information call 253-8051 or check the Auburn Public Theatre website