If you want a measurement of how strong and vibrant Madison’s movie scene is getting, just look at the websites and programs that have arrived in January alone to talk about, highlight and in some cases, screen, movies in the city.

My friend James Kreul launched the Madison Film Forum earlier in the month, which in addition to hosting fine writing about movies has an indispensable day-by-day calendar for alternative movie screenings in town. And Micro-Wave Cinema also started to host showings of ultra-low-budget films, as well as let audiences members meet filmmakers and talk about innovative means of producing and distributing films in the digital age.

LakeFrontRow is a Madison-based film site that’s been around for a while, and has been especially good at championing the works of local filmmakers. So it makes sense that they would take the logical next step and start hosting screenings of those films.

The LakeFrontRow Wisconsin Filmmaker Series has partnered with the Madison Central Library’s ambitious film series to bring local filmmakers and their movies to the new library’s third-floor screening room 201 W. Mifflin St. every other month. The series kicks off this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a selection of nine short films from Wisconsin-based Firmament Films. The screening is FREE, and many of the filmmakers will be there to answer questions and talk about their work.

The common thread behind all this is that Madison film fans aren’t waiting anymore. They aren’t waiting for a big theater to agree to show the films they want to see. They aren’t waiting for a media outlet to invite them to write about the films they’re interested in. They’re stepping up and doing it themselves. It’s an exciting time.