CANTON – The St. Lawrence International Film Festival, set for Oct. Oct. 22 to 25 in Canton, Potsdam and other venues, has announced that students in Canton and Potsdam may attend the festival for free.

Through a generous underwriter, students at the four colleges, SUNY Canton, SUNY Potsdam, St. Lawrence University, and Clarkson University, will be able attend the festival events for free, including the screening of the documentary The Hunting Ground.

To get a free pass, a student must register online at www.stlawrencefilm.com. A valid student ID will be required when attending films or picking up the pass at the festival box office in Canton at TAUNY, 53 Main St.

In addition to the free student passes, faculty and staff will receive a 20 percent discount when using code UNIVERSITY20 at checkout.

The Hunting Ground, directed by Kirby Dick, is an expose of rape crimes on U.S. college campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families.

Strategically located at the center of the St. Lawrence River Valley with events in Canton and Potsdam in New York and Ottawa and Brockville in Ontario, the festival is a first-of-its-kind celebration of film, with related events on both sides of the international border between the US and Canada.

A limited number of All-Access VIP Passes for the festival weekend include guaranteed seating for the 35th anniversary screening of The Blues Brothers opening gala in Ottawa with Dan Aykroyd and reception, as well as admission to all festival screenings including the Potsdam screening – on Elm Street -- of Nightmare on Elm Street, at Between the Buns, 6 Elm St., at 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24. The VIP pass also covers panel discussions, parties and VIP lounge.

More information and tickets are available at www.stlawrencefilm.com.

Founded by Adam Paul, St. Lawrence International Film Festival has assembled an extraordinary team of festival professionals from all over North America to bring the best in film to a fertile new destination: The Fourth Coast. No other event in the world plays simultaneously in two countries, offering a highly-visible promotional and partnership opportunity featuring 25-plus international films, an opening gala, the Empire State Filmmaker Award, parties and competition awards during a 4-day event in the US and Canada.

The festival advisory board is lead by industry notables Sara E. Johnson (Oscar-winning Executive Producer of “Birdman”), Mark Valley (“CSI”), Aaron Woolf (“King Corn”), Drea Clark (Programming Slamdance Film Festival & Los Angeles Film Festival), Gloria Campbell (Managing Director of the American Pavillion at Cannes), Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead, Brian Hauser (Co-Editor of The Journal of Short Film), and Bob Penski (Founder of Penski, Inc).

Sponsors of the St. Lawrence International Film Festival include: SUNY Canton, SUNY Potsdam, St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University, Hoffman, Eells & Gray, Horsefeathers Haunts, TAUNY, Novotel, Porter Airlines, Glow Skincare & Spa, Josie's Little Pizzeria, St. Lawrence Brewing Company, Cape Air, Best Western, The Blackbird Cafe, The Parkview, Canton Community Fund, Between the Buns, Village of Canton, Mick & Iry's, Community Bank. Penski Inc, St.Lawrence Health System, Cabot, Commercial Press, Village Diner, Claxton Hepburn Medical Center, North Country Savings Bank, Seacomm, The UPS Store, CTV, WWNY TV, YES FM, B99.3, North Country Public Radio, Fourth Coast Entertainment, Ottawa at Home, Tag Cornwall, 101.5 The Fox, Q-Country, Cornwall Free news, 580 CFRA, North Country This Week, Star 100.1, PAC 98.7, Mix 96.1, and Fox 28.