From tales of Russian espionage to whimsical Swedish comedy to gritty small town murder, the Reel Dakota Film Society has been bringing a unique quality to Sioux Falls' cinematic environment.

After the success of last September's film festival, the director of Reel Dakota, Julie Anderson Friesen, decided to begin monthly screenings of independent and foreign films.

"I wanted to figure out how Sioux Falls could be closer to the headwaters of the film stream, not the end stream when they're on Netflix," Anderson Friesen said.

Anderson Friesen wanted to create an experience that audience can't get from their living room.

"It's more than a movie, it's an event," Anderson Friesen said. "People get to see something that they will be among the first to see."

Since their first show in January, the Reel Dakota Film Society has done three other screenings including the first-ever screening of the Oscar shorts program in South Dakota and a screening of Swedish film Simple Simon, which was short-listed for the best foreign film Oscar.

Their next screening will be of Augustana alumnus' Andrew Kightlinger's short film You Don't Know Bertha Constantine and the feature film Small Town Murder Songs.

According to Anderson Friesen, the society has already made an impact on the Sioux Falls arts scene.

"It has clearly struck a nerve," Anderson Friesen said. "There is a hungry, adventurous audience out there and I want to find them."