A camera in a student’s hands can turn an ordinary Buffalo room into a place where a new story begins.

This October, student films from Buffalo State will move beyond campus as six projects connected to its television and film arts program appear at the Buffalo International Film Festival.

Running October 8 through 15, the festival gives local audiences a chance to see short films, a television pilot and a feature shaped by students, alumni and faculty.

For emerging filmmakers, a hometown screening changes the audience in the room.

Classmates may know what went into a difficult shoot, but Buffalo moviegoers will meet the work on its own terms.

Two student shorts scheduled for October 10 at North Park Theatre approach vulnerable moments from very different directions.

“Me, Steve, & The Monster Under My Bed” uses an unwelcome creature to explore pressure, boundaries and the comedy of growing up.

In “986,” a mistaken phone call sends a young woman looking for emotional support into an unexpected conversation.

Both suggest that a brief running time leaves plenty of room for a complicated feeling.

At Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, the lineup stretches from the surreal unease of “Izzard” to the strained family gathering at the heart of “P A R R O T.”

Both shorts are scheduled for October 12, offering another look at how young filmmakers are testing tone and genre.

“Spares,” a television pilot screening October 11, follows a closeted teenager who finds connection through an underground girls’ bowling group.

Its search for belonging should feel familiar even to viewers who have never picked up a bowling ball.

The feature documentary “Save the Queen,” scheduled for October 9, follows drag performer Bella DuBalle through questions of identity, artistry and survival.

Its Buffalo screening also brings alumni collaborators back to the city where they studied film.

That range matters for independent cinema in Buffalo: no single style or subject defines what local talent can make.

Film school offers crews a place to learn the craft, but a festival asks whether their stories can hold a room full of strangers.

For these filmmakers, that can be thrilling and nerve-racking in equal measure.

For Buffalo audiences, it is an invitation to discover what is taking shape just down the street.