Dharamsala, Oct 28 (IANS): As many as 15 films from across the globe will be screened during the three-day Free Spirit Film Festival to be held on the outskirts of this Himachal Pradesh hill station from Thursday, an organiser said.

Among these will be "Poverty Inc.", a documentary by Gary Null and Valerie Van Cleve, organiser Lobsang Wangyal told IANS.

It investigates the multi-billion dollar Western "poverty industry" and its interventions in the developing world.

"Since we don't choose a specific theme for the festival, we look at each film for its originality in concept, uniqueness in presentation and difference in approach for approving the selection," Wangyal said.

According to him, 13 awards will be chosen by a grand jury and an audience award by the film-goers.

The festival will be held at the Community Centre in McLeodganj.

Started in 2004, the fest aims to show a wide variety of film genres, encapsulating the free spirit nature of the festival.

Wangyal is the producer and director of the popular Tibetan Music Awards and Miss Tibet pageant. He believes such events help the exiled community to draw the attention of the world to the cause of Tibet.

McLeodganj, the quaint uphill town also the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, has already gained prominence for attracting a steady stream of Tibet enthusiasts, Buddhist scholars, backpackers and even Hollywood stars like Richard Gere.