When Thursday evening rolls in, Arlington residents April and Alberto Guzman are hoping to sit down, relax and enjoy a series of world films at the Regent Theatre.

But for now, they’re busy as ever finishing up the preparations for the town’s first international film festival.

“For the next week we’ll be screening films to make sure there will be no technical glitches, making sure we have the right equipment set up, volunteers are in place,” said Alberto Guzman, founder and organizer of the event.

The Arlington International Film Festival begins on Thursday, Oct. 6, and it runs until Sunday, Oct. 9.

On Thursday, the event opens with local documentary “We Still Live Here,” which tells the story of surviving the Massachusetts Wampanoag language. After the film, there will be a panel discussion and an after-party at Tango restaurant, with Argentinean appetizers and live tango.

“Our focus is fostering a stronger understanding between cultures,” said April Guzman, director of the festival. “We really feel that people can learn about each other’s cultures through film, and it can be entertaining as well as informative.”

Friday will open with an Armenian film, followed by a documentary commemorating the 10 years of the American war on Afghanistan. In the line-up, there are also films from Nepal, Sweden and other parts of the world.

Saturday brings a film by Brookline-based director Alexander Freeman, "Meet Annabelle," among others.

Sunday features films ranging from a documentary on Flamenco dance and a look at music at the Republic of Georgia.

"This is the first year of the festival and we're hoping it will be an annual thing in October," April Guzman said. "We’ll see how well received it is by the community"

"Arlington is the host but this is also for the greater Boston area," Alberto Guzman added.