Leave it to a film society to find the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day — in a dark room, watching stories about love from every corner of the planet.

The St Augustine Film Society's Valentine's Day celebration, held at The Waterworks, screened 13 short films on the subject of love sourced from international filmmakers. Funny, tender, surprising, and occasionally heartbreaking — the way love actually is.

The Film Society was founded in 2012 by Joe Marx and Flagler College Film Studies professor Barbara Ottaviani-Jones, built around a simple observation: Saint Augustine deserved a place to see the films Hollywood wasn't showing. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, their mission has always been to bring foreign, independent, and art cinema — with high production values — to residents and visitors alike. Over the years they've screened at local venues, participated in the St Augustine Film Festival, and built a community of viewers who show up because the films are worth showing up for.

A Valentine's screening of short films about love fits that mission perfectly. Thirteen different visions of the same impossible subject — and every one of them worth the watch.

Learn more at staugustinefilmsociety.com

Event photos by Yvette Monell