Nisha Pahuja, director of “The World Before Her,” who will take part in a Q&A Thursday after the Boston premiere of her film at University of Massachusetts Boston.

Garen Daly, who has produced the event since 1987, says, “There’s nothing better in a long cold New England winter than to look forward to seeing hours upon hours of films with 600 to 700 of the friends you only see once a year. The marathon is ‘Brigadoon’-like. People from all over the country convene for one day a year to renew old acquaintances, talk film, insult the screen, and fire their ray guns.”