It was a low-key affair with none of the hoopla of previous years, but Windsor International Film Festival began on an artistic high note Wednesday night at the Capitol Theatre.

Nearly 500 people turned out for the opening-night feature, the Canadian-made documentary The World Before Her.

Over the next four days, WIFF will present 51 films in 68 screenings in the three theatres at the Capitol.

Starting with a documentary didn't seem to bother the eager audience that started arriving a good half-hour before the lights went down.

Outside, it was clear WIFF's executive director Peter Coady was happy with what he saw.

"We took a bit of a chance starting with a documentary," he said. "But the audience seemed to really like it. It's the kind of film that represents where the festival is heading."

With the involvement of the University of Windsor, St. Clair College and the local school boards, Coady said, the emphasis on education is a key element in planning the festival.

"One of our mandates is to educate the public about films they would never see on Windsor screens. We brought this film in and, look, the people turned up."

The World Before Her is a multiple award winner, having taken top prizes at both the Hot Docs 2012 festival, and the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.

Director Nisha Pahuja, who was born in India and lives in Toronto, took her cameras behind the closed doors of modern India, revealing age-old traditions at loggerheads with contemporary society.

She followed the exploits of two young women - 19-yearold Ruhi, who competes for the 2011 Miss India title, and 24-year-old Prachi, who comes from a traditional Hindu family and attends a girls' boot camp run by Hindu nationalists.

While Ruhi undergoes Botox treatments and is painted with skin whiteners in order to make her look more western, Prachi is trained in the use of firearms and told Muslims and Christians are her mortal enemies.

Pahuja appeared in a Skype link to answer questions at the end of the film. Also in attendance was producer Cornelia Principe, wife of Windsor-born filmmaker Matt Gallagher.

"I thought by focusing on a beauty pageant," Pahuja told the Capitol audience, "I could show the plight of women in modern India from two very different perspectives."

WIFF continues today with 13 screenings starting at noon in the Pentastar Theatre with the costume drama Farewell, My Queen, set in revolutionary France.