Like George Romero’s “”Night of the Living Dead,”” Rebecca Skeels Trujillo’s “”Zombito”” is in black and white. But this isn’t the kind of zombie movie you might expect from a college student taking her first steps into the world of filmmaking.

“”It’s about a lonely birthday girl and a little zombie who, against all odds, become the oddest pair of friends,”” said Skeels Trujillo, a media arts junior.

“”Zombito”” is one of 22 student-made short films that will receive their grand premiere at the El Con Theater tonight as part of a special event called “”Fade In.”” The event is an annual showcase for the semester’s work of junior-level BFA media arts students.

“”Everyone really went all-out for this year,”” Skeels Trujillo said. “”There’s a very wide variety of films.””

The schedule embraces everything from documentaries on the likes of fedoras and keeping monkeys as pets to narratives, which include a Western and a film that Skeels Trujillo said allows waiters and waitresses to speak out about the waiting life.

Skeels Trujillo, who organized the event with fellow media arts junior Kelli Dickinson, said her film, which is shot in English and Spanish with subtitles, was inspired by a friend who told her that his 5-year-old son was afraid of zombies.

“”I wanted to make a film that would make zombies fun,”” Skeels Trujillo said.

Dickinson contributed two films to the mini festival. The first, made with media arts junior Claire Corcoran, is “”A Date With Death,”” a stop-motion animation tale about the Grim Reaper.

“”Claire and I have both always really loved stop-motions,”” Dickinson said.

She said the five-minute film took at least 90 hours to make, including one nonstop 32-hour animating session.

“”Working with film is something you only really get to do as a student, because it’s just so expensive otherwise, especially as an independent filmmaker,”” she said.

Dickinson’s second film is “”Sunspot,”” a documentary about melanoma.

“”I’m trying to raise people’s awareness of melanoma; that it can affect anybody, not just older people,”” Dickinson said.

Skeels Trujillo said that film is an exhausting medium to work in, but she finds it ultimately worthwhile.

“”If someone’s really dedicated to making their film, it’s going to get made,”” she said.

“”It’s always great to see something you made on a big screen in front of a ton of people,”” Dickinson said. “”We’re expecting a lot of people to show up, so get there early if you want good seats.””

“”Fade In: A Series of Short Films”” kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight at the El Con Theater, 3601 E. Broadway Blvd. Admission is free, and seating is first-come, first-served.