NC Flix

Leaders of NC Film Industry to speak at Virtual Film Forum; Cucalorus deadline May 18

2021-05-07T12:25:00.001-04:00

The virtual 2021 NC Film Forum sponsored by the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Cucalorus Film Foundation continues on Wednesday, May 12th at 5:30pm. May’s session is entitled “State of the State” and will include an in-depth look at the film productions currently underway in North Carolina as well as a forecast for the rest of the year. The featured guests include longtime director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission Johnny Griffin, Chair of the Governor’s Film Council Susi Hamilton, and SVP of Trailblazer Studios Eric Johnson. Registration is free and required here - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkcuCupz4jH9HoeLgAGSto6EPhDX574mND.

The NC Film Forum is a 6-month professional development series providing resources to support the careers of creative professionals who make movies for a living. This year’s series launched in April with special guests like Guy Gaster (NC Film Office), Kathleen Collier (NC Arts Council) and Rhonda Bellamy (Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County). A recording of the April Forum is available online. The 2021 NC Film Forum Series focuses on building business skills for emerging production companies in the region with a series of workshops on topics ranging from film festival submissions to Covid safety. The series takes place the second Wednesday of each month at 5:30pm on Zoom. Each session includes time for questions and comments from attendees.

Cucalorus Submissions due May 18

Cucalorus is also accepting submissions for the 27th annual Cucalorus Film Festival on FilmFreeway. The final deadline for the 10th annual Surfalorus Film Festival presented by NC Aquariums is May 19. And last but not least, the Filmed in NC program offers funding to filmmakers living and working in North Carolina for bold, original new projects with awards ranging from $500 to $3000. The deadline is May 18. For more info, visit cucalorus.org/submit.

Filmed in NC Fund Deadline is Wednesday Feb. 13

2019-02-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

The Filmed in NC Fund is accepting applications for its 2019 grant program through Wed., Feb. 13. The fund, which is administrated through the Cucalorus Film Foundation, is a partnership with the NC Fi lm Office, Artless Media and The Magnifying Glass. Indie film and video projects by artists who are permanent residents of North Carolina, or who are full-time students at colleges or universities in North Carolina living full-time in NC, are eligible for these grants

The fund gives grants to support the development and production of new and ongoing projects with total budgets under $250,000. Projects are supported with funds ranging from $500 to $3,000 per project.

Last year 10 projects, ranging from narrative features to short docs, were chosen from 70 submissions. The selected projects included eight from female directors, four from African American filmmakers, and one project from a Hispanic filmmaker. Filmmakers have the opportunity to screen their work at the annual Cucalorus Film Festival held every November in Wilmington.

Read about last year's grant recipients here.

Both emerging and established artists with a proven record for producing singular and original work, whose projects exhibit potential for meaningful community impact and generating substantial economic activity in North Carolina, are encouraged to apply. Projects at various stages of production, including existing and new projects, are eligible. The program supports narrative, documentary and experimental films and videos and prioritizes funding for female, African American and Latinx filmmakers.

If you have questions about the application, please contact Rachel Taylor, programming director, via email only at programming@cucalorus.org.

For more and to apply visit the Cucalorus Filmed In NC page.

Cucalorus Board Member wins Sundance Award

2019-02-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

Wilmington-based filmmaker Jacqueline Olive, a Works-in-Progress graduate, alumni of the Residency Artist Program, Filmed in NC Grant Recipient, and current Cucalorus Board Member, premiered her film Always in Season at Sundance and came away with a Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency.

The documentary film tells the tragic story of Lennon Lacy, an African-American 17-year-old found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro in 2014. Officials ruled his death a suicide, but Lacy’s mother, Claudia, believes her son, who was dating a white girl, was lynched. The film documents Claudia's efforts to get justice for her son and presents evidence of his murder and examines the history of lynchings in the South.

Always in Season screened as a work in progress at Wilmington’s Cucalorus Festival in 2016 and is currently touring film festivals across the country.

The LA Times published a review of the film...

Upcoming film festivals looking for submissions

2019-02-08T14:23:00.000-05:00

Tarheel Shorties Film Festival

The 3rd annual Tarheel Shorties Film Festival kicks off June 8, 2019 in Wilson, North Carolina with a mix of indoor screenings at the historic Edna Boykin Cultural Center and outdoor screenings at the legendary Whirligig Park. This homegrown festival highlights films created with roots in North Carolina.

Submission deadline is April 3. Go here for details.

Surfalorus Film Festival

The 8th annual Surfalorus Film Festival! Presented by Cucalorus and the Dare County Arts Council, comes to the Outer Banks on September 19-21, 2019!

This three-day celebration of coastal North Carolina marine culture is a fun-and-sun filled cinematic synthesis of all things aquatic, showcasing the year’s hottest surf films and ocean documentaries with a series of outdoor sunset screenings and accompanying festivities.

Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2019. Go here for details.

Cucalorus Connect 10 X 10 Challenge

10 entrepreneurs are paired with 10 filmmakers to make a short promo video in just five days during the festival. The Connect conference takes place in November in association with the Cucalorus film Festival in downtown Wilmington.

Application deadline is to participate in the challenge (and the Rocket Pitch) is May 1, 2019. Go here for details.

Lumbee Film Festival

The 2nd annual Lumbee Film Festival takes place May 23-24, 2019 at the UNC Pembroke Entrepreneurship Incubator in Pembroke, NC. The festival showcases original new films made by American Indians, including members of the Lumbee Tribe living in North Carolina and across the United States.

Deadline for submissions is March 13. Go here for details.

American Dance Festival seeks submissions for Movies by Movers film fest

2019-02-04T07:05:00.001-05:00

ADF’s Movies By Movers, a bi-annual festival in Durham dedicated to the conversation between the body and the camera, invites students, emerging artists, seasoned professionals, even those who would not consider themselves “artists,” but have great ideas, to share their craft.

Submissions are being accepted through Feb. 23, 2019.

Films selected will screen during the month of July, 2019.

From the American Dance Festival: "While ADF’s Movies By Movers is by all accounts, a dance film festival, our definition of dance is broad and includes whatever you consider to be dance. Modern dance, ballet, jazz, cirque, parkour, skating, sports. We love it all. We screen it all! We also love all genres of filmmaking – experimental and digital technologies, documentary, choreography for the camera, animation, and student work. We invite you to keep us on our toes – literally – and help us keep pushing boundaries and redefining definitions."

credit: Cesar Brodermann

Categories for submissions for 2019 include:

Student ($15 fee)
Dance Film Animation ($35 fee)
Underrepresented Directors/Choreographers ($35 fee)
General Professional ($35 fee)

Artists whose work is selected for the festival are invited to join the American Dance Festival for screenings, free ADF classes and tickets to one live performance. More details upon acceptance.

Details here.

Full Frame invites submissions for 2019 festival

2018-10-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

Presenting over 100 films each spring, Full Frame brings together filmmakers and film lovers to celebrate the power and artistry of documentary film. The 22nd annual festival will be held April 4 – 7, 2019, four days of standout storytelling, conversation, and Southern hospitality in downtown Durham, NC.

The regular deadline to submit films began on Sept. 1 and runs until October 31; the late deadline is December 15. Visit the Full Frame website for application instructions and FAQs.

NCMA hosts 'Black Panther' movie party September 28

2018-09-09T09:43:00.000-04:00

The North Carolina Museum of Art will close out its summer movie season with a movie party, Wakanda Forever! Black Panther, on Sept. 28. The outdoor event takes place at the Museum Park Theater, with art activities, food trucks, musical performances, activities geared toward age 16 and up, starting at 6:30 pm, continuing until the movie begins at 8:30 pm.

Admission to the movie party is $8 for members, $10 nonmembers and free for children 6 and under, although they must have a ticket.Buy them here.

Set in the mythical - and technologically advanced - land of Wakanda, Black Panther, based on the Marvel Comics superhero saga penned by Stan Lee, raises the question: “What if Africa hadn’t been colonized by the Europeans?”

Released in 2018 by Disney, the film stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, heir to a hidden African kingdom, who returns home on his father's death and and becomes the Black Panther to defend his land from his cousin N'Jadaka, played by Michael B. Jordan. The film, the first superhero movie to feature a mostly black cast, opened to excellent reviews and is the one of the highest grossing films of all time.

Pre-movie activities at the NC Museum of Art's outdoor park pay homage to the beautiful land of Wakanda with special music and art-making activities before the screening of Black Panther. NCMA's newly redesigned African Gallery, spanning 16 centuries of African art, is open until 9 pm in East Building. Other activities include:
Screen printing with MacFly Fresh Printing Co., including free posters to the first 200 attendees
Wakanda fashion show with DRC ApeParel and MacFly Fresh Printing Co.
Curated party playlist by Blackspace
Live music by Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba
Time Camp 002 activity with Afrofuturist Janelle Dunlap
Local black-owned business and organization vendor fair featuring Black Genius Apparel, DRC ApeParel, Colors of Yoga Raleigh, Empowered Minds Academy, L. Jamal Walton, Rachel Stewart Jewelry, Truly Aesthetic, and The ZEN SucculentFood trucks that plan to attend include:

Bull City Street Food
Qspresso
Mr. Mongolian
BaguetteAboutIt
Queso Monster
Cocoa Forte
Two Roosters (cart)

Full Frame winners for 2018

2018-05-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

The 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival announced this year's winners at the annual Awards Barbecue.

The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award
Sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation

Hale County This Morning, This Evening by RaMell Ross
Poetic film explores an Alabama community,

Special Jury Award to Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki

Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short
Provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild

I Am Bisha by Roopa Gogineni
World Premiere. Ganja and his friends film a humorous and satirical web series, Bisha TV, starring puppets to combat the violent, genocidal regime of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir

Full Frame Audience Award – Feature

Minding the Gap by Bing Liu

Filmmaker follows skateboarders through the streets of Rockford, Illinois, for more than a decade.

Full Frame Audience Award – Short
Sponsored by Thunder Mountain Media

Girl-Hearted by Anne Scheschonk
Seven-year-old Nori and her mother, Josephin, reflect on their experiences together.

Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award
Provided by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
From the filmmaker of the groundbreaking documentary Return to Homs, this doc takes us into the lives of a Syrian family led by an Al-Nusra fighter.

Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award
Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family

América by Erick Stoll and Chase Whiteside

After their father is unexpectedly arrested, three brothers come together to care for their aging grandmother, América.

Honorable mention
Minding the Gap by Bing Liu

Full Frame President’s Award
Sponsored by Duke University

The Issue of Mr. O’Dell by Rami Katz
A conversation with the 94-year-old activist, Jack O’Dell, who once worked alongside Martin Luther King, Jr.

Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights
Sponsored by the Julian Price Family Foundation in memory of Melanie Taylor

The Unafraid by Heather Courtney and Anayansi Prado

Three DACA students work for immigrant rights, and the future of their families.

For additional information on these and other films screened at Full Frame 2018, visit the festival website.

Southern Documentary Fund screens 'In the Executioner's Shadow' Jan. 26

2018-01-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

Friday, January 26th @ 7:00pm

The Southern Documentary Fund continues its Fresh Docs series of works in progress on Jan. 26 with the screening of In The Executioner's Shadow at the Full Frame Theater in Durham.

The film by Maggie Stogner and Richard Stack takes viewers into the rarely seen world of death row with Jerry Givens, who conducted 62 executions for the State of Virginia and is haunted by how close he came to executing an innocent man. It also follows survivor Karen Brassard, severely injured in the Boston Marathon bombing, and her deep moral conflict while she attends the trial. It also follows the case of Vicki and Syl Schieber who chose to fight for the life of their daughter's rapist and murderer.

Fresh Docs: In the Executioner's Shadow is presented by SDF in partnership with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. The screening is free. You can RSVP here.

New JuneBug short film debuts Sept. 19 in Cary

2017-09-17T18:58:00.000-04:00

Junebug - Behind the Scenes from ContinuousTake Productions on Vimeo.

JuneBug, a short film written and directed by Hannah Sink will debut on Sept. 19 at the Cary Theatre. Filmed entirely in North Carolina it features a NC cast and crew as well.

In her film, Hannah explores how a child deals with grief. Juniper Rose, Junebug to her great aunt, has ceased to speak after the loss of her mother. Sink draws on her own experience of loss, saying "easy lives don't make great stories!"

JuneBug screens as part of the Rough Cuts Review series at the Cary. This free screening series provides an opportunity for local filmmakers to show works-in-progress and engage in conversation with other local filmmakers and the public about their work. Joseph Partin, Film and English Professor at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC, will lead the discussion.

Free tickets to the 7 p.m. screening on Tuesday, Sept. 19, can be reserved on the Cary Theater website.

FYI: This is not the same "Junebug" film (also made in North Carolina) for which Amy Adams received Best Supporting Actress recognition in 2006.

July 4th Alien Attack Movie Marathon on COMET TV

2017-07-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

Prepare To Be Invaded

In honor of the 70th anniversary of the famed Roswell UFO crash, Comet TV is hosting a Aliens Invade Movie Marathon beginning at 10 am July 4.

The lineup includes: Invisible Invaders (1959), The Falling (1987), Strange Invaders (1983) and other classics such as Without Warning!

[HINT: Click on the movie "posters" below to see cool videos.]

If you are an Alien fan, leave a comment to this blog for a chance to win this amazing Alien Attack Movie Marathon Pack!

The Comet TV Prize Pack includes:

1 - Limited Edition custom designed Fidget Spinner: They are all the rage right now and there's no better way to cool down when you're hot under the collar and worried about the survival of the human species!

2 - Comet TV Popcorn Tubs: Munch your cares away with these two custom design popcorn tubs. Perfect to share with a friend or keep all the rations to yourself. You just might need it!

1 - Comet TV Cylinder Survival Bottle: During times of invasion you still need to hydrate. What if you were by a lake or stream while running from the aliens and didn't have anything to put water in. Breathe freely my friends, we got you covered!

2 - Bags of Popcorn: How can we give you Popcorn Tubs without the popcorn. We're not evil… Well…. Only sometimes.

1 - Limited Edition Comet TV Alien Invasion Collector Card: Warn your friends about the Alien Invasion with this handy dandy card! Shout it from the rooftops, scream it from the top of your lungs… Or just share it on Facebook. Either way, this limited edition collector card is an awesome way to share the love!

Full schedule July 4th beginning at 10AM/9C

[Click on the movie "posters" below to see cool videos.]

Invisible Invaders (1959)

at 10AM/9C

The Falling (1987)
at NOON/11C

Strange Invaders (1983)
at 2P/1C

Without Warning (1980)
at 4P/3C

Alien Autopsy (2006)
at 6P/5C

Leave a comment to this blog post or on the NC Flix Facebook page, along with a way to contact you if you win. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. Contest closes July 11.

A love letter to New York on film

2017-04-06T11:40:00.003-04:00

ONE OCTOBER is playing at 1:30 Saturday 4/8 at the 2017 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC.

A review by Allan Maurer

For several years I lived 30 minutes away from midtown Manhattan by train and I took advantage of it every weekend and not infrequently evenings. A few years later, I lived on West 81^st Street, not far from Central Park, and I love the city still. Because New York City, like Hemingway’s Paris, is a movable feast.

One October, a documentary filmed in 2008, directed by Rachel Shuman and expertly filmed by David Sampliner in lush, evocative cinematography, follows WFMU reporter and commentator Clay Pigeon as he takes to the streets of New York City to interview people about their lives, their dreams, and their relationship with the city.

New York City is a kaleidoscope of ethnic, sexual, neighborhood and environmental diversity. Pidgeon finds interesting characters young and old, of multiple races, gay and straight, natives and recent arrivals. They include a mixed race couple that once drove taxis in the city, a transgender man, a young student, and a man selling Sarah Palin and Barrack Obama themed condoms.

Sampliner offers rich visual montages as interludes, evoking the city’s many colors, its surprising amount of greenery and wildlife, the squirrels in the parks, the birds overhead or in cages at an Asian shop, parades, and street fairs, sparkling fountains, children playing. Behind it all, always, although not in every shot, we see the city itself, its skyline in a variety of light, the way you see it if you live there.

While rising rents, people living on the street, and other problems are not ignored, they are not the focus of this film, which is a visual love letter to the city. Even the more downtrodden Pidgeon interviews seem to love the city, despite the hardships.

I’ll tell you this. It filled me with nostalgia for my years walking New York City’s endlessly fascinating streets.

Full Credits at Full Frame Site

Allan Maurer's film criticism and essays have appeared in OMNI, Starlog, Charlotte Entertainment, Charlotte's Best Magazine, and other publications.

Don't Miss events and films at Full Frame 2017

2017-03-29T12:21:00.000-04:00

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary April 6–9 in Durham, NC, with an exciting lineup of films.

Opening night will see the latest film from one of the festival's favorite directors, Steve James, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. James presented his award-winning 1994 film Hoop Dreams at Full Frame and has returned many times since.

His latest work, Abacus, examines the horrific legal battle of the only U.S. bank ever charged with mortgage fraud in the 2008 financial crisis... the family-owned Abacus Federal Savings in Manhattan's Chinatown which lent money to Chinese families unable to secure loans from the "big banks" no matter how much money they deposited. James will be joined by members of the Sung family for a post-screening Q&A. Abacus screens on Thursday, April 6, at the Carolina Theatre's Fletcher Hall.

The festival's Closing Night Film is STEP, directed by Amanda Lipitz, on Sunday, April 9, at Fletcher Hall. Members of a step-dance team at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women pursue their dreams of attending college. Lipitz and special guests will be in attendance for a conversation after the community screening. Admission to this film is free.

New this year, Full Frame is scheduling two free parties for the community at the 21c Museum Hotel: the Late Night Birthday Bash on Thursday night and the Full Frame Closing Night Party on Sunday, hosted. Both are free to attend and feature a cash bar with local DJ entertainment.

Center Frames

Two films with North Carolina connections will be screened as part of the Center Frame series in Fletcher Hall. The films will both be followed by moderated conversations featuring filmmakers and special guests,

Friday: Purple Dreams by Joanne Hock (a world premiere) follows the production of A Color Purple by students at Charlotte's Northwest School of the Arts, the first high school in the country allowed to bring the Broadway musical adaptation of the Pulitzer prize winning book to the stage.

Saturday: May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio follows the North Carolina brothers as they record a new album in California. (No word on whether any of the Avetts will be guests)

Award-Winners

Another don't miss annual event takes place Saturday afternoon when the recipients of the 2017 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant present excerpts of their works in progress. The 2017 grant winners are Bing Liu for Minding the Gap and to Kavita Pillay for Stalin, Lenin, and Other Tales from South India (working title). These are followed by a screening of QUEST by 2016 grant recipient Jonathan Olshefski. The annual grant is presented in honor of filmmaker Garrett Scott, and recognizes first-time filmmakers who bring a unique vision and style to their documentary films.

The complete schedule of films is available online at fullframefest.org. Individual tickets go on sale March 30, and can be purchased online

Full Frame celebrates 20 years with retrospective theme "DoubleTake"

2017-03-28T10:57:00.002-04:00

Celebrating its 20th anniversary April 6-9 in Durham, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival presents a special retrospective program featuring films and filmmakers who helped establish the festival as one of world's premier showcases of nonfiction cinema. Titled DoubleTake, the program is curated by Full Frame artistic director Sadie Tillery and includes 19 films, one from each year in Full Frame's history.

"It was a remarkable journey to take, looking back over the milestones and moments highlighting two decades of Full Frame," Tillery said. "Above all else, this retrospective is a celebration of the the artistry, courage, and power of storytelling we see every year from documentary filmmakers around the world. We're proud to continue to provide a stage where their work can be experienced and appreciated."

The DoubleTake Films, many of which we have seen over the years, explore the universe of human experience from many different perspectives. Here you'll find films about environmental challenges, race relations, personal stories of loss told through home movies, even an examination of culture through the lens of a typeface. But each of these docs highlights the common human story of endurance in the face of overwhelming odds, and unique solutions to some of the many problems that face humanity.

Full Frame showcased nearly 2,000 documentaries during its first two decades. Screened films included titles in wide circulation alongside films that are harder to see. In addition to the DoubleTake program, the 2107 Full Frame lineup includes 71 additional films, including NEW DOCS slate of films in competition and the Invited Program films. Several of the films will make their World or North American premieres at the festival. Full Frame is a qualifying event for nominations for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject and The Producers Guild of America Awards, and many of the documentaries screened in Durham go on to achieve international recognition.

Festival screenings will be held at multiple locations in downtown Durham, including venues within the iconic Carolina Theatre and the Durham Convention Center, during the four-day, morning-to-midnight festival. Screening times and venues can be found on the full schedule at fullframefest.org. Individual tickets go on sale March 30.

In addition to ticketed films, Full Frame sponsors a range of free events open to the public, including free film screenings, discussions and panels featuring top filmmakers and industry insiders, and - new this year - free afterparties at the 21c Museum Hotel.

2017 Thematic Program: DoubleTake

12 Notes Down (12 Toner ned) (Director: Andreas Koefoed)

Festival Year: 2009
Touching portrayal of transition follows a talented adolescent as he is forced to abandon his longstanding role in the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir when his voice begins to change.

Benjamin Smoke (Directors: Jem Cohen, Peter Sillen)
Festival Year: 2001
A portrait of the band Smoke's lead singer unfolds through a patchwork of still images, rehearsal and performance footage, black-and-white collages, and interviews with Benjamin himself.

Black Out (Director: Eva Weber)
Festival Year: 2013
With no power at home, Guinean children walk miles to study for exams beneath the humming glow of airport, gas station, and parking lot lights.

The Chances of the World Changing (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar)
Festival Year: 2006
What begins as a desire to help save endangered turtles becomes an all-consuming passion for New Yorker Richard Ogust, who eventually shares his apartment with 1,200 tortoises from around the globe.

Father's Day (Director: Mark Lipman)
Festival Year: 2004
With its deceptively restrained tone, this film investigates a father's passing through edited home movies and a contemporary soundtrack in which family members talk about the father's life.

Flag Wars (Directors: Linda Goode Bryant, Laura Poitras)
Festival Year: 2003
This stark journey into the heart of a divided community documents the gentrification of an African American working-class neighborhood in Ohio, where the white newcomers are mostly gay.

Helvetica (Director: Gary Hustwit)
Festival Year: 2007
An insightful examination of typography, graphic design, and global visual culture through the lens of the iconic typeface.

Il Capo (Director: Yuri Ancarani)
Festival Year: 2011
Stunning cinematic short follows an Italian machinery conductor as he deftly directs his crew to carve marble out of a mountain.

In Harm's Way (Director: Jan Krawitz)
Festival Year: 1998
An affecting portrait of the filmmaker's own life story, told through striking contemporary images and excerpts from the "safety first" films shown in school classrooms during the 1950s and 60s.

La Laguna (Director: Aaron Schock)
Festival Year: 2016
In the rainforests of southern Mexico, a Mayan boy faces the impending loss of his childhood freedoms as family pressures and economic realities close in.

Last Day of Freedom (Directors: Dee Hibbert-Jones, Nomi Talisman)
Festival Year: 2015
Beautiful animation accompanies poignant testimony in this haunting short about a man who discovers his brother has committed a serious crime.

Paradise - Three Journeys in This World (Director: Elina Hirvonen)
Festival Year: 2008
A lyrical exploration of the fragile hopes and harsh realities of African immigrant journeys to Spain.

Phantom Limb (Director: Jay Rosenblatt)
Festival Year: 2005
This experimental fusion of found footage and home movies takes us through the grieving process the filmmaker, who lost his brother when he was just nine years old, was denied as a child.

Santa Cruz del Islote (Director: Luke Lorentzen)
Festival Year: 2014
On this remote island, the most densely populated on the planet, a community struggles to maintain their way of life as resources and opportunities dwindle.

Strong at the Broken Places: Turning Trauma into Recovery (Directors: Margaret Lazarus, Renner Wunderlich)
Festival Year: 1999
Four individuals who survived unspeakable trauma in their youth tell their stories, and in doing so, make profound statements about inner strength and empowerment.

Sun Come Up (Director: Jennifer Redfearn)
Festival Year: 2010
When climate change causes the ocean to slowly consume their idyllic South Pacific island, residents of the Carteret Atoll must make a painful choice—evacuate or cling to the land they love—and time is running out.

Two Towns of Jasper (Directors: Whitney Dow, Marco Williams)
Festival Year: 2002
After the murder of a black man makes national headlines, the filmmakers dispatch two crews to Jasper, Texas—one black, one white—to get at the truth of what life in the town is really about.

The Waiting Room (Director: Peter Nicks)
Festival Year: 2012
This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, loved ones, bureaucracy, and hard choices in an Oakland ER's waiting room.

The Way I Look at You: 5 Stories of Driving School (La bonne conduite: 5 histoires d'auto-école) (Director: Jean-Stéphane Bron)
Festival Year: 2000
This uniquely insightful film explores the relationships that develop between five pairs of Swiss driving school instructors and their students; in their obligatory interactions, complex personal stories are revealed.

New Documentary Explores Carl Schenck's Role is Saving America's Forests

2016-06-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

Biltmore Forest School's class of 1905 in what is now Pisgah National Forest. Image courtesy of Forest History Society, Durham, N.C.

On Friday, June 17, 2016, the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh hosts a free screening of a new documentary America's First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment. The film, which debuted on national public television in April, is the first in-depth look at the work of legendary forester and educator Carl Schenck who is credited with a pivotal role in saving America's forests during the Industrial Revolution.

Schenck, a German forester who managed over 100,000 acres of woodlands at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, established the first forestry school in the United States, an act which helped the Pisgah National Forest become the first national forest established from private land. The educator, forester, and lumberman helped found the conservation movement in the U.S., and is known for his memoir Cradle of Forestry in America.

In the late 1800s when U.S. forests were in danger of being completely clear-cut, Schenck introduced innovative techniques to manage the woodlands around the newly constructed Biltmore Estate. By restoring the forest using the "new" science of forestry, he employed experiments that provided a blueprint for how to save the nation's forests.

The free screening of America's First Forest on June 17 begins at 7 p.m., will be followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session. The panel discussion will feature James G. Lewis, executive producer of America's First Forest, historian, and editor of Forest History Today; Brian Haines, public information officer of N.C. Forest Service; and Joann Meyer-Cox, CF/CFA and owner of Meyer-Cox Forestry Consultants, LLC. Science comedian Brian Mallow will serve as moderator. Local forestry education and outreach groups will be on hand to answer questions before the screening, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

For additional information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.

Bechtler Modernism + Film series presents Tadao Ando doc

2016-06-07T10:41:00.001-04:00

Tadao Ando ©2013

Thursday, June 9, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art's Modernism + Film program screens the documentary Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity. The 52 minute film is presented in multiple languages with English subtitles and was an official selection at the A Design Film Festival in Singapore 2014. You can view a trailer here.

"The essence of architecture is to open the hearts of the people," Japanese minimalist master Tadao Ando has said, "and to move them in such a way that they are glad to be on Earth."

Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity is a 2013 documentary by German filmmaker Mathias Frick. The film takes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the work and processes of Ando, the only architect to have won the discipline's four most prestigious prizes: the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Carlsberg Architectural Prize, Praemium Imperiale Prize for Architecture, and Kyoto Prize.

Ando uses concrete, wood, water, light, space, and natural forms to create a Zen-like connection between Japanese traditions and contemporary modernism. His buildings make creative use of natural light to evoke the contours of the landscape. Ando's numerous award-winning homes, churches, museums, apartment buildings and cultural spaces possess an open, inviting quality that belies the structures' minimalist construction.

"To change the dwelling is to change the city and to reform society,” Ando says. His deceptively simple buildings are meant to give people space to unfold their lives in a contemplative manner.

John Boyer, President and CEO of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, will provide remarks prior to the film screening.

An event reception with a cash-only bar and free light bites begins at 6 p.m. in the Bechtler lobby followed by the presentation and film screening at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium.

Tickets are $10 for the public, $8 for museum members and $5 for students. Buy tickets online, via phone by calling 704.353.9200 or at the admissions desk. Student tickets may be purchased at the door or by phone. Must present student ID to claim.

Moogfest Film Fest features live soundtracks and JG Ballard’s future

2016-05-17T15:55:00.002-04:00

Moogfest is days from taking over Durham (if you live there, you are probably already seeing the restricted parking signs going up). The 4-day festival offers an almost overwhelming amount of programming, from cutting-edge electronic music to conferences with high-profile experts speculating about the future.

Fortunately, there is also a film festival. In the Carolina Theatre.

As a long-time attendee of Full Frame and other Durham film fests, the Carolina Theatre is practically my second home. So if you need to find me at Moogfest, look for me hanging out in the upper lobby between Cinema 1 and Cinema 2.

While I regrettably won’t be able to just park myself in a seat at the Carolina, I do plan on checking in frequently on the film programming. As a science fiction fan, I can hardly resist.

The majority of the Moogfest film program is made up of a 9-part short film series which shows Thursday through Sunday. Titled “Future Projections,” the series is (loosely) based on sci-fi author JG Ballard’s dystopian short story collection of that name. (See the end of this story for the non-Ballard film programming.)

Some 45+ short films, videos and movies-with-live-soundtracks make up the film fest program. Here’s a list of the screening times and titles of each of the 9 parts of the Ballard inspired-series. Each program begins with a new 3-minute short film based on a story in the Ballard collection.

All of the Future Projection programs take place in the Carolina’s Cinema 2. A complete list of the films in each program can be found on the Moogfest schedule (toggle Film).

Incidentally, the late JG Ballard is having a big month, cinematically speaking. Ben Wheatley’s new film adaptation of Ballard’s 1975 novel, High-Rise, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and is in general release this week. Also, the Anthology Film Archives in New York City is screening a series of Ballard adaptations as well as films he liked, from May 13-22, including David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996) and Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun (1987).

“I, too, was once an astronaut.” – JG Ballard

Thursday, May 19:

2:30pm - 4:00pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : MEMORIES OF THE SPACE AGE
Featuring music by Terry Riley and the world premiere of a new work, Memories of the Space Age, by Ephraim Asil

5:00pm - 6:30pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : THE CAGE OF SAND
Featuring The Cage of Sand, the world premiere of a new work by NC-based video artist Edward Rankus based on the Ballard story.

Friday, May 20:

12:00pm - 1:30pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : A QUESTION OF RE-ENTRY
Featuring A Question of Re-entry, the world premiere of a new work by NC-based film-and-zinemaker Bill Brown.

2:30pm - 4:00pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : THE DEAD ASTRONAUT
Featuring the world premiere of The Dead Astronaut, a new work by NC-based digital media artist Sabine Gruffat.

5:00pm - 6:30pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : MY DREAM OF FLYING TO WAKE ISLAND
Featuring the world premiere of My Dream of Flying to Wake Island, a new work by experimental filmmaker Mary Helena Clark.

Saturday, May 21:

12:00pm - 1:30pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : NEWS FROM THE SUN
Featuring the world premiere of News From the Sun, by NC-based filmmakers and programmers Brendan and Jeremy Smyth.

2:30pm - 4:00pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE
Featuring the world premiere of Myths of the Near Future, a new work by video duo Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby with a score by Olivia Block.

5:00pm - 6:30pm
FUTURE PROJECTIONS : THE MAN WHO WALKED ON THE MOON
Featuring the world premiere of The Man Who Walked on the Moon, a new work by filmmaker Alee Peoples.

Sunday, May 22:

2:30pm - 4:00pm

FUTURE PROJECTIONS : MEMORIES OF THE SPACE AGE II
Featuring the world premiere of Memories of the Space Age II, a new work by Baltimore writer and video artist Stephanie Barber.

But wait, there’s more!

Several special screenings, also part of the Moogfest Film Festival, take place in the Carolina’s Cinema 1.

Thursday. May 19 from 3:30pm - 5:30pm:

Lunar Orbit makes its North American premiere at Moogfest. The documentary by Patrick Buchanan explores the history, music and creative process of The Orb, pioneering artists of ambient house music. Buchanan blends footage from the Berlin studio recording sessions of Moonbuilding 2703AD, live concert footage, rare unseen archival material and interviews with key Orbists, past and present. The screening will be followed by a Q and A with producer/director/editor Patrick Buchanan and The Orb members, Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann. The Orb will also appear live with fellow ambient pioneer Daniel Lanois on Saturday night at 10 pm in the Armory.

Friday, May 20 from 3:30pm - 5pm:

I Speak Machine, the creative team of musician Tara Busch and filmmaker Maf Lewis, present a trio of their recent sci-fi and horror films, Gagglebox, The Silence, and their latest, Zombies 1985. Tara accompanies each film with a live score, featuring her vocals and a gaggle of analog synths.

[Busch is a long-time Moog Music supporter and synth nerd. I wrote about The Silence, the connection between Moog and sci-fi, and some of I Speak Machine’s other projects in a recent AXS article.]

Saturday, May 21, from 3:30pm - 5pm:

Detroit electronic duo ADULT. presents its film project, The Three Grace(s) triptych with live soundtrack. The 98-minute work consists of three interconnected shorter films, Decampment, Traditions, and Possession(s), all written, scored, filmed, edited and directed by the duo. The work is in the spirit of Jean Cocteau’s surrealist 1950 Orphic Trilogy, but set in the genre of midwestern horror. The triptych is not in general release, and ADULT. has previously performed it only at The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Anthology Film Archives in NYC, and Distrital Film Festival (Mexico City).

Sunday, May 22, from 2:30 - 5 p.m.:

It Follows, the horror film that rocked the 2014 Cannes Film Festival before becoming a box office hit, comes to Moogfest. Following the screening, Disasterpeace, a.k.a. electronica musician Richard Vreeland, the composer of the film's score, will participate in a Q and A.

VIP passes to Moogfest are sold out, but General Admission passes and Day passes are still available. See the Moogfest website for more.

Free 2016 Longleaf Film Festival in Raleigh May 13-14

2016-05-12T16:48:00.000-04:00

A still from Walker World, an official selection of the Longleaf Film Festival

The annual Longleaf Film Festival takes place at the North Carolina Museum of History on May 13-14, 2016. Numerous short films and features, in both the documentary and narrative categories, will be screened during the two day event. Many of them were made in North Carolina and/or deal with NC topics.

This is the second year for the festival, which last year drew 170 entries from 25 countries. More than 400 people attended the screenings of the 41 films selected by the jurors.

The festival begins on Friday, May 13, with a program of short films running from 3 to 5 p.m. Topics range from a doc examining events during the American Revolution to a biopic of Durham's first female deputy sheriff. A second set of films screen from 5 to 7 p.m., highlighted by a documentary about the proliferation of North Carolina craft beer, a short showcasing the National Hollerin’ Contest at Spivey’s Corner, and more.

Screenings resume on Saturday at 11 a.m at three locations within the museum. Seating is limited to 35 people in two of the venues, so an early arrival is advised. One stand-out is Voices of the Lumbee, a documentary feature about the ongoing struggles of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Films continue throughout the afternoon and evening, followed by an awards ceremony at 8:30 p.m. Except for several workshops and other events for filmmakers, which require advance registration, all the festival events are free and open to the pubic.

A full schedule and listing of selected films can be found at LongleafFilmFestival.com.

2016 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Winners

2016-05-01T15:19:00.000-04:00

2016 festival award winners at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival:

The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award
Sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation

STARLESS DREAMS, directed by Mehrdad Oskouei

Special Jury Mention

GLEASON, directed by Clay Tweel

Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short
Provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild

CLÍNICA DE MIGRANTES: LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin

Full Frame Audience Award – Feature
Sponsored by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina

LIFE, ANIMATED, directed by Roger Ross Williams

Full Frame Audience Award – Short
Sponsored by the Asheville Field Office – Bob Allen Family Foundation

PICKLE, directed by Amy Nicholson

Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award
Provided by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

SONITA, directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award
Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family

CALL ME MARIANNA, directed by Karolina Bielawska

Full Frame Inspiration Award
Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation

STARLESS DREAMS, directed by Mehrdad Oskouei

Full Frame President's Award
Sponsored by Duke University

THE MUTE'S HOUSE, directed by Tamar Kay

Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights
Sponsored by the Julian Price Family Foundation in memory of Melanie Taylor

KIKI, directed by Sarah Jordenö

Many of Full Frame's award winners are rescreened in an encore performance on the final Sunday afternoon of the festival.

This is Full Frame's 19th annual festival. The 20th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival takes place April 6-9, 2017.

Come see us on Sunday!

Today might be the last day of the festival, but there is plenty to do and plenty of great films to see! Missed a film, or excited to see an award winner? Grab a ticket to any one of our SIX SUNDAY ENCORES and you'll experience the buzz-worthiest films of Full Frame.

Invited films MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE, THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS, and BEHEMOTH are coming up this afternoon.

VERY SEMI-SERIOUS, part of our Kirsten Johnson Tribute, and MEDIUM COOL, the last film of our Thematic Program, both screen Sunday afternoon.

Budding documentarians are highlighted in the free School of Doc program; this screening features the short film SEEDS: A DOCUMENTARY, made by local high school students who participated in the 2015 Full Frame School of Doc educational summer camp.

Finally, our festival culminates with the free Closing Night Film (free ticket required) NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU, a portrait of the legendary '70s sitcom creator. This film screens at 8:00pm in Fletcher Hall of the Carolina Theatre, and is a great way to wind down from the high of the Full Frame weekend, surrounded by your fellow documentary lovers.

All this, plus music on the Plaza from The Art of Cool Project and food from some of Durham's famous food trucks—Sunday at Full Frame is not to be missed!

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McColl Center screens films by Peter Thompson

2016-03-16T11:14:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, the McColl Center for Art + Innovation continues its New Frequencies series with a screening of Lowlands, a film by Peter Thompson.

Noted critic Jonathan Rosenbaum called Thompson the greatest unknown filmmaker in America. Thompson's unique essay form combines documentary, dream, and fiction to tell his story.

Lowlands follows the little-known story of Vermeer's wife, exposing the shocking historical context in which the Dutch master painted his masterworks, known for their serenity and lucid beauty.

The film screens at the McColl Center 8–9:30 PM. Tickets are $5 for members or in advance; $7 at the door. Tickets are available here.

Full Frame 2016 will host world premiere of Kartemquin’s 'Raising Bertie'

2016-03-11T07:46:00.001-05:00

Kartemquin and Full Frame Documentary Fest have announced that the Chicago doc collective will debut its latest work Raising Bertie at this year's film festival. The world premiere is scheduled for April 9, 2016 at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham.

Kartemquin Films, Chicago's award-winning documentary collective, is well known in Durham thanks to previous docs they have screened at Full Frame. Basketball centered Hoop Dreams, a Kartemquin film by Steve James, celebrated its 20th anniversary at Full Frame with special programming in 2014. The same year, Full Frame included a special tribute to James, screening several of his films with Kartemquin, including The Interrupters and At the Death House Door, both award-winners at the Durham fest.

Filmmaker Margaret Byrne

Raising Bertie, director Margaret Byrne's debut documentary, was filmed over a period of six years in Bertie County, a rural community in eastern North Carolina. It follows the lives of three African American boys as they grow into adulthood, dealing with issues that include generational poverty, educational inequity, and race.

Bud

Set in Bertie County, a rural African American-led community, the film takes the viewer deep into the emotional lives of three young boys - Reginald "Junior" Askew, David "Bud" Perry, and Davonte "Dada" Harrell - as they face a number of challenges over six years as they grow into adults. All three will attend the world premiere.

Dada

Byrne, a single mother, largely self-financed the film, with partial funding from the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and the Durham-based Southern Documentary Fund, along with support from IFP and Good Pitch Chicago.

Junior

"This film has been a labor of love. Over the last seven years, we have maintained close, trusting relationships with each family in the film. I love them and am honored that they trusted me, gave me an unfiltered window into their lives, and believed what we were doing was important," said director Margaret Byrne. "The individuals in this story are representative of their community and they matter. I'm so thrilled to be showing the film for the very first time in public at Full Frame."

Bertie County

"We always knew we had to premiere this film at Full Frame, a festival with which we have held a long and fond association over many years, and which is adept at facilitating the type of nuanced and multifaceted conversation Raising Bertie will generate here, and throughout the 2016 election year and beyond," said Gordon Quinn, an Executive Producer on the film and Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films.

"Raising Bertie challenges us to see the value in lives too often ignored."

For more information on screenings and tickets to Full Frame, coming up April 7-10, 2016, visit the Full Frame website.

Charlotte Jewish Film Festival 2016 coming up

2016-02-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

Rock in the Red Zone

It's time once again for the annual Charlotte Jewish Film Festival, which has grown from a 2-film event in 2005 to a year-round organization which sponsored 23 films at 28 events in 2015. The festival is one of the city's largest film oriented events, as well as one of the most popular.

While events and films go on all year, the major festival programming takes place in February and March. The Core Series of films screen at Temple Israel and Regal Ballantyne Village Stadium 5 from Feb. 20 thru March 13. The Sundays at Lake Norman screenings take place at Our Town Cinemas in Davidson on Feb. 21, Feb. 28 and March 13. The films selected for the festival range through many genres and are generally new releases. Most have Jewish connections and/or cast, and all are unlikely to be screened elsewhere in the region, no matter how many (international) awards they have achieved.

The first three films of the Core Series take place at Temple Israel, with tickets including some special events:

Feb. 20: Dough (2015), a British "dramedy" telling the story of a Jewish baker with a Muslim apprentice, stars Jonathan Pryce. Special guests will be at the screening, which will be followed by a dessert buffet.

Feb. 21: Rock in the Red Zone (2015), an Israeli documentary set in the Negev, where attacks that send the population into bomb shelters gives rise to a new and distinct musical genre. The film won the Best Documentary audience award at last year's Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival. The Charlotte screening will be followed by a live musical performance by the film’s star Avi Vaknin.

Feb. 24: Surviving Skokie (2015), is a documentary about the reaction of a group of Polish holocaust survivors who relocated to Illinois when a neo-Nazi group plans a march through their town. Filmmaker Eli Adler and his father Jack, who is the primary focus of the film, will attend the screening and meet with the audience.

Other Core Series films, screening at the Regal in Ballantyne, include:

Apples in the Desert

Feb.27: Apples from the Desert (2014), the adaptation of a popular Israeli play which is the winner of numerous film festival awards. A dessert buffet sponsored by Diamonds Direct follows the screening.

Feb. 28: Breakfast at Ina's (2015), documentary about Chicago's "Breakfast Queen." Ina Pinkney and director Mercedes Kane invite guests to join them for noshes made from Ina’s own recipes after the film.

Breakfast at Ina's

March 2: Mr. Kaplan (2014), Uruguay’s 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission.

March 5: Wedding Doll (2015) stars Moran Rosenblatt, winner of Best Actress at the Israeli Academy Awards and the Jewish Film Festival.

Wedding Doll

March 6: Sabena Hijacking – My Version (2015), a finalist in the Israeli Academy Awards, this suspenseful docu-drama is based on previously undiscovered audio recordings of former pilot Captain Reginald Levy who was in command of the Sabena Flight 571 from Brussels to Tel Aviv on May 8, 1972, when it was hijacked by four members of “Black September.”

March 9: The Midnight Orchestra (2015, Morocco), winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the World Film Festival Montreal.

The Midnight Orchestra

March 12: Once in a Lifetime (2014, France), winner of awards at the Boston Jewish Film Festival (2015 Audience Award), Toronto Jewish Film Festival (2015 Micki Moore Award for Best Narrative Film) and Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2015 Audience Award).

March 13: A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015), Israeli film based upon the international best-seller, was an official selection at Cannes.

March 13: Serial (Bad) Weddings (2014), a politically incorrect French comedy that caused a sensation in Paris. Dessert buffet follows screening.

Sabena Hijacking - My Version

The Sundays at Lake Norman screenings at 4 p.m. offer residents in the northern county the opportunity to see three of the festival films:

Feb. 21: Sabena Hijacking – My Version
Feb. 28: Mr. Kaplan
March 13: Serial (Bad) Weddings

An All-Access Pass to the 12 Core films runs $115. More information on each film, passes and individual tickets to all events are available through the Charlotte Jewish Film Festival website.

Peter Hutton: New York Portraits at UNC-Charlotte

2016-01-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

UNCC features the work of Peter Hutton with a film installation and screening. Hutton, one of the mentors and collaborators of Ken Burns, is known for his silent aerial films of cities and landscapes around the world.

January 13 - April 20 (closed February 5 - March 1)
Opening Reception and Lecture by Peter Hutton: January 15, 5:30-7:00 pm
Film Screening at UNC Charlotte Center City: January 16, 6:00 pm

The Storrs Gallery on the UNCC main campus presents Peter Hutton's New York Portraits: Chapter I (1979), Chapter II (1981), and Chapter III (1990) from Jan. 13 to Apr. 20, 2016. The 180-degree installation provides a stunning presentation of Hutton’s silent aerial perspectives of America’s most famous city. Hutton will speak at the opening reception on January 15 and again at the January 16 screening of four of his short silent films: Boston Fire (1979), Lodz Symphony (1993), Study of a River (1997), and Three Landscapes (2013).

Hutton has produced more than 20 films during his career. Following his studies in painting, sculpture, and film at the San Francisco Art Institute, he worked as a professional cinematographer, most notably for his former student Ken Burns, and in 1987 was awarded Best Cinematography for his work on Phil Hartman's feature film, No Picnic, at the Sundance Film Festival. In May 2008 The Museum of Modern Art in New York held a full retrospective of Hutton's films, and his work has been shown in major museums and festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including the Whitney Biennial (1985, 1991, 1995, 2004)

“Whether seeking remembrance of a city's fading past or reflecting on nature's fugitive atmospheric effects, Hutton sculpts with time; each film unfolds in silent reverie, with a series of extended single shots taken from a fixed position, harking back to cinema's origins and to traditions of painting and still photography.” The Museum of Modern Art

Located in the Thomas I. Storrs Building on the UNC Charlotte campus, the Storrs Gallery showcases professional and student work relating to the curriculum in the School of Architecture and the creative endeavors of the College.

visit arts.uncc.edu to learn more about these events and other upcoming events and exhibitions. on the UNCC campuses.

Gordon Quinn receives International Documentary Association Career Achievement Award

2015-11-10T13:09:00.000-05:00

Kartemquin Films recently announced that Gordon Quinn, its founder and artistic director, will receive the International Documentary Association (IDA) 2015 Career Achievement Award at the annual awards IDA Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Dec. 5, 2015.

The award comes following the Kartemquin film The Trials of Muhammad Ali, broadcast by Independent Lens, winning an Emmy at the 36th Annual News and Documentary Emmys in September. Quinn served as executive producer of the production.

Previous winners of the IDA Career award include Robert Redford, Werner Herzog, Barbara Kopple, DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Ricky Leacock, Albert Maysles, Frederick Wiseman, Henry Hampton, Robert Drew, Jean Rouch, Walter Cronkite, and Bill Moyers.

During his more than 50 years of filmmaking, Gordon Quinn produced, directed and often served as cinematographer on over 55 films. His work has won three Emmys, two Peabodys, the IDA award for Best Limited Series (for The New Americans, 2004), the DGA award for directing (Vietnam: Long Time Coming, 1998), and an Oscar nomination and the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Hoop Dreams (1994). His recent films as executive producer include The Interrupters (2011), The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013), Life Itself (2014), The Homestretch (2014), On Beauty (2014), Almost There (2014), Saving Mes Aynak (2014), In The Game (2015), and the six-part series Hard Earned (2015).

A longtime activist for public and community media, Quinn helped create ITVS, public access television in Chicago, and draft the Documentary Filmmakers Statement of Best Practice in Fair Use. He helped found the Indie Caucus to support diverse independent voices on Public Television.

The IDA Career Award comes on the eve of Kartemquin's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2016, with many special events on tap.

News on Kartemquin/Quinn Films

Almost There continues its award-winning festival run including the film's Irish premiere at the Cork Film Festival. See all the upcoming screenings here. You can find more news about this film, including the possibility of a theatrical and VOD release at www.almostthereproject.com

In The Game, a film about a girls' soccer team in south Chicago, is being shown around the community, including a recent screening at Kelly High School, the school in which it was filmed, and at the Harold Washington Library to launch the Chicago Public Library's One Book, One Chicago program. Bring the film to your community by clicking here.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace screened Saving Mes Aynak on September 15th in Washington DC. The film also recently won the "Best One-Hour Documentary" at the 2015 Cinemambiente International Environmental Film Festival in Torino, Italy.

Visit www.savingmesaynak.com for more information and to watch the film. Its director Brent E. Huffman was named one of '25 Documentary Filmmakers to Follow on Twitter' by Indiewire.

Joanna Rudnick's award-winning short, On Beauty continues to screen around the world. Distribution partner Women Make Movies are now offering pre-orders of the film on educational DVD for schools, community groups and other institutions. The DVDs are expected to be ready in early 2016. Get a full list of upcoming events and bring the film to you via www.iambeauty.me.

The Homestretch continues to screen around the country, with new requests coming in daily. It is also available on DVD and VOD.

Composer Joshua Abrams' acclaimed music for Life Itself and The Interrupters will be released digitally for the first time on October 16th, 2015 on itunes and emusic, via Eremite records. For more information, including a personal essay on their collaboration from director Steve James, click here.

Steve James' award-winning film on the life and legacy of Roger Ebert is available to watch on VOD and to purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Hoop Dreams and Stevie (both directed by Steve James) were included on the 2016 "Influentials List", a list of documentaries that have inspired the filmmakers eligible for this year's Cinema Eye Honors.

Both films are available on DVD from the Kartemquin store.

Charlotte Film Festival returns Sept. 25 – Oct. 3, 2015

2015-09-24T17:15:00.001-04:00

After a hiatus of several years, one of our favorite film festivals is back in action. The Charlotte Film Festival, founded in 2005 by Louis Gurgitano, returns this year for a 9-day run, buoyed by an ASC grant and partnerships with local corporations and other film festivals, as well as the Charlotte Film Society. Some 60 films will screen over the course of the festival, including several US and regional premieres, and include everything from full length feature films and documentaries to short programs in both these categories. The festival received over 250 entries from filmmakers around the world.

The previous incarnation of the Charlotte Film Festival never found a permanent home, wandering around the city with a new set of venues each year, finally fetching up at the EpiCentre theaters – just before they changed management. This year, the festival will use just two venues strategically spotted at the opposite ends of town, the Ayrsley Grand off Hwy 49 at I-485 in Southwest Charlotte, and the Carolina Cinemas on Monroe Road in East Charlotte. Both have considerable experience hosting film series – Ayrsley is set to begin its annual Retro Horror series on Oct. 2 and Carolina Cinemas is one of the Charlotte Film Society’s venues of choice, with the Back Alley Film Series appearing here monthly.

The recently renovated Carolina Cinemas Charlotte is, incidentally, one of our favorite screening rooms. Reclining lounge chairs, local brews on draft, an interesting menu of food choices – what’s not to love?

NC Flix asked the festival’s communications director Brandon Falls what the high points of this year’s festival will be for him.

“We are very excited to be the regional premiere of FINDERS KEEPERS (our opening night film), the US premiere of EMBRACE THE SERPENT and also the regional premier of BONE TOMAHAWK staring Kurt Russell as our closing film,” Falls said. “At least 30 of the films screening this year will have representation from either the director, cast member or another crew member.”

In addition to the films Brandon mentions, regional premieres include I Am Thor, Chuck Norris vs Communism, and The Astrologer (all showing Saturday Sept. 26), Behavior (Conducta) on Sunday, Sept. 27; Sea Fog (Haemoo) on Thursday, Oct. 1; and Tales of Halloween and Applesauce on Friday, Oct. 2. The festival concludes on Sunday evening, Oct. 3 with two more regional premieres: Men & Chicken, a comedy from Denmark, and Bone Tomahawk, a new Western featuring Kirk Russell going up against cannibals. Bone Tomahawk won’t be released in theaters until Oct. 23 so this is something of a sneak peak. In between these invited films are the official selections made from the many submitted films. There’s a wide and impressive variety, which real indie film buffs will want to sample.

On weekdays between the two big weekends of film, the festival keeps going with some special events. On Monday, the Basement Media Festival, a traveling event screening a variety of low-fidelity shorts, comes to the Carolina Cinemas. On Tuesday, the winners of the best narrative feature and best documentary feature will be screened. Wednesday, Sept. 30, brings “A Night with Carolina Filmmakers,” a screening of a curated selection of films by Carolina filmmakers, followed by a Q&A, panel discussion and meet-and-greet with the artists.

Full descriptions of the films along with the festival schedule and ticket information can be found on the Charlotte Film Festival website (kudos for a very easy format to follow, by the way). Students and Charlotte Film Society members receive discounts.

NC Flix will be onsite for several of the festival screenings and events. Follow us on Twitter @NCflix for up to the minute coverage.