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Red Carpet Films

BRIGHT LEAVES

FRIDAY 9/6 | 6:00PM-8:30PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL

RED CARPET EVENT 5:00PM


DIRECTOR: ROSS MCELWEE

1:47:20 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

An exploration of family legacy - a particularly complicated topic when the legacy is Southern and is tied to tobacco.

ROSS MCELWEE WILL BE PRESENTED WITH THE FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL'S ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM ('BUZZ') AWARD

THE KEEPER

SATURDAY 9/7 | 6:00PM-8:30PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL

RED CARPET EVENT 5:00PM


DIRECTORS: ANGUS BENFIELD & KENDALL BRYANT JR.

1:41:08 | NARRATIVE FEATURE

The true story of an Army vet battling PTSD, carrying 363 name tapes and hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness of veteran suicide.

Feature Films

CLIMBING INTO LIFE

SATURDAY 9/7 | 10:15AM-11:35AM | MCC-ROTARY AUDITORIUM


DIRECTOR: MELISSA J. DAVEY

0:52:27 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Never an athlete until her 60's, Dierdre Wolownick, mother of Free Solo's Alex Honnold, defies all odds and becomes the oldest woman to ascend El Capitan.

DEFECTORS

FRIDAY 9/6 | 1:15PM-3:05PM | MCC-ROTARY AUDITORIUM


DIRECTOR: HYUN KYUNG KIM

1:23:47 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

An emotional exploration of the destructive impact of the Korean War upon a North Korean defector's family, as well as three generations of the filmmaker's own family.

MY LITTLE RENAISSANCE GIRL

SATURDAY 9/7 | 12:15PM-2:00PM | MCC-ROTARY AUDITORIUM


DIRECTORS: AMY HELLER ZIMMERMAN & BETHANY BERG

1:15:39 | NARRATIVE FEATURE

A dark comedy about a woman struggling with body dysmorphia, an unexpected pregnancy and all the Renaissance fanfare that comes with it.

ON THEIR FIRST TRI

FRIDAY 9/6 | 11:00AM-12:20PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL


DIRECTOR: ED FOSTER

0:51:29 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Through interviews with eight of the participants and archival photographs of the race, viewers are taken back to Wrightsville Beach, NC in 1979 when a group of endurance athletes decided to put on their own Ironman contest.

OUR MOVEMENT STARTS HERE

SATURDAY 9/7 | 2:30PM-4:20PM | MCC-ROTARY AUDITORIUM


DIRECTORS: JOHN RASH & MELANIE HO

1:22:02 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The story of a rural community that inspired an international environmental justice movement by fighting the state of North Carolina's toxic landfill.

SENDERO

FRIDAY 9/6 | 1:00PM-3:10PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL


DIRECTOR: MICHAEL FLORES

1:39:53 | NARRATIVE FEATURE

After losing his wife Gina in a school shooting, Sol embarks on a transformative journey. With their dog, Rosie by his side, he discovers purpose, wisdom and a deeper connection to his Mestizo heritage.

THE ARCHITECTS OF HOPE

FRIDAY 9/6 | 11:15AM-12:35PM | MCC-ROTARY AUDITORIUM


DIRECTOR: PAUL THOMAS

1:12:15 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

As Russia continues to destroy Ukranian cities, Ukraine's leading architects are already building upwards, and advanced buildings are rising again as symbols of hope. Follow leading Ukranian architects as they independently spearhead a range of crucial war-related projects.

THE CIGARETTE SURFBOARD

SATURDAY 9/7 | 10:15AM-12:15PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL


DIRECTOR: BEN JUDKINS

1:33:07 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

An impassioned surfer creates a functional surfboard with 10,000 littered cigarette butts collected from California beaches, sparking ocean stewardship and becoming the symbol of a grassroots campaign to hold Big Tobacco accountable for their toxic, plastic waste.

THE INVENTOR

SATURDAY 9/7 | 2:30PM-4:20PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL


DIRECTORS: JIM CAPOBIANCO & PIERRE-LUC GRANJON

1:39:45 | ANIMATION FEATURE

Inventing flying contraptions, war machines and studying cadavers, Leonardo da Vinci tackles the meaning of life itself with the help of French princess Marguerite de Nevarre.

ULTIMATE CITIZENS

SATURDAY 9/7 | 12:45PM-1:45PM | MCC-SHEARER HALL


DIRECTOR: FRANCINE STRICKWERDA

0:52:22 | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Jamshid, an Iranian American public school counselor, helps the children of immigrants and refugees in Seattle find belonging on their way to compete in the world's largest Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.

Short Film Sessions

A COMEDIC GESTURE

“A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.”

- Laura Ingalls Wilder


FRIDAY 9/6 | 1:30PM-3:05PM

IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL


CLOCKED OUT

0:14:32 | SHORT NARRATIVE

GHOST HOTEL

0:29:01 | SHORT NARRATIVE

MY BEST NUT

0:21:47 | SHORT NARRATIVE

ARTISTRY UNFOLDED

“Art is the stored honey of the human soul”

- Theodore Dreiser


SATURDAY 9/7 | 2:30PM-4:05PM

CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE


ORIGIN: CREATORS OF THE CAROLINAS

0:24:51 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

YOUR CADENZA

0:23:57 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

NEER(ING) PERFECTION

0:16:31 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

BELIEVE AND ACHIEVE

“It always seems impossible until it's done.”

- Nelson Mandela


FRIDAY 9/6 | 1:30PM-2:50PM

CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE


LYRICAL 

0:17:35 | SHORT NARRATIVE

PUCKS IN DEEP

0:13:24 | SHORT NARRATIVE

175

0:21:50 | SHORT NARRATIVE

BEYOND THE SURFACE

“There is more going on beneath the surface than we think, and more going on in little, finite moments than we would guess.”

- Malcom Gladwell


SATURDAY 9/7 | 10:30AM-11:50AM

IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL


THE BIG BOOK

0:19:43 | SHORT NARRATIVE

BORN THIS WAY

0:12:49 | SHORT NARRATIVE

GOOD DAUGHTER

0:19:28 | SHORT NARRATIVE

FINDING THE LIGHT

“We are all broken, that's how the light gets in.”

- Ernest Hemingway


SATURDAY 9/7 | 12:30PM-2:10PM

IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL


AS EASY AS CLOSING YOUR EYES

0:21:43 | SHORT NARRATIVE

THE GRIEF COUNSELOR

0:19:59 | SHORT NARRATIVE

DISCHARGE

0:14:17 | SHORT NARRATIVE

THE LAST BUTTERFLY

0:15:52 | SHORT NARRATIVE

FRAME BY FRAME

“Animation means to invoke life, not to imitate it.”

-  Chuck Jones


FRIDAY 9/6 | 11:30AM-12:50PM

CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE


PLAYING AROUND

0:07:05 | ANIMATION

BEYOND

0:03:10 | ANIMATION

THE FOREST OF THE HONEY BEES

0:19:59 | ANIMATION

THE LAST SET

0:07:20 | ANIMATION

ON THE STREETS OF WILLOUGHBY

0:14:26 | ANIMATION

NATURE'S MIGHT

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”

- Rachel Carson


FRIDAY 9/6 | 11:15AM-12:45PM

IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL


SCHOOL OF FISH

0:19:03 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

DESIGNED BY DISASTER

0:26:49 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

A SEAT AT THE TABLE

0:13:38 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

RESURFACING PAST

“Each day is the scholar of yesterday.”

- Pubilius Syrus


SATURDAY 9/7 | 2:45PM-4:00PM

IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL


POWER

0:16:27 | SHORT NARRATIVE

ARE YOU HERE?

0:28:20 | SHORT NARRATIVE

THE JOURNEY INWARD

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

- Maya Angelou


SATURDAY 9/7 | 12:30PM-1:45PM

CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE


THE SPACE BETWEEN

0:18:59 | SHORT NARRATIVE

SISTER WIVES

0:28:56 | SHORT NARRATIVE

VOICES OF TRUTH

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

- Galileo Galilei


SATURDAY 9/7 | 10:45AM-11:50AM

CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE


THE FENTANYL PROJECT

0:26:00 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

BEARING WITNESS: A NAME AND A VOICE

0:29:25 | SHORT DOCUMENTARY

2024 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS



SPECIAL FEATURE


THE INVENTOR  (1:29:00)

Director: Jim Capobianco & Pierre-Luc Granjon

France/Ireland/United States • 2023

The insatiably curious and headstrong inventor/artist Leonardo da Vinci leaves Italy to join the French court where he can freely experiment, invent flying contraptions and incredible machines, and study the human body. Joined in his adventure by the audacious Princess Marguerite de Navarre, Leonardo attempts to uncover the answer to the ultimate question: "What is the meaning of life?" Featuring the voices of Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, Gauthier Battoue and Matt Berry, and directed by the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of "Ratatouille," Jim Capobianco.


ANIMATION


BEYOND  (0:03:10)

Director: Raquel Salvatella de Prada

United States • 2023

The history, in animated form, of Taiwan's White Terror, possibly the darkest period in Taiwan.


ON THE STREETS OF WILLOUGHBY  (0:14:26)

Director: Travis Sheflin

United States • 2023

Washed-up detective Frank Falcon takes on the case of a missing boy, in this animated puppet Noir.


PLAYING AROUND  (0:07:05)

Director: Mia Albanese

United States • 2024

A larger than life playground becomes a little girl's paradise. But after her new friends urge her to grow out of her playtime, she will do anything to stay.


THE FOREST OF THE HONEY BEES  (0:19:59)

Director: Erwan Le Gal

France    • 2024

Isabelle is a violinist-beekeeper on Ouessant Island, protecting her bees and inspiring her daughter with stories and the legend about honeybees.


THE LAST SET  (0:07:20)

Director: Aisling Conroy

Ireland • 2023

In the space between life and death, a man's spirit is given one last chance to dance.


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE


CLIMBING INTO LIFE  (0:52:27)

Director: Melissa J. Davey

United States • 2024

Dierdre Wolownick is the oldest woman to ascend El Capitan in Yosemite. Never an athlete, she began running and climbing out of curiosity. Dierdre proves that we are never too old to try something new.


DEFECTORS  (1:23:47)

Director: Hyun Kyung Kim

Republic of Korea • 2023

An emotional and personal portrayal of the impact of the Korean War on several generations while revealing the weight it still exerts to this day.


ON THEIR FIRST TRI  (0:51:29)

Director: Ed Foster

United States • 2024

The story of one of the oldest triathlons in the world. Through interviews with eight of the participants and archival photographs of the race, viewers are taken back to Wrightsville Beach, NC in 1979 when a group of endurance athletes decided to put on their own Ironman contest.


OUR MOVEMENT STARTS HERE  (1:22:02)

Directors: John Rash & Melanie Ho

United States • 2024

The story of a rural community that inspired an international environmental justice movement by fighting the state of North Carolina's toxic landfill.


THE ARCHITECTS OF HOPE: THE FIRST STEPS IN REBUILDING UKRAINE  (1:12:15)

Director: Paul Thomas

United Kingdom • 2024

As Russia continues to destroy Ukranian cities, Ukraine's leading architects are already building upwards, and advanced buildings are rising again as symbols of hope. Follow leading Ukranian architects as they independently spearhead a range of crucial war-related projects.


THE CIGARETTE SURFBOARD  (1:33:07)

Director: Ben Judkins

United States • 2024

An impassioned surfer creates a functional surfboard with 10,000 littered cigarette butts collected from California beaches, sparking ocean stewardship and becoming the symbol of a grassroots campaign to hold Big Tobacco accountable for their toxic, plastic waste.


ULTIMATE CITIZENS  (0:52:22)

Director: Francine Strickwerda

United States • 2023

As a guidance counselor in Seattle, Jamshid's best work takes place out of the building and on a playing field with "his kids," the children of refugees and immigrants. He is the first to show that "love wins" on the field, off the field, at home with family, or bolding forging a new community, in a new country.


NARRATIVE FEATURE


MY LITTLE RENAISSANCE GIRL  (1:15:39)

Directors: Amy Heller Zimmerman & Bethany Berg

United States • 2023

As Amy contemplates motherhood, she faces her Body Dysmorphia and increasingly strained relationships with her boyfriend and friends. After a self-deprecating sketch she wrote for her comedy troupe misfires, Amy is sent down into a surreal, Renaissance fanfare-filled path.


SENDERO  (1:39:53)

Director: Michael Flores

United States • 2022

After losing his wife Gina in a school shooting, Sol desperately tries to hold onto her memory by taking to the open road, a big dream they both shared. Lost and in search for answers along his own personal odyssey, Sol realizes through helping others and rediscovering lessons from his Mestizo heritage that his true path has been laid before him all along.


THE KEEPER  (1:41:08)

Directors: Angus Benfield & Kendall Bryant Jr.

United States • 2024

The true story of a special group of military veteran hikers who help "The Keeper," an Army veteran battling depression, PTSD and suicidal tendencies, as he attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail while carrying 363 military name tapes on a mission to prevent Veteran suicide.


SHORT DOCUMENTARY


A SEAT AT THE TABLE  (0:13:38)

Directors: Sophia Abolfathi & Rob Bailey

United States • 2023

Food, health and nutrition divide two sides of a town in Gainesville, Florida. How the movement to bring Black culture, history and knowledge back to the table is healing the community.


BEARING WITNESS: A NAME & A VOICE  (0:29:25)

Director: Dina Jane Rudick

United States • 2023

An intimate exploration of the lives and convictions of four extraordinary newspaper reporters. The film illuminates the profound motivations that fuel their work, as well as the indelible stories that continue to resonate within them, in hopes of compelling viewers to transcend the superficial label of "The Media" and, instead, embrace a deeper appreciation for the individuals who propel it forward.


DESIGNED BY DISASTER  (0:26:49)

Director: James 'Q' Martin

United States • 2024

A deeply personal and inspiring story about Danny, a compassionate climber who faces a life-changing ordeal in the Dolomites. Danny is propelled to invent a revolutionary type of crampon, transforming the outdoor industry but also marking his journey of self-discovery and resilience.


NEER(ING) PERFECTION  (0:16:31)

Director: Cole Gibson

United States • 2023

After a life-altering injury in college led to an end to her basketball dreams, art changed DeNeer Davis' livelihood, starting her on a journey of self-realization and healing through self-guided spirituality. This is Davis' transformation from violence and drug abuse to someone bettering her community through art, education and kindness.


ORIGIN: CREATORS OF THE CAROLINAS  (0:24:51)

Director: Parker Roth

United States • 2024

Generations in the making, experience stories of origin from a tenth-generation potter who discovers his craft, a painter who uncovers lineage through his art, and a sculpture artist who generates legacy in everything she creates.


SCHOOL OF FISH  (0:19:03)

Directors: Colin Arisman & Oliver Sutro

United States • 2023

An intimate portrait inside one family's seasonal salmon rituals and their connection to the Bristol Bay Guide Academy, where local youth are empowered through flyfishing to serve as guides and conservationists. Can the next generation step up to defend the most prolific salmon run left on earth?


THE FENTANYL PROJECT  (0:26:00)

Director: KT Curran

United States • 2024

A short documentary about the illegal fentanyl abuse in Sarasota/Manatee counties in Florida.


YOUR CADENZA  (0:23:57)

Director: Chen Zheng

United States • 2023

The journey of a Ukrainian violinist who is teaching in a non-profit music education program in Winston Salem, North Carolina. While teaching students how to play violin from a very basic level, Ms. Alex is also studying nursing due to an injury caused by an assault incident.


SHORT NARRATIVE


175  (0:21:50)

Director: Kasra Karimi

United Kingdom • 2024

Inspired by true events, Ruth and Juliet are waiting for the British Parliament to legalize same-sex marriage so they can get married. But Juliet suffers from a terminal illness and does not have long to live. They are racing against time.


ARE YOU HERE?  (0:28:20)

Directors: Jordan Stephenson & Kunal Bhardwaj

United States • 2024

During a camping trip, a Boy grapples with his memories of a Girl and their past relationship while his Friend tries to pull him to the present.


AS EASY AS CLOSING YOUR EYES  (0:21:43)

Director: Parker Croft

United States • 2024

The story of a grieving mother who battles her addiction to a black-market drug that gives her life-like dreams about the son she lost. Presented by Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin.


BORN THIS WAY  (0:12:49)

Director: Sky Dexter

United States • 2024

Adam and Steve are a happily married gay couple are thrown into a crisis hen their son begins exhibiting interests and behaviors that are more in line with heterosexual norms.


CLOCKED OUT  (0:14:32)

Director: Marco Greco

United States • 2024

Stuck in a dead-end job, Charlie imagines whatever it takes to win the girl of his dreams.


DISCHARGE  (0:14:17)

Director: Ryan Metcalf

United States • 2023

As his world begins to crumble around him, a troubled police detective, who has tried to ignore the effects from trauma he suffered, must finally confront his past in order to begin healing and reclaim his present.


GHOST HOTEL  (0:29:01)

Director: Stanley Sievers

United States • 2024

A workplace buddy comedy set in a haunted hotel where the ghosts are commonplace, and the guests are psychotic. It is a fast-paced, half-scripted, half-improvised horror comedy pilot.


GOOD DAUGHTER  (0:19:28)

Director: Rachel Annette Helson

United States • 2023

A small-time con artist rips off elderly dementia patients by pretending to be their daughter - before the con catches up with her. Starring Samantha Sloyan from "Midnight Mass" and "Grey's Anatomy."


LYRICAL  (0:17:35)

Director: Carter M. Stewart

United States • 2024

A privileged, Black law student, trying to escape pressure from his dad, finds himself in a potential police violence situation with a group of adjudicated youth on probation, led by a talented spoken word artist.


MY BEST NUT  (0:21:47)

Director: David Bradburn

United States • 2023

Jude isn't the life of the party; he is the party. But this is only after he's forced to spend his days in the hospital fighting cancer. Soon the patients around him look forward to seeing him as much as they don't look forward to their next round of treatment.


POWER  (0:16:27)

Director: Emma Grosklos

United States • 2023

Nine months after her assault, Jane attends a therapy session. By opening up about the long-term mental and emotional repercussions this event has had on her, she learns to face her trauma in order to heal.


PUCKS IN DEEP  (0:13:24)

Director: Emily Doran

United States • 2024

After trying out for the all-boys high school hockey team, Rhea, a young goalie, must navigate her place in the sport admidst her mother and coach.


SISTER WIVES  (0:28:56)

Director: Louisa Connolly-Burnham

United Kingdom • 2024

A multi-layered love story that tells the tale of young women living in a strict, fundamentalist polygamous society in 2003 Utah. A vital perspective of female friendship, allyship and exploration, as together they find courage to dream in tandem of a world beyond the walls.


THE BIG BOOK  (0:19:43)

Director: Daniel Maggio

United States • 2023

Darwin works as a fraud surveillance investigator, spying on those with workers' comp claims to see if they are faking their injury or not. His strict code of conduct gets thrown for a loop when his next surveillance target is his own Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.


THE GRIEF COUNSELOR  (0:19:59)

Director: Bishen Sen

United States • 2024

An army veteran turned counselor must reconcile her grief or succumb to an addiction fueled existence meant to numb the guilt of lying to her husband.


THE LAST BUTTERLY  (0:15:52)

Director: Sizhuo Li

United States • 2023

Xiaodie, a novelist, returns to the house where she lost her mother years ago. As her sister is dying, she comforts Lei, her niece, with stories of the Hmong Deity - 'Mother Butterfly' - and confronts her fear of the death of her loved ones.


THE SPACE BETWEEN  (0:18:59)

Director: Luke Baker

United States • 2024

Two college students, who on the outside could not be more different from each other, happen to meet at a party and form a deep connection where they find self-discovery, forgiveness and hope for the future.