Cucalorus Film Festival- Day 2

11-14-2013 (Thursday)
FYI- Port City Java offers a free cup of coffee or $1 off your order with a festival pass.

I head over to Thalian Hall where the Sundarban shorts are screening at 10am. Large groups of high schoolers are piling into The theatre as I start to get nervous. My producer on one arm and my packet of post cards in the other, I brave the crowd and enter.

The short films in this category were all incredible! The very first film, Blue, about a balloon, blew me away! (No pun intended). They are working on a trailer for it. 

Katelyn Bianchini & Rena Cheng

The screening of Helpless made me cringe, for a moment I felt like I was losing the crowd. Secretly I told myself that the ending would pay off. I was right. It was received so well! And I couldn't be more proud to have Austin Taylor next to us representing Death and the Robot!

Some fans of Helpless and future filmmakers!

 With the excitement and a little time to kill we decided to embark on a little retail therapy at my favorite Wilmington boutique, Planet. Then to the best pizza joint, Slice of Life. 

At TheatreNOW we had the privilege of seeing The Kill Team by Dan Krauss:

From Oscar-nominated director Dan Krauss comes a story about a young soldier in Afghanistan who attempted to alert the military to horrific atrocities being committed by U.S. soldiers, and who then himself became a target of one of the largest war crimes investigations in U.S. history. With extraordinary access to the soldiers who were convicted and the evidence used against them, this film takes us inside a story that was largely impenetrable to the media.Director Bio:Dan Krauss was nominated for an Academy Award and two Emmy Awards for his first film, The Death of Kevin Carter. The film also won prizes from the Tribeca Film Festival, the International Documentary Association and The San Francisco International Film Festival, among others. Krauss earned his Master’s Degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he is presently a lecturer in film and television production.Next on the agenda is the State of Slate panel.

This special panel presented by Entertainment Partners at the 19th Annual Cucalorus Film Festival will highlight the Film and Television production incentives tax structure and production resources that have made North Carolina an evolving filmmakers destination.

The panel State of the Slate panel was really informative and some really useful information for filmmakers in NC. I tend to just assume I'm moving to CA or NY and never consider digging roots in Nc and making films here. It's a great idea, but without the film incentive it will almost be impossible to afford compared to filming in a state where you get a percentage of what you spend back. It's like shopping on Black Friday versus shopping the day before christmas. 

Moderated by Joe Chianese, Executive VP of EP Financial Solutions, the panel will explore the current and future state of film and television production in North Carolina, highlighting recent productions including "Under the Dome", "IRON MAN 3", "SLEEPY HOLLOW" as well as Emmy Award Winning "HOMELAND".

Panelist Include: 
Aaron Syrett - DIRECTOR, NC FILM COMMISSION 

Susan Ruskin - DEAN, UNCSA SCHOOL OF FILM
Dale Williams - PRODUCER, PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR, and currently the UNIT PRODUCTION MANAGER of UNDER THE DOME 
Jason Rosin - BUSINESS MANAGER, IATSE LOCAL 491

Bill Vassar - EXEC. VP, EUE/SCREENGEMS STUDIOS


 

After the panel, Susan hosted a gathering for all UNCSA students and alumni. Brandon finally joined me as we had tapas and wine with some past graduates. I had some great conversations with people that went to UNCSA.

Still a little hungry we ventured to the Copper Penny before catching the Bangwelu shorts which featured Remy, Baldwin and The Virgins (all UNCSA productions). I am so exhausted and it's only day 2!!