Underexposed Film Festival yc opens Wednesday
The Underexposed Film Festival yc, founded in 2012 by the Arts Council of York County, celebrates its fifth season Wednesday-Saturday providing independent filmmakers a forum for their work.
The festival offers diversity in storytelling and provides an opportunity for both emerging and seasoned filmmakers to screen in the same forum while encouraging dialogue between the two. The short films feature narrative, animation, experimental and documentary styles.
Dale M. Pollock, associate professor of cinema students at the North Carolina School of the Art, was named winner of the 2016 Cotton Alley Award, an honorary award that recognizes outstanding contributions and commitments in independent filmmaking. He’ll accept the award Saturday at the awards ceremony.
Pollock will participate in a question and answer session 10:30 a.m.-noon Satuday at The Newstand, 154 E. Main St. The event is free, but limited to the first 30 arrivals.
The 2016 Underexposed Film Festival yc will show films at the Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St., Wednesday-Saturday and on Thursday at Dina’s Place in Winthrop University’s DiGiorgio Campus Center, 2020 Alumni Drive, Rock Hill.
Seventy-five films will be shown in blocks. Block A will be 7-9 p.m., Wednesday at Gettys; Block B, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Gettys; Block C, 8-10 p.m, Thursday, Dina’s; Block D, 3-5 p.m. and Block E, 7-9 p.m. Friday at Gettys and Block F, 10 a.m.-noon, Block, G, 2-4 p.m. and Block H, 7-9 p.m. Saturday at Gettys. Seven were selected as Director’s Choice. For a complete list of films and show times go to underexposedfilmfestivalyc.org/2016
Official selections were selected for screening by a jury of seasoned filmmakers, academics working in the arts and one everyman. The jury for the 2016 Underexposed Film Festival yc included: Joaquin Baldwin (Zootopia, Sebastian’s Voodoo), Michael Cusack (Sleight of Hand), Dale Pollock (Set it Off, Skywalking: The Life and Times of George Lucas), Dr. David Wohl (Winthrop University), Ignacio F. Rodo (Prometeo, Lonely Planet), Ellen Barnard (After the Fall: HIV Grows Up, Counter Histories: Rock Hill), Carol Green (American Horror Story, I’ll Fly Away), Karen Stock (Winthrop University), Jim de Seve (Man Dove, Tying the Knot), Bert Hesse (Studio South), Ron Maxwell (Gettysburg, Gods & Generals), and Michael Rivers (UFFyc Everyman).
Tickets are $8 per block when purchased in advance, $10 at the door. Only 25 VIP Festival Packages are available. Tickets and festival packages are available online at underexposedfilmfestivalyc.org, by calling 803-328-2787 or in person at the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St., Rock Hill.
The schedule and a synopsis of each film is below
BLOCK A
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
7-9 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 2
Sisters Animation 2016 3 min. 50 sec.
Country: USA
Executive Producer: Amanda Miller
Producers: Shannon Alexander, Sanaz Sattari
Director: David Chontos
Writer: Karin Driejer Andersson
Part exercise of passion, and part love letter, Sisters is a fragment of some lost, tragic opera. Trapped in the ruins of their former glory, a pair of performers bound together and abandoned by time rise up to sing once more. Conjured up by the song to which it’s set, the film represents a sincere vision of inspiration derived from the music of Karin Dreijer Andersson (Fever Ray). It is the confluence of a variety of abstract concepts, from the fragility of modern technology, to the cruelty of the passage of time. The movement of the characters references legendary contemporary choreographer, Martha Graham; transposing an exercise in human restraint and lamentation onto mechanical beings.
On Time Narrative 2016 8 min. 16 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Tony Ducret, Tim Astor, Kendra Cole, Angelica Lopez
Director: Xavier Burgin
Writer: Xavier Burgin
Cast: Inger Tudor, Araija DaCosta, Kevin Craig West, Louis Baker, John Marrott, Kathy Goral, Meredith Riley, Jordana Berliner, Amani Starnes
Renee Johnson, a mother living in South Central LA, must make a decision when she’s late for her job interview.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
The Night Witch Animation 2013 4 min. 7 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Alison Klayman, Dustin Grella
Director: Alison Klayman
Director of Animation: Dustin Grella
Writers: Daniel Kitrosser, Alison Klayman
This animated New York Times Op-Doc explores the life of Nadezhda Popova, known as Nadia, who became a World War II hero as part of a Soviet all-female bombing regiment.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
The Story of Edward Healing Narrative 2015 14 min. 22 sec.
Country: United Kingdom (England)
Producer: Elliot Ruby
Director: Manos Gerogiannis
Writer: Manos Gerogiannis
Cast: James Graham, Lydia Spyratou, Daniel Pomerance, Gabriele Fritz, Moly Holgate
Edward is a man in his mid 60’s who suffers from a disease which affects his perception of the world surrounding him. He uses his creativity to overcome the limitations of his decaying mind.
My Luchador Narrative 2015 12 min. 51 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Chip White
Director: Shea Sizemore
Writer: Shea Sizemore
Cast: Rachel Jefferys, Aaron Chavis, H. Blake Edwars
An aging Luchador finds himself behind a computer working in a cube. His successful and loving wife helps him find his way.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
HOME Narrative 2016 20 min.
Country: Kosovo, United Kingdom
Producers: Chris Watling, Scott O’Donnell, Tim Nash, Shpat Deda, Afolabi Kuti
Director: Daniel Mulloy
Writer: Daniel Mulloy
Cast: Jack O’Connell, Holliday Grainger
As thousands of men, women and children attempt to get into Europe, a comfortable English family sets out on what appears to be a holiday.
Intermission
HIM+HER Narrative 2016 9 min. 1 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Mike Reda
Director: Mike Reda
Writers: Jerome Greene, Mike Reda
Cast: Courtney Lynn Lakin, Christopher Robert Escobar
HIM + HER is a dramatic short film about the beginning and ending of a relationship, told from the perspective of both characters.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
No Lighting Animation 2015 5 min. 5 sec.
Country: USA
Director: J. Michael Simpson
Using digital video recordings, events in nature are transformed into animated line drawings in negative. The drawing quality of the video serves to create a present tense to the video, while the video itself documents a past event, thus creating a tension between time and place references - “then” and “here;” as the drawing like video is experienced - “here” and “now.” In a way, it is the loss of history.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Unbecoming Narrative 2016 40 min.
Country: USA
Producers: Chris White, Emily Reach White, Geoffrey Gunn, Scott Lansing
Director: Chris White
Writer: Chris White
Cast: Patti D’Arbanville, Aaron Belz, Teri Parker Lewis, Bill Mazzella, Lilly Nelson
A retired U.S. senator with a dark secret, an in-school suspension teacher and his captive audience of one, two lost souls’ unlikely meeting at a roadside diner, the stomach-churning memory of True Love lost, a father’s last will and testament passed on via workshop mix tape.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Q&A with filmmakers: HIM+HER, No Lighting, Unbecoming
BLOCK B
Gettys Art Center Courtoom, 201 East Main Street 2nd Floor
7-9 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3
Pale Blue Narrative 2016 17 min. 43 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: A. J. Kelly, Courtney Thomas, Andrew McFarlane
Director: Alex Burunova
Writer: Abigail McFarlane
Cast: Abigail McFarlane, Ian Harding, Will Rothhaar, Jess Nurse, Katherine Alyse, Peter McDonald, Theodore Jerome Allen Rosenbaum
Pale Blue is an unsettling psychological drama taking us through Ally’s fragile mental state as she struggles to adjust to a difficult pregnancy. Peculiar interactions with friends and family begin to eviscerate her sense of reality and sanity. A routine ultrasound appointment reveals an even bigger discovery. Written by a trauma therapist, Pale Blue is a rough and unapologetic look at the ravages of mental illness, and the cross roads between stability and insanity.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Woman to Watch
Leftover Animation 2014 14 min. 22 sec.
Country: France
Producers: Laurent Baujard, Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin
Director: Tibor Banoczky, Sarolta Szabo
Writer: Sarolta Szabo
Cast: Zdenek Penaz, Marie Penaz
A man sentenced to death, an old lady, a hunter, a window cleaner, a captive cooker and an anorexic young girl...The stories of these people are told through their relation to food. By sharing with them a moment from their meals, we can understand their relation to other people and their vision of the world. For many reasons, from their own decision or from which they suffer, they all eat alone.
Danny Boy Narrative 2015 23 min. 30 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Tim Beers
Director: Christian Vogeler
Writer: Christian Vogeler
Cast: Sterling Knight, Jim Turner
Our story captures the odyssey of Danny, a young man from Long Island whose troubled life has finally caught up to him, and must now face the consequences of his delinquent behavior. On the day of his sentencing, Danny’s hearing is abruptly interrupted by the terrorist attacks of September 11, forcing the court to move all of its trials over to the next day. Danny is presented with an unexpected day of atonement. Due to the sudden events he ends up spending his stay of execution with his anguished lawyer, Steve.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
You’re Breaking Up Narrative 2015 5 min. 40 sec.
Country: USA
Executive Producers: Patrick Fabian, Mandy Fabian
Producer: Kristin Holt
Director: Mandy Fabian
Writer: Mandy Fabian
Cast: Beth Lacke, Kate Duffy, Krista Lally, Will Collyer, Sean Donnellan
Kelsey overhears a disturbing conversation on her wedding day that makes her re-think her plans.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Intermission
Mia’ Animation 2015 8 min.
Country: Canada
Producers: Amanda Strong, Bracken Hanuse Corlett, Luke Sargent
Directors: Amanda Strong, Bracken Hanuse Corlett
Writer: Amanda Strong, Bracken Hanuse Corlett
A young Indigenous female street artist named Mia’ walks through the city streets painting scenes rooted in the supernatural history of her people. Lacking cultural resources and familial connection within the city, she paints these images from intuition and blood memory. She has not heard the stories from her Elders’ lips, but has found her own methods to rediscover them. The alleyways become her sanctuary and secret gallery, and her art comes to life. Mia’ is pulled into her own transformation via the vessel of a salmon. In the struggle to return home, she traverses through polluted waters and skies, witnessing various forms of industrial violence and imprints that have occurred upon the land.
Another Love Narrative 2015 19 min. 27 sec.
Country: United Kingdom (England), Italy
Producers: Victor Perez, Maria Chiara Ranieri
Director: Victor Perez
Writer: Victor Perez
Cast: Maria Ruiz, Nigel Barber, Maite Jauregui, Charlie Frost
A pregnant married woman struggles to tell a much older man that their affair is over.
Leonardo Narrative 2015 19 min. 18 sec.
Country: Switzerland
Producer: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste
Director: Ilir Hasanaj
Writer: Ilir Hasanaj, Michael Kuratli
Cast: Tobias Bienz, Judith Cuénod
The old fashioned young inventor called Leonardo dreams of flying above the clouds with his own built flying machine, but is hindered from his obsession with his past love. LEONARDO is a film about love, dreams and nostalgia.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
The Final Adventure of John & Eleanor Greene Narrative 2015 15 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating G
Country: USA
Producers: Brad Jayne, Maria White, Matthew Mebane
Directors: Matthew Mebane, Maria White
Writer: Matthew Aughtry
Cast: Ann Owens Pierce, Margaret Anne Florence, Christopher Harvey, Jimmy Hager
John and Eleanor Greene have been married for 50 years. When John dies before their golden anniversary trip to Charleston, Eleanor bravely decides to honor their half-century of life together and takes the trip alone.
Q&A with filmmakers of The Final Adventures of John & Eleanor Greene
BLOCK C
Horror Block
Winthrop University, DiGiorgio Campus Center Dina’s Place, 2020 Alumni Drive
8-10 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3
Pokey Pokey Animation 2015 6 min. 44 sec.
Country: China, USA
Producer: Zhen Zeng
Director: Junjie “Jake” Zhang
Pokey Pokey is a black comedy and horror animated short film that depicts how a father tries to protect his son from seeing filthiness of this crime-ridden city.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Awakening Narrative 2016 10 min. 6 sec.
Country: Finland
Producer: Rolf Lindblom
Director: Rolf Lindblom
Writer: Rolf Lindblom
Cast: Jarkko Raja-aho, Nina Heinonen, Paavo Heinonen, Marie Byskata
...What is lurking in the depths of a well-intentioned mind.
To provide a lifestyle his wife and son deserve, Jake takes on a lot of pressure at his job as a real estate agent. But can he handle it all? As things start to pile up he seeks guidance from a psychiatrist. Per his doctor’s orders, Jake takes a few days at one of his listings, a remote summerhouse, to work on his self-actualization. All goes well until he senses something disturbing.
Flashlight Narrative 2016 6 min. 11 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Strawhouse Pictures
Director: Anil Dhokai
Writer: Anil Dhokai
Cast: Pierce Pope, Erica Chase
A young boy must overcome his fear of the dark during a power outage.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
May I Die Narrative 2016 14 min. 45 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Elizabeta Vidovic, Kathryn Michelle
Director: Elizabeta Vidovic, Kathryn Michelle
Writers: Elizabeta Vidovic, Kathryn Michelle
Cast: Elizabeta Vidovic, Izabela Vidovic, Jearnest Corchado, Kathryn Michelle, Liana Ramirez, Mark Mancha, Natalie Yousefian, Ray Tezanos
Three Romani sisters are torn apart when the two eldest betray the younger. As vengeance, she places upon them a forbidden curse and takes her own life. The two sisters are left to suffer the effects. They must forever relive that horrific day over and over again... until finally one does the unthinkable to end it.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Les Yuex Narrative 2015 7 min. 1 sec.
Country: USA
Executive Producer: Tom Moody
Producer: Neil Hunter
Director: Jacob Worden
Writers: Tom Moody, John Rutherford, Jacob Worden
Cast: Casey Lynne, Kelly Melerine, Lauren Spano, Natasha Ferrini
New house, new babysitter.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir Narrative 2015 13 min. 10 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Davd E. Munz-Maire, Rob Eletto, Jayesh Hariharan, Carlos Valdivia
Director: David E. Munz-Maire
Writer: David E. Munz-Marie
Cast: Sean Weil, Anthony del Negro, Nancy Nagrant, Pooya Mohensi
Chateau Sauvignon: terroir follows the isolated adolescent son of a storied vintner family who finds himself torn between obeying his father’s callous restrictions and preventing his ailing mother from deteriorating further. When a doting woman and her indifferent son arrive seeking a tasting and tour of the winery, Nicolas sees an opportunity to help care for his mother, as well as prove his worth to his choleric father. However, his wayward plan quickly takes a turn for the worse, and his missteps put his family’s secretive murderous ways in peril of being unearthed.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
The Werewolf’s Greatest Hit Narrative 2016 1 min. 27 sec.
Country: Australia
Producers: Jim Zounis, Nick Zounis
Directors: Jim Zounis, Nick Zounis
Writers: Jim Zounis, Nick Zounis
Cast: Nick Zounis
A brief tale of a werewolf and his strong obsession with the full moon.
The Session Narrative 2015 17 min. 35 sec.
Country: England
Producers: Maz Lewis, Hilary Manning
Director: Hilary Manning
Writer: Hilary Manning
Cast: Kerry Bennett, Jim Mannering
A Dominatrix is lured into the world of espionage and has to use her particular skill set to force a client to confess a dangerous secret.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
The Vamprentice Narrative 2016 13 min.
Country: USA
Producers: Jonathan Landau, Devin McGee, Bobby McGee, Marty Landau
Director: Jonathan Landau
Cast: Cullen Moss, Tracy McMullen, Shane Callahan, Devin McGee, Meredith Jackson, Ethan McGee, Fiona Domenica, Don Hartman, Alexander Bryant, Karen Labbe
A family of vampires go into the board room to pitch a television show about their kooky family to Entertainment Executive, Mr. Ronald Dump.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Sticks Narrative 2016 17 min. 15 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Greg Clements, Mark Parker
Director: Mark Parker
Writer: Mark Parker
Cast: Etai Benson, Julie Balefsky, Tyler Johnstone, Heather Drew
Four college students reunite on a summer night at a house in the woods. As they tell scary stories around the campfire, the line between imagination and reality blurs, and they get the feeling they may not be alone on the property.
Q & A with Filmmakers of Flashlight, Les Yuex, Chateau Sauvignon: terroir, The Vamprentice
BLOCK D
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
3-5 p.m. Friday Nov. 4
Ogress of the Gravelbank Animation 2015 2 min. 29 sec.
Country: Canada
Producers: Louise Flaherty, Neil Christopher
Director: Neil Christopher
Writer: Neil Christopher
Cast: Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Igimaq Williamson Bathory, Akutaq Williamson Bathory
Inuit oral history is filled with strange beings and supernatural creatures. One of these feared land spirits is the Ogress of the Gravelbank. This short vignette introduces viewers to this malevolent spirit who is unknown to all but the people of the far north.
Reinventing the Reel Documentary 2015 20 min.
Country: Canada, USA
Director: Michael J. Gorlick
Reinventing the Reel is a documentary short about contemporary independent filmmakers’ attempts to change the portrayal of LGBT characters in film. The film begins with a historical perspective of the big-studio Hollywood treatment of LGBT characters, and then shows how that portrayal has changed, and why is important that it continues to change
The Fox of Shichigorosawa Animation 2014 13 min. 45 sec.
Country: Japan
Director: Tune Sugihara
The Fox of Halodate Higashiyama have been living by the Shichigoro swamp for generations, but humans have begun polluting these waters with medical waste. Through traditional Ainu storytelling, this story illustrates the tale of this Fox entirely in Ainu.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Half of the World Narrative 2014 17 min. 50 sec.
Country: Switzerland
Producer: ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste)
Director: Jérôme Furrer
Writer: Jérôme Furrer
Cast: Ramin YazdaniKey, Alireza Bayram
Nadir – father of an immigrant family – works night shifts as a cleaner in a Zurich office building. Despite having to work very hard, he’s trying to integrate himself in Switzerland and enable his son Babak to have a better future. One night after work he notices that the son’s room is empty. In the trash he discovers a thrown away letter from university, in the drawers he finds a torn up picture of his girlfriend and a Koran. When Babak finally arrives home the father confronts him with his findings and realizes that his son has had a change of heart he never thought was possible.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Intermission
The Perfect Selfie Documentary 2015 7 min.
Country: USA
Producer: Katherine Dudley
Director: Katherine Dudley
Writer: Katherine Dudley
How far would you go to get the perfect selfie?
The Perfect Selfie explores safety concerns which includes emotional, physical and legal issues while going to extremes to get the perfect selfie. The purpose of this documentary is to educate people about being aware of their surroundings when taking and sharing selfies.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film Collegiate; Woman to Watch
Sam & Barb’s School for Scandal Experimental 2016 10 min. 19 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Adam Grannick, Robert Thompson, Joseph Giammalvo
Directors: Erin E. McGuff, Adam Grannick
Writer: Erin E. McGuff
Cast: Dylan Lamb, Kate Garfield, Adriana Spencer, Alex Fast
On the night of their “Five Year Roommate Anniversary”, Sam and Barb engage in constant one-upmanship in a game of wits, only to realize they might be in love with one another. But because they’re both terrified to admit it, they continue to make each other jealous and engage in a series of more and more harmful behavior, until someone gets hurt.
ESRUC Animation 2015 2 min. 14 sec.
Country: Taiwan
Director: Syu Pei-Hua
The idea is from psychology – drawn by the interpretation of dreams, the women’s nightmare alluding to the workplace, feeling pressure from family. The director hopes to arouse the audience for women’s rights in the reflection.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film Collegiate; Woman to Watch
Sebastian Otero Documentary 2016 12 min. 6 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Austen Deery
Director: Austen Deery
Festival Premiere
As a glimpse into the life of an undergraduate student artist, this short documentary aims less to tell a story through a traditional documentarian lens than to capture a moment in time in an artist’s life.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Songs of the Underworld Experimental 2016 5 min. 56 sec.
Country: Netherlands
Director: Nicola Hepp
Cast: Rolf Hepp, Martinette Janmaat, Reggy Deekman, Célinne Moza
Bittersweet, almost tangible remembrance is vividly portrayed by dancers Rolf Hepp (the director’s father), Martinette Janmaat (the director’s former teacher/mentor) and two young performers: Reggy Deekman and Célinne Moza. As the images of the older and the younger couple become more intertwined, we begin to understand that this story is not only about youth being lost.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Franz Narrative 2016 11 min. 35 sec.
Country: Spain, England
Executive Producers: Ricard Bonastre, Nínive Rodríguez, Peter Verhallen, Sylvia Verhallen
Director: Helena Bonastre
Writers: Pedro Brum, Helena Bonastre
Cast: Sélène Millo, Walter Cots, Bianca Millo
Luana wakes up in the middle of the night and finds a repulsive insect-like creature next to her bed. The creature is called Franz, and he is not in Luana’s room by chance. Luana tries to escape from it, but the only door she finds will take her on an unexpected journey to a place that she had long forgotten.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Q&A with filmmakers of The Perfect Selfie
BLOCK E
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
7-9- p.m. Friday Nov, 4 2016
The Duke: Based on the Memoir, “I’m the Duke” by J. P. Duke Narrative 2015 21 min.
Country: USA
Producer: Dan Leonard
Director: Max Barbakow
Writers: Derek J. Pastuszek, Andy Siara, Max Barbakow
Cast: LaMonica Garrett
Mired in a concussed haze, an ex-NFLer struggles to adjust to life off the field during Super Bowl Sunday.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Animation Hotline, 2015 Animation 2015 7 min. 5 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Dustin Grella
Writer: Anonymous, Thatcher Keats, Sarah Rusnak
Animation Hotline is a series of over 150 crowd-sourced telephone answering machine messages that have been being animated since 2011. This documentary collection focuses on real life stories.
[solitary] Narrative 2015 16 min. 39 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Halee Bernard, Fabrizio Musica, Cedric Gamelin
Director: Derek J. Pastuszek
Writer: Derek J. Pastuszek
Cast: Kofi Bambo
Locked away in an American prison’s solitary confinement unit, an inmate fights to stay human while forced to endure the compounding psychological effects of long-term isolation.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
She Stoops to Conquer Narrative 2015 15 min. 32 sec.
Country: Canada
Producers: Marianna Khoury, Hanna Puley, Eva Saphir, William Goldbloom, Ann Merriam
Director: Zack Russell
Writers: Zack Russell, Kayla Lorette
Cast: Kayla Lorette, Julian Richings
An aspiring performer struggles to breathe life into a new character she’s created. Suddenly, she sees him: the real-life version of the man she’s been playing. Where’s the line between inspiration and theft? A gender-bending romantic comedy about a man and her double.
Intermission
Frans Lanting: The Evolution of Life Documentary 2015 22 min. 47 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Steven Kochones
Director: Steven Kochones
Cast: Frans Lanting, Christine Eckstrom, E. O. Wilson, Andrew Knoll, Russell Mittermeier, Richard Zurek, Elizabeth Krist
Embark on a dazzling journey through time via National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting’s epic, LIFE project, a stunning interpretation of life on Earth from the Big Bang through the present.
Crass Narrative 2016 11 min. 35 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Tim Alden Grant
Director: Micah Troublefield
Writer: Micah Troublefield
Cast: Nora Orton, Dayne Swerdling
A new couple awkwardly tries to have sex in a parked car.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Breathe Narrative 2015 22 min. 13 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Christina Dow
Director: Paul Kowalski
Writer: Paul Kowalski, Daniel Gentile
Cast: Kristof Konrad, Alicja Bachleda
Dr. Filip Kardel is an ambitious Polish neurosurgeon working in America, struggling to cope with the loss of his wife, Ania. As the memories of her untimely death and his neglecting her in favor of his career continue to haunt him, will he be able to escape the prison of his grief and guilt, or will it destroy him?
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Q&A with filmmakers of Crass
BLOCK F
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
10 a.m.-noon Saturday Nov. 5 2016
Let’s Catch a Movie Animation 2015 1 min. 20 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Emma Penaz Eisner
Director: Emma Penaz Eisner
Writer: Emma Penaz Eisner
Cast: Emma Penaz Eisner, Jane Wolker, Mark Douglas
When everyone in town scrambles to catch a movie, she desperately reels away! Zippy and colorful, this animated comedy introduces a host of zany characters
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Woman to Watch
Friendship Narrative 2015 3 min. 30 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Cameron Scout Bontrager, Dewayne Bontrager
Director: Cameron Scout Bontrager
Writer: Cameron Scout Bontrager
Cast: Cameron Scout Bontrager, Amelia Thomas-Horowitz, Madison Dwyer, Charlotte Lowery-North
Nine-year-old, first-time filmmaker, Cameron Scout Bontrager, along with her three best friends give advice to elementary students who struggle to make friends.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Woman to Watch
Little Folk of the Arctic Animation 2015 3 min. 10 sec.
Country: Canada
Producers: Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty
Director: Neil Christopher
Writer: Neil Christopher
Cast: Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Andrew Morrison
In the folklore of most cultures around the world there are stories of magical little folk. And the Arctic is no exception. Inuit traditional knowledge is filled with references to many different races and tribes of little folk. These beings always try to avoid human encounters, but over the years Inuit hunters and shaman have gathered stories and experiences to help us understand these small inhabitants.
What Difference does “Difference” make? Narrative 2016 3 min.
Country: Netherlands
Producers: Emma Cilley, Harper Cilley, Connie Cilley
Director: Emma Cilley
Cast: Emma Cilley, Harper Cilley
This film is a retelling of the Tale of the Good Samaritan by exploring the question of what difference do differences amongst humans really make.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Cinema Carolina; Woman to Watch
Cold War Christmas Experimental 2015 5 min. 5 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Emma Penaz Eisner
Director: Emma Penaz Eisner
Writer: Emma Penaz Eisner
Cast: Zdenek Penaz, Marie Penaz
In 1970’s America, an Eastern Bloc immigrant family lovingly celebrates a beautiful Christmas Eve...but is all calm and bright? Made using analogue and digital equipment with Super 8 film from 1971, this non-fiction experimental work is an immersive collage of image, sound, and silence that evokes the defector’s experience of displacement during the Cold War era.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Woman to Watch
One Day on Carver Street Documentary 2015 3 min. 38 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Azure Allen
Director: Azure Allen
Writer: Azure Allen
Cast: Azure Allen
Using hand drawn animation at 12 frames per second, One Day on Carver Street tells the story of Charlie’s Place and its owner, Charlie Fitzgerald. Charlie’s Place was a stop on the famous Chitlin’ Circuit, and hosted the hottest musicians of the day. In the post-war Jim Crow south, Charlie’s Place was a rare pocket of diversity in a world where the lines between black & white were firmly drawn. Charlie’s Place gave birth to the state dance of South Carolina, the Shag. Charlie Fitzgerald and the music he brought to Carver Street inspired many people regardless of color to come together. This simple act of dissent angered some people who would be driven to violence to stop it.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Cinema Carolina; Woman to Watch
The Sea of Stories Animation 2016 2 min.
Country: USA
Producer: Azure Allen
Director: Azure Allen
Writer: Azure Allen
Cast: Azure Allen
Every place has a story. The sea has given us so many throughout mankind’s history. In this tale, a greedy Carolina planter steals a beautiful mermaid from her ocean home. Through her own power she is able to save herself, while her captor is oblivious to the terrible fate that awaits him because of his selfish actions.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Cinema Carolina; Woman to Watch
Georgian Dance: the nation’s soul 4 century BC to modern day Documentary 2016 29 min. 52 sec.
Country: USA, Georgia
Producer: Salome Tkebuchava
Director: Salome Tkebuchava
Writer: YoElena Tkebuchava
Cast: Ensemble Erisioni, Ensemble Rustavi
Georgian Dance describes the journey of discovering the choreography, cultural context, and music in Georgian dance. Teeming with epic stage fencing and interviews with scholars and archaeologists, Georgian Dance translates into film the passion and energy found in the dance.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Best Student Film K-12; Woman to Watch
Q&A with filmmakers of What Difference does “Difference” make?, One Day on Carver Street, The Sea of Stories
Intermission
Pamoja Documentary 2016 8 min.
Country: Kenya, USA
Producers: Belinda Blair, Beth Gimbrone, Danielle Statuto
Director: Danielle Statuto
Joseph, an orphaned self-proclaimed Street Kid, battles for his rights from the corrupt Kenyan government.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
32 Light Years Narrative 2016 6 min. 42 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Christopher Neville
Writer: David Hensley
Cast: Jessica Catherine Miller, Sean Breitkreutz
On a summer’s night, a young woman uses her favorite mixtape to help send a message of friendship and hopes to contact a world that’s light years away. Will she be heard?
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Juvenile Justice: The Road to Reform Documentary 2015 8 min. 8 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Gandhi Brigade Youth Media
Cast: Evan Glass
It was a turbulent spring of 2015 as protesters and rioters took to the streets of Baltimore expressing their frustration with the justice system.
Fifty miles away seven high school students watched the scene unfold and asked themselves why it happened. What were the factors that lead to this situation, and more importantly, what could be done to make our youth safer in the communities where they live?
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film K-12
Anacoustic Zones Experimental 2014 10 min. 3 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Seth Rouser
Director: Seth Rouser
The Anacoustic Zone - a region of the earth’s atmosphere, above an altitude of about 160 kilometers, where the distance between the air molecules is greater than the wavelength of sound, and sound waves can no longer be propagated.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Cotton Country Documentary 2015 14 min. 38 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Emily Harrold
Director: Emily Harrold
Writer: Emily Harrold
Cast: Lee Blackman
Explore the beauty and legacy behind a historically burdened plant through the experience of cotton farmer, Lee Blackman of Elloree, South Carolina.
Eligible for Specialty Awards: Cinema Carolina; Woman to Watch
Q&A with filmmakers of 32 Light Years, Anacoustic Zones
BLOCK G
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
2-4 p.m. Saturday Nov. 5 2016
Cracked Narrative 2014 13 min. 52 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Adria Tennor
Director: Adria Tennor
Writer: Adria Tennor
Cast: Marguerite Moreau, Talyan Wright, Kerrie Keane, Stanley Jack Miller
Nine-year-old Rosalie and ten-year-old Sam have an unusual relationship. Even though they are close in age, Rosalie is actually Sam’s niece. Sam lives a lonely, awkward life with his much older, widowed mother, Theresa. Rosalie’s sprightly mischief and insensibility to Sam’s situation only exacerbates his uneasiness during her frequent summertime visits, which she makes with her mother, Mary, to pick raspberries that grow in Theresa’s backyard. However, an unfortunate mishap turns into a chance for Rosalie to make a very small but sage gesture, winning her Sam’s trust and friendship forever.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Back in Time Experimental 2015 2 min. 16 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: J. Michael Simpson
Director: J. Michael Simpson
Current technologies have so dramatically reduced the time it takes to collect and transport information of past events that virtual facsimiles can be experienced almost simultaneously. Psychologically, that can make it seem as if past events have no experiential distance or lapse of time between “here” and “now,” a subtle alteration of experiencing “place” and “time.” Coupled with how virtual information is often viewed as simulacrum, the copy is more real than the “original.” It is easy to see how our perception of time and place, of history itself, has become altered.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Florence Narrative 2016 8 min. 30 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Caleb b. Kuntz
Writers: Caleb b. Kuntz, Yamel Thompson Perez, Kyle Seaquist
Cast: Josephine McAdam, Daniel Hershberger, Hal Schneider, David Lee Hess, Ali Meier
Florence is a teenager enraptured by her unusual perception of the world. Socially unadapted, she is misdiagnosed and prescribed psychotropic medication.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Waterfowl(ed) Documentary 2016 14 min. 44 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: Grace Combs, Druscilla Lam
Director: Grace Combs
Waterfowl(ed) addresses how current household habits within our communities harm local wildlife. While investigating local carelessness within waterfowl environments in Wilmington, North Carolina, the film focuses on the selfless efforts of bird rehabilitation organizations. To prevent future wildlife casualties, Waterfowl(ed) aims to educate viewers on common issues such as the improper disposal of fishing equipment, lead poisoning, animal cruelty, pollution of retention ponds, and the disease, Angel Wing
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate; Cinema Carolina; Woman to Watch
Sociopaths Narrative 2015 5 min. 24 sec.
Country: Japan
Director: A.T.
A girl encounters an android on the street. She finds something strange about the experience and decides to follow the android to give it a “message.”
Twisted Minds: Boozers & Losers Narrative 2016 16 min. 46 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Katherine Longstreth
Director: Aaron Longstreth
Writers: Aaron Longstreth, Craig Herlong
Cast: Kathy Butler Sandvoss, Patrick G. Keenan, JR Adduci, Robert Simmons, Charlie Jeff Witley
A woman struggles with her gambling addiction & goes to a Gambler’s Anonymous meeting for help. What she discovers there might trigger her for another gambling binge!
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Intermission
Don’t Be Afraid of Bears Animation 2014 3 min. 16 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Jill Johnston
Writer: Jill Johnston
Cast: Anna Chico
Theriphobia is a fear of the beast. Naturalist Barry Lopez defines it as an irrational, violent, insatiable creature. Reflection on childhood memories and fears induce impressions of the beast within and reciprocity of species.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Woman to Watch
Guidance Narrative 2015 17 min. 8 sec.
Country: USA
Producer: Angie Gaffney
Director: Josh Wolff
Writer: Josh Wolff
Cast: Amy Frazzini, Ryan Kitley, Alex Moss, Brian Crawford, Bryn Packard, Danny Glenn, Deanna K. Reed, JJ Phillips, Mitchell Strickland
A Catholic high school psychologist with a secret struggle to keep his professional and personal lives separate and intact.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Best Student Film Collegiate
Ronnie Ward - Brewton, AL Experimental 2015 2 min. 52 sec.
Country: USA
Director: Hamilton Young Ward
Cast: Danny Ray Ward
Ronnie Ward - Brewton, AL is a narrated recollection about the loss of an infant brother to a tragic farming accident and the spiritual mark that accident left on the land and on the family. This film is an experimental exploration of Southern folklore using burnt found footage.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Touching in Texas Narrative 2016 9 min. 36 sec.
Country: USA
Executive Producer: Ronald Keith Parks
Writer: Dustin M. Hoffman
Director: Chris O’Neill
Cast: Robert Brafford, Kelly Ogden
Adapted from a short story by Dustin M. Hoffman, Touching in Texas follows Air Force fireman Jerry as he buries his new glasses, then meets a stranger-woman against a backdrop of screeching bats. Jerry struggles with physical blindness, obstructing masculinity and his need to be visible.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Underbelly Up Experimental 2016 4 min. 27 sec.
Country: USA
Producers: South Carolina Film Commission, Nickelodeon Theatre
Director: Yates
Cast: Metrah Pashaee
The state of South Carolina experienced historic rainfall in October of 2015 during Hurricane Joaquin. Dam failures and swollen rivers led to a devastating flood event that claimed 19 lives. Stemming from personal experience involving a late-night cabin rescue during the flood, Underbelly Up occupies a reflexive space between nonfictional portraiture and ethnographic dreamscape.
Eligible for Specialty Award: Cinema Carolina
Every Time We Say Goodbye Narrative 2014 16 min. 10 sec.
Country: Japan
Director: Kenji Qurata
When a childless wife is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she and her husband embark on a journey to find Tsuchinoko, a legendary Japanese snake. As the seasons pass by, the loving couple cherishes their precious moments with a lot of laughter.
Q & A with filmmakers if Back in Time, Waterfowl(ed), Twisted Minds: Boozers & Losers, Guidance, Ronnie Ward – Brewton, AL, Touching in Texas
BLOCK H + AWARDS CEREMONY
Gettys Art Center Courtroom, 201 E. Main St. 2nd Floor
7-9 p.m. Saturday Nov. 5
The Song of Wandering Aengus Animation 2016 4 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating G
Country: United Kingdom
Producers: Ex-Animo Foundation & The Roundhouse, Other Brother Studios, Square Eyes Films
Director: Matthew Lawes
Writers: W. B. Yeats
Cast: Liam Cunningham
A short animated film by Matthew Lawes, based on W.B.Yeats’ poem ‘The Song of Wandering Aengus. Narrated by BAFTA Award Winner Liam Cunningham with original music by IVOR NOVELLO Award Winner David Holmes and Keefus Ciancia.
Greener Grass Narrative 2015 15 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating PG
Country: USA
Executive Producers: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Lubbe
Producer: Brianna Frapart
Director: Paul J. Briganti
Writers: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe
Cast: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe, Nick Kocher, Brian McElhaney, Mitch Magee, Paxton Booth, Levi Srebalus, Craig Smith, Clara Bennett, Samuel Park, Jr.
In this dark comedy of manners set in a surreal world, meticulously coiffed soccer moms, Jill and Lisa vie for perfect children, perfect husbands, and most importantly, perfect teeth.
A Walk in Winter Narrative 2016 14 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating PG-13
Country: United States
Executive Producers: James Franco, Vince Jolivette
Producers: Nina Aujla
Director: Ryan Moody
Writers: Robert Boswell, Jessica Nikkel
Cast: James Franco, Abigail Spencer, Jack Kehler
When Conrad returns to his hometown to identify his mother’s body, he is forced to confront the painful memories of his childhood.
Cuddle Party Narrative 2015 14 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating R
Country: USA
Executive Producer: Jill Solloway
Producers: Matthew Irving Epstein, Tara Tomicevic
Director: Matthew Irving Epstein
Writer: Matthew Irving Epstein
Cast: Michaela Watkins, Rob Huebel, Yvette Nicole Brown
Executive produced by Jill Soloway, the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning creator of Transparent, Cuddle Party follows Jane and Drew, a couple on the brink of divorce who attend an intimacy workshop to heal their marital issues.
Black Swell Narrative 2016 8 min. 44 sec.
Suggested Rating R
Country: USA
Executive Producer: Josh Senior
Producers: Joseph J. DePasquale, David Rysdahl, Jake Honig
Director: Jake Honig
Writer: David Rysdahl
Cast: Richard Kind, David Rysdahl
One man’s (Richard Kind) suicide attempt is interrupted by an acquaintance from the past.
Love is a Sting Narrative 2015 18 min. 00 sec.
Suggested Rating PG
Country: Ireland
Producer: Ian Hunt Duffy
Director: Vincent Gallagher
Writers: Benjamin Cleary
Cast: Seán T. Ó Meallaigh, Ciarán Hinds, Barry Murphy
At his lowest point, struggling children’s book writer Harold Finch gains an unexpected house guest in the form of Anabel Shine: a 20-year-old hyper-intelligent mosquito. Anabel has literally been the fly on the wall throughout history, but has never managed to communicate with a human. She will attempt to do so now, even if it kills her.
WRAP PARTY
Amelie’s Left Bank, 157 E. Main St.
9-11 p.m. Saturday Nov. 5 2016
The Wrap Party is open to the public. Tickets are $25.
This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Underexposed Film Festival yc opens Wednesday."