NCIndieSeen

Check out the press release below from the lovely folks at Cucalorus!


Cucalorus needs your help! We’re looking to you, our friends, fellow artists, and casual encounters, to make a donation to Cucalorus. Your donation will support more than 300 artists who will be presenting new work at the 18th annual Cucalorus Film Festival in November. Roughly half of your donation will go directly to filmmakers. Each year Cucalorus provides artists with over $30,000 in direct financial support (that’s more than half of all ticket sales!). The remainder of the funding will be used to rent the equipment we need to show some of the world's greatest movies! It’s really that basic. We hope you’ll help us in our mission to bring people together to celebrate, discover and create independent films.

More than 170 independent and international films will hit the screen at the festival this fall, with special programs focusing on social justice, North Carolina artists, dance, music videos, emerging directors, and hits from the festival circuit. In order to pull it off, we need your help. We’ll be providing financial support to at least 80 of the 300+ artists in attendance. These talented and provocative creatures will be coming from all over the world to share stories and build community. Your dollars will help to support their work, their travel and their future artistic pursuits.

Cucalorians are motivated by one simple purpose: to provide an intimate opportunity for artists and audiences to connect on their own terms. No big corporate sponsors, no big marquee stealing funders – just filmmakers and film fans getting together to celebrate (code word: party like monsters). Cucalorus presents provocative works in a wide range of disciplines - bringing the most talented and innovative artists together to conceive new works, launch new projects and make new friends.

This Kickstarter project funds the Cucalorus financial support program for attending filmmakers. Through this program (and with matching funds from sponsors and donors) attending filmmakers receive travel support, lodging, and enough cash to stay fed and fueled for the festival. The program’s long term goal is to help sustain the work of independent artists by helping them to make some money!!


The launch party is on Sept 30th at 128 South Front from 5PM-9PM. A $5 donation to kickstarter gets you into the party and we will have computer set up at the door for people who haven't donated yet.


The site is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cucalorus/cucalorus-18



Tripp Green (DP) and Chase Kliber (talent stand-in)

Chase Kliber is a recent graduate of the UNCW film studies program. Jumping immediately onto the new Showtime series Homeland, he survived the entire season as Assistant Art Department Coordinator, wrapping just in time to follow his short doc on laughter yoga (Laugh, And Love Life) presented at the Cucalorus film festival. He has been developing DRAG HIM OUT! ever since.

For more info about the film and how tou can support DRAG HIM OUT!  Check out the film's Kickstarter link HERE

Photo by Jamie Broadnax

The Cucalorus Film Festival comes to a close today.  The NC film industry is just getting started with more exciting films to be born in this great state both indie and mainstream.  At midnite last night we had the opportunity to be invited to the Midnite Brunch at the film festival and got to meet some awesome filmmakers and local musicians.  There was also a secret invite to the backyard of Jengo's Playhouse.

The Midnite Brunch:


The Soapbox in Wilmington, NC is a venue for local bands, artists, poets, and comedians to set the stage and express themselves to the downtown crowd.  Filmmakers, writers, producers, and musicians got together for one night and spent and evening with food , fun, and music.  An ice cold bottle of PBR with  southern home cooked grits and a wrap filled with egg, cheese, and bacon hit the spot for this midnight fare.  You may run into anyone who is somebody in the Wilmington film biz at this event. 


The Jengo's Playhouse Experience:


Very exclusive. The after-party invite---only industry and filmmakers allowed. The backyard is filled with all types of late night shenanigans.  In one corner a group of emo kids with hipster glasses are playing beer pong.  In another corner a group of scarf-covered sophisticates are hovered near a campfire exchanging critical reviews of the films they saw.  Towards the back in a lazy lounge area where you can relax with a "new friend" and exchange modest pleasantries or cozy with your hubby and use your body heat as a warming pad. Time party ends?  Whenever.

Cucalorus is not just a film festival.  It's an experience.

Cucalorus gives filmmakers the opportunity to present their "works-in-progress". What this means is a film that in its rough cut stage is presented to an audience to review. The audience gives their opinion about where they feel the story is going and if there is any room for improvement. It's a great way to present a critical analysis to filmmakers and get direct feedback from the audience.

The documentary "Bringing It Home" is about industrial hemp and the illegalization of allowing it to grow in farms in the U.S.  The film focuses on the many benefits that hemp offers such as energy-efficient homes, healthy ingredients such as omega 3, and its lack of synthetic chemicals which may benefit people with disabilities and illnesses who are sensitive to these chemicals.

The film is still in its beginning stages, but the story is very relevant and is an important story to tell.  There is a large misconception about Hemp since it is the sister plant to the Marijuana plant.  However, a film like this can certainly shed some light on how beneficial this plant is to society.

For more information check out http://www.bringingithomemovie.com/

NCIndieSeen took a journey through Wilmington, NC to see the locations filmed in 1986 in the cult classic David Lynch film "Blue Velvet". The film was shot at 28 locations in the city. There are only 2 locations that are no longer in existence, but the rest of the locations shot over 20 years are still in tact to this day.

The Blue Velvet Tour is just one of the many exciting events taking place at the festival this week.  Passes are still on sale if you are interested in checking out one of Wilmington's top rated festivals! 

Below are photos taken at the tour today.  The festival begins today and ends on Sunday Nov 13th.

Arlene's Diner

Exterior Party House



Infamous "ear scene" field



Lumberton High

Carolina Apts

There's a lot to do at Cucalorus. Here's How To Do Everything!

How To: Choose Your Films
Deciding which films to see from over 140 choices can be overwhelming. First ponder your favorite movie type: Narrative feature, documentary, or short. Then think logistics. Want to see something Friday night and Saturday afternoon? Go from there!

How To: Buy A Pass
Passes help you save a buck and also put you on the inside track to fun at Cucalorus. We've got a host of options ranging from a mere $40 all the way to $300.

How To: Buy Tickets
Go to the "Film List" and scroll to the film you wish to see. Click on "More" to get the full details about your film. Just below the credits you'll see a link that says: Click Here to Purchase Tickets. Do it!

How To: Party like it's 1999
Did we mention that Cucalorus is a rollicking good time? From the classic Midnite Brunch at the Dixie Grill to the Pegasorus Luncheon we've got it all. Browse the soirees online to make sure you're at the right party at the right time.

How To: Support Cucalorus
Your support means we bring the best films to Wilmington for Cucalorus with filmmakers from all over the world. Support Cucalorus, the Arts, and boost the local economy all at once!

How To: Get Your Friends to Come
Going to the movies with your friends is half the fun! If you want them to come along just select your fave flick from the film list and click on the share button.
Have you got questions about some How To's? Send them our way, we're here to make sure you enjoy Cucalorus: development@cucalorus.org

A new space race is born between NASA and the ESA when Charlie Brownsville, Hank Morrison, and Dr. Casey Cook compete against an artificially intelligent robot to find out what's up there on the red planet. 'Mars' follows these three astronauts on the first manned mission to our galactic neighbor. On the way they experience life threatening accidents, self doubts, obnoxious reporters, and the boredom of extended space travel.


This romantic comedy is told in the playful style of a graphic novel- using a unique animation process that director Geoff Marslett developed specifically for the film. Underneath the silliness Mars is also an exploration of exploration. Why do we want to know what is out there? How do we react to what we find? Is it really that important? And where does love fit into the whole thing?

"Thank you for riding the CTA Orange Line"  a phrase that resounds in the ears of Chicago residents every day on their commute to work, play, or just along for the ride.  This experimental film takes you on an eight and half minute journey into the world of the famous "L" metro system in Chicago, Illinois.

The short film depicts arbitrary shots of exteriors of the train from the doors, rails, and buildings it passes each and everyday to interior shots of seats, poles, windows, and reflections.   There are little to no passengers to upstage the train in scenes...just the train itself on its daily journey connecting from A to B.  The film has a majestic feel because of its soothing cello concerto playing in the background.  At times the shots matches equally with notes on the strings, making this movie truly feel like you are on a ride.

Watching the film brings back memories of my years spent in Manhattan hearing the sound of "stand clear of the closing doors please". 

The short film This...is the Orange Line is the official selection at the Cucalorus Film Festival coming up next month. 

About the filmmaker: 

Nathan is originally from Los Angeles, but now splits his time between Springfield, Missouri and New York City.  His love for cinema began at the young age of seven. By the time he was 18 his passion for watching movies turned into a long awaited passion for making them. In the past few years Nathan has become an avid blogger and loves to communicate on social networks.  Much of his filmmaking influences come from neorealism and surrealism backgrounds.


Take a sneak peak of the film below:

Dance-a-lorus tickets now on sale!


One of the festival's most popular traditions is a communion of dance and film. Filmmakers pair with choreographers and dancers for a one-of-a-kind event.



Festival passes, get 'em while they last!

Grab your pass now before they sell out. From the $40 Jibasorus pass to the $300 Pegasorus pass, get your cinematic fix with four days full of film at Cucalorus 16.



"Skeletons" stars on their way to Wilmington

Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley, the odd-couple at the center of the hit British comedy "Skeletons" will be among the many artists making their way to Cucalorus for this year's festival.



Wilmington native Trieste Kelly Dunn breaks out in "The New Year"

Recently recognized as one of the 25 New Faces by Filmmaker Magazine, Trieste will be making a homecoming of sorts when she visits Wilmington for the Cucalorus screening of Brett Haley's "The New Year."



Patrick Wilson talks about "Barry Munday"

Check out this brief video interview with the star of Chris D'Arienzo's romantic comedy Barry Munday from this year's SXSW.



Film List nearly complete: 129 films and counting

The programmers at Cucalorus have been up all night watching over 1100 entries and the film selections are now 97.7% complete.



Questions, comments and love songs can be emailed to: development@cucalorus.org


"One of the Top Ten Film Festivals in the United States" -- Brooks Institute



"One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals" -- MovieMaker Magazine

Imagine being stuck in a cabin with a couple you don’t really like, one of whom might be sleeping with your lover. Add this social tension to the fact that the world outside has crumbled into chaos and you're on your own for finding food, warmth, and protection from your neighbors. One Hundred Mornings chronicles two couples figuring out how to survive in a rural cabin far from Dublin at the moment their known lifestyle has become obsolete. The four await news from outside, not knowing how long the crisis will last, and how long they’ll have to stay in these cramped conditions, doling out what little supplies they have left.




The closest neighbors include a fearful gun-carrying old man, and a self-sufficient, gun-carrying hippie. The couples navigate these relationships in hopes of sharing resources but aware of the rising tension as each interaction hinges more on life and death. A few policemen roam around with tenuous authority, complicating everyone's ideas about what's going on and who's in charge.



One Hundred Mornings is a character study of four personalities under constant, unthinkable stress, and the resultant behaviors are uncomfortably real. Passive aggression, rage, and resentment manifest in the same way as hopefulness, each personality naming its terms even in this time of duress. It’s an endlessly intriguing situation to consider: the moment between disaster and the end of the world, and it's the characters' moments of unfounded optimism that are most heartbreakingly human, a reminder of the absurd resilience of hope.

Films about the drug culture certainly aren’t a new phenomenon these days, but few have the down-and-dirty verisimilitude of this Texas-based enterprise, which charts the agonizing breakdown of a family over a mix-up involving controlled substances. It’s a classic situation: a small-town dope dealer is entrusted with a big stash, then mislays it. Naturally, he winds up having to protect his loved ones from the evil drug-runner who wants his goods back. Stark, violent, compelling and honest, Dance With the One is quality regional filmmaking.

Dance with the One [TRAILER] from UT-Austin Radio-Television-Film on Vimeo.

Sarah is starting life over. After her last relationship ended with a revelation that sent her boyfriend, Garrick, to a life sentence in prison, Sarah had no choice but to leave her past behind. Now that she’s been relocated to a small town and given a new identity, Sarah’s embracing the opportunity to start life fresh.


Unfortunately for Sarah, the past won’t let go. Garrick escapes prison and discovers Sarah’s new location, then blazes a violent trail across the country to track her down and disrupt her seemingly perfect new life.


Award-winning director Adam Wingard plays with narrative chronology, sound design and visual aesthetics to slowly unveil the details of Sarah and Garrick’s dark past. Meanwhile, Garrick grows ever closer in his search, leading to a violent confrontation in which the true motivation for his obsessive manhunt is finally revealed.

Thirtysomethings Theo (Chris Messina) and Nat (Rashida Jones) are engaged to be married. They live what seems to be on all counts a comfortable life of love, music, and laughter in their cozy Brooklyn apartment. But Theo is bored with his job as a wedding photographer—the generic backgrounds, the artificial posing, the stilted newlyweds—so he develops the unconventional side business "Gumshoot," a service where clients hire him to secretly stalk them with his camera.

When he is called out on a job to snap pics of an exhibitionist mystery woman (Meital Dohan), a simple gig develops into a voyeuristic obsession that forces Theo to confront uncomfortable truths about himself and his impending marriage.

One of the most anticipated cinematic events of the year, Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void is a visionary cinematic thrill ride that’s riveted audiences at the world’s most significant film festivals. At Cannes, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it "an exceptional work... What largely distinguishes it, beyond the stunning cinematography, is that this is the work of an artist who’s trying to show us something we haven’t seen before…Mr. Noé, in other words, gets into your body..."

Check out the trailer below

Desperate to be married, Fran was supposed to be on his honeymoon. Instead he's single and slouching around London, entrenched in a bro-mance with his two best friends. At 29, Fran was sure he'd offered his fiancée everything, but she rejected his heart and his two-bedroom flat in Kentish Town, and called it all off four weeks before their wedding. Fran is convinced that she'll see the error of her ways...until he bumps into her with her new boyfriend, and any dreams he might have had of reconciliation are dashed. He has no choice but to move on and try to meet someone new.


Meanwhile, his sometimes neurotic best friends, Ben and Jon, are suffering the opposite of Fran's predicament - their girlfriends are mad about them, but the guys appear lukewarm about their girls and are forever on the lookout for someone else. Whether trawling for talent at a Rabbi's house, being mistaken as part of a gay couple or negotiating advances from his lovelorn neighbour upstairs, Fran's search for salvation draws him ever closer to home as he navigates the hardest two weeks of his life. Honeymooner stars an extraordinary cast of emerging British talent: Gerard Kearns (Shameless, Looking for Eric, The Mark of Cain), Daisy Haggard (Man Stroke Woman, Green Wing, Psychoville), Chris Coghill (24 Hour Party People), Al Weaver (Marie Antoinette, Me and Orson Welles) and Wunmi Mosaku (Womb, Moses Jones). Honeymooner is an Austen-with-a-twist journey through love and loss - and the picking yourself back up part in-between. It's a story for any romantic or cynic who ever thought they had love (all) figured out.

An extraordinary visual feast from the director of THE MIGHTY BOOSH, featuring the crème-de-la-crème of British comedy talent, including Noel Fielding, Julian Barrett and Richard Ayoade, BUNNY AND THE BULL follows Stephen (Ed Hogg) and Bunny (Simon Farnaby) as they leave the dull routine of life in England behind and embark on an extraordinary odyssey where imagination is the only limit.

Journeying from the industrial wastelands of Silesia to the bull fields of Andalusia, their adventures brings them into contact with a Polish dog farmer (Julian Barratt), a moustachioed matador (Noel Fielding) and a hot-tempered crab waitress (Veronica Echegui) who soon tests how far their friendship really goes...

The Cucalorus Film Festival is underway and the early selection process has already completed! NCIndieSeen will feature one film from one of the many to be screened at this festival starting Nov. 11-14th! Take a look at this film recently screened at The Tribeca Film Festival...

Also known as "The Orgasm Diaries"

Sex becomes art and art becomes life for Manchester and Noon, two lovers who hole up in a garage apartment to practice their love while the rest of the world falls away. With their emotional and erotic needs so fully met, the two rarely have reason to engage with the outside world, and only scarcely consider what other needs they might have, like food, money, and plans for the future.


Noon is a taxidermist who trains her eye on the beauty of dead birds while Manchester the photographer documents their affair, creating highly charged and wonderfully erotic photographs. There is no artificiality in his work, only a couple of cheap instant cameras and Noon's willing participation.


Manchester's images catch the eye of a wealthy stranger, and soon a path is laid out that removes him from the cocooned environment of the garage apartment. What follows is the casual destruction of an idyllic world, Manchester and Noon being shaken from a beautiful dream where sex and ice pops were more than enough.


Each character in brilliantlove represents an aspect of erotology, the study of sexual love and lovemaking. Each character, too, is drawn to the relationship between Manchester and Noon, desirous as they are to find and identify the real thing.

Get yer Cucalorus Passes while they're hot!


Passes are on sale for the 2010 festival. Check out our newest pass - the Jibasorus - you get five tickets for only $40! We have a limited number of passes so get them now before they run out!



What’s playing this year at Cucalorus?

As always the best films of the year are playing at Cucalorus. If you're a fan of comedy, drama, suspense, or documentary, we've got it. We added over 30 films to the list just this week. Follow the link above to read about the great films coming your way in November.



Cucalorus "prefest" at Nutt Street Comedy Room

Have you wanted to go to Cucalorus but never quite known how to start? Take us for a test drive! Cucalorus hosts a screening of the documentary 'I am Comic' at the Nutt Street Comedy Room on Thursday, October 7th. Tickets at the door.



Paysage honors Cucalorus at Week of WOW

Paysage has tapped Cucalorus to honor during their Week of WOW. Take the opportunity to support your favorite film fest in style and educate yourself with a selection of cooking, design, and floral classes, or dive into trunk shows, a luncheon, and an evening cocktail party. October 5-7 at Lumina Station.



Read the New York Times review of ‘Enter the Void’

New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis ponders the "mellowing" of French filmmaker Gaspar Noe in her review of his latest film ‘Enter the Void’. Be ready to snatch up your ticket for the Cucalorus screening when they're released in October, meanwhile find out what all the fuss is about with this French "psychedelic melodrama."



Cinematique and Cucalorus Collaborate

Cinematique and Cucalorus present the critically acclaimed Australian film, 'Animal Kingdom', taking audiences into the terrifying Melbourne underworld, where tensions are on the brink of exploding between felons and renegade cops. The New York Times calls the film, the "Australian answer to Goodfellas, minus the wise-guy humor." November 1-3 at Thalian Hall.



Questions, comments and love songs can be emailed to: development@cucalorus.org


"One of the Top Ten Film Festivals in the United States" -- Brooks Institute



"One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals" -- MovieMaker Magazine

An unexpected dismemberment and a one-night-stand paternity suit set the stage for off-key comedy Barry Monday, the closing night feature film for this year’s Charlotte Film Festival.  Title character Barry (played by Patrick Wilson), a self-titled ladies’ man, wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in a movie theater to find that he is missing his “family jewels.”

Soon after, he is served paternity papers from Ginger (Judy Greer), a spectacle-clad, eternally pessimistic woman he can’t even remember. As Barry realizes that this may be his only chance to become a father, he discovers that it takes more than testicles to be a man. As the film’s tagline suggests, “It’s what’s missing that makes them complete.”


The film, which premiered this year at SXSW and has since gained widespread acclaim, is based on the 2003 novel Life is a Strange Place by Frank Turner Hollon. First-time director Chris D’Arienzo teams up with a cast of farce superstars, including Malcom McDowell, Chloë Sevigny, Cybill Shepherd and Shea Whigham. The film is scheduled for wide release on Oct. 1.


Barry Munday is one of more than 60 films that will be showcased at this year’s Film Festival. The Fifth Annual Charlotte Film Festival will be held Sept. 20-26 at two locations – EpiCentre Theaters and Regal Park Terrace, both in Charlotte.


Barry Munday will screen at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26 at EpiCentre Theaters. For tickets, see http://www.charlottefilmfestival.org/2010/barry-munday-closing-night-film or visit the EpiCentre Box Office.



The Charlotte Film Festival is a partner of Indie Film Force, a non-profit organization featuring and debuting groundbreaking independent films. For more information about this year’s festival, special events and screenings contact Brandon Falls at 704-807-0435, or pr@CharlotteFilmFestivl.org. Visit The Charlotte Film Festival on Facebook and on Twitter @CLTFilmFest, or find out more at charlottefilmfestival.org.

This year’s 16th annual Cucalorus Film Festival is sneaking up and they need dedicated volunteers to make this thing happen! The festival dates for this year are November 11-14! The festival will be taking over downtown Wilmington with style! If you have any questions, please e-mail Courtney Bridgers at operations@cucalorus.org.



There are three volunteer meetings this year - one for each of the festival's main operational departments. Please attend the group of your choosing. Deadline for volunteers is OCTOBER 20th! If you want to be involved, please contact them now!


OCTOBER 4, 2010: Screenings Department Meeting - 6:00pm @ Jengo’s Playhouse

Do you have experience as a venue manager or as a quarterback for a football team? This is what screenings are all about! We need volunteers that are super cool under pressure and that can help make each and every one of our screenings run smoothly. If this interest you, please RSVP by sending a resume to operations@cucalorus.org.



OCTOBER 5, 2010: Technical Department Meeting - 6:00pm @ Jengo’s Playhouse

Have you ever operated a projector or worked at a movie theater? Do you know what an aspect ratio is? If so, join us at the technical department meeting! We need dedicated volunteers that can project films during this year’s festival! Experience is important! If you are interested, please RSVP by sending your resume and experience to technical@cucalorus.org.



OCTOBER 6, 2010: Box Office Department Meeting - 6:00 pm @ Jengo’s Playhouse

Do you have experience with ETIX or want to be an usher? Come join us at our Box Office Meeting and learn how you can help at this year’s festival. We will be looking for ushers, ticket takers, ticket printers, and much, much more. To RSVP, please send your resume to boxoffice@cucalorus.org.





Jengo’s Playhouse

815 Princess Street

Wilmington, NC 28401



For more information about the festival CLICK HERE