I love to check out the lineup of events at Wilmington’s Cucalorus International Film Festival each year. While it would be impossible to catch everything, don’t we all daydream of doing just that?
The 28th annual festival will showcase 136 independent and international films from Nov. 16-20 with a wide range of subjects and host more than 200 artists from around the world. I tend to favor films about entrepreneurs, Wilmington-centric events and showcases, critically-acclaimed documentaries, and anything about the culinary world.
After shopping the 2022 schedule, I’m sharing the five Cucalorus events and showings I don’t want to miss:
The Pez Outlaw
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. @ Thalian Black & Sunday, Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m. @ Thalian Main
An incredible fish-out-of-water documentary about how small-town Michigan man Steve Glew boarded a plane for Eastern Europe (soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall) to locate a secret factory holding the most desired and valuable Pez candy dispensers. If his mission succeeds, he will pull his family out of debt and finally be able to quit his job of 25 years. The hero of his own adventure, Steve smuggles the rarest of goods into the U.S. and makes millions in the process. It was all magical until his arch-nemesis, The Pezident, decided to destroy him.
Cucalorus Film Festival
10×10 Challenge
Thursday, Nov. 17, 6:45 p.m. @ Thalian Ballroom
10 entrepreneurs are paired with 10 filmmakers and challenged to make a four minute promo video in five days. See the results on Thursday as part of the Cucalorus Conversations program, which highlights film’s potential for sparking conversations, collaborations and commerce. This interactive program was founded by indie guru Norwood Cheek as a chance to bring filmmakers and bands together to make a music video in only five days, creating an intense creative collaboration with a short runway, with a wild variety of results ranging from brilliant to well just plain special. The program first debuted at Cucalorus in 2011 as part of a retrospective of Cheek’s groundbreaking work that highlighted his contribution to the early days of indie film in North Carolina.
Cucalorus Film Festival
Visual/Sound/Walls: Sparklemuffin Shorts
Thursday, Nov. 17, 9:30 p.m. @ Hi-Wire Brewing
An interactive music video concert stacked with local talent and a wee dose of international seasoning. Projections hitting all available surfaces combined with some looping trickery result in an ear-filling, eye-popping night of multi-sensory stimulations for humans from planet earth. This will include a short about The Port City.
Cucalorus Film Festival
Pinball- The man Who Saved the Game
Thu, Nov 17th, 1:15 p.m. @ Thalian Black & Sat, Nov 19th, 1:45 p.m. @ Thalian Main
The story of Roger Sharpe, GQ journalist and real-life pinball wizard who in 1976 helped overturn New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball.
Cucalorus Film Festival
Conversations: wilmingtoNColor
Saturday, Nov. 19, 11:00 a.m. @ Thalian Ballroom
Exploring both the prosperous and tragic African-American history in Wilmington, NC from 1739 – 2022. Join Cedric Harrison the founder of the wilmingtoNColor tour bus for a discussion about the making of this short historic documentary and meet the storytellers who bring his tour to life. This session is sponsored by NC Black Creatives.
Cucalorus Film Festival
For a full list of events and ticket information, visit Cucalorus.
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