CARRBORO, N.C. -- Carrboro Film Fest returns to The ArtsCenter for its 17th year, Nov. 18-20, 2022, bringing to the big screen a distinct combination of award-winning and North Carolina-based films. The festival continues its mission to showcase a variety of new Southern films and provide a venue to both celebrate and interrogate Southern culture. This year’s lineup includes seven blocks of short films and two features, representing diverse filmmakers from across the South.
The festival is held at The ArtsCenter at 300-G E Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510. The full schedule of films can be found at carrborofilm.org
“What distinguishes Carrboro Film Fest from other festivals is that the films mean so much more because of their Southern connection,” says festival director Bradley Bethel. “Plus, our more intimate venue allows audience members to interact with the filmmakers more. It’s a community experience as much as it's a film experience.”
The festival’s opening night film, Tableau, is a family drama that was filmed in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and directed by Chapel Hill native and UNC alum Stuart Howes. In the film, a family’s bonds are put to the test after a young woman learns that her mother has had an affair. Highlighting several of the locally recognizable settings in the film, Howes describes Tableau as “a love letter to Chapel Hill and Carrboro.” Tableau screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18.
More than 20 other films based in North Carolina are included among the seven blocks of short films. One such film is “First Final Ride,” a documentary short about a quirky festival for hearse drivers in Beaufort, N.C. Another documentary short, “Inner Mounting Flame,” reveals the story of North Carolina musician and rock climbing legend Mike Stam. Narrative shorts are also included, such as Ma’s Kitchen, a family drama portraying the complicated relationship between a Vietnamese immigrant and her daughter.
“Carrboro Film Fest is essential to the life of the community,” Bethel said. “It’s essential because it’s one of the best opportunities to meaningfully gather with friends and strangers and reflect on our culture. Ultimately, Carrboro Film Fest is about way more than entertainment: it’s about building and nourishing our community.”
Carrboro Film Fest is made possible with support from the Town of Carrboro and the Carrboro Tourism Development Authority.
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THE SMELL OF MONEY - Sunday, Nov. 20
Shawn Bannon is drawn to stories of injustice, but he wasn’t prepared for what he found in Duplin County, North Carolina. The documentary filmmaker had heard about the pollution caused by factory farms in the area, but he could not imagine the level of environmental racism he would witness during his three years of filming there. In Duplin County, he met Elsie Herring, the granddaughter of a formerly enslaved African. Elsie had been standing up to the factory pork farms for more than thirty years, fighting for her community’s rights to clean air and pure water. Elsie’s fight is now the subject of Bannon’s new documentary, The Smell of Money, screening as part of Carrboro Film Fest at 4:15 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
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Media Contact: Bradley Bethel (info@carrborofilm.org)
