New Cary Film Festival Looks for Hometown Stories
Cary, NC – The Cary Theater is the community’s arthouse movie theater so it’s appropriate that on the first year of their new film festival, they are looking for people from around the area and the world to share stories about their own hometowns.
Hometown Stories
Starting in June 2018, the Cary Theater will hold the first ever “BEYOND: The Film Festival,” running for three days at the downtown theater on E Chatham Street.
“We’re focusing on short films, 30 minutes or less,” said Joy Ennis, the Cary Theater’s supervisor. “There will also be some invited feature length films we will curate.”
Submissions to BEYOND are not limited to just Cary or North Carolina. Filmmakers from all over the world will be able to submit short films through FilmFreeway, though non-English films must be subtitled.
The other aspect of the films submitted is they must relate to the theme of “Hometown Stories,” though they can be for any genre.
“I feel like that captures a lot,” Ennis said. “These stories can be big or they can be small.”
Part of the idea behind the theme is it allows BEYOND to delineate itself from other film festivals around the world. Future festivals will feature different themes.
Opening Up Filmmaking
Not only will BEYOND feature short films competing for both judges’ and audiences’ votes, there will be a screenwriting competition as well. Just like with the short films, people from around the community and around the world can submit screenplays limited to 40 pages and also with the “Hometown Stories” theme.
Those screenplays will be evaluated by a panel of industry professionals at the winner will get a table read at BEYOND.
“It’s a way to showcase filmmaking that the public doesn’t get to see,” Ennis said.
For future events, Ennis said there are plans for BEYOND to include competitions for cinematography, costume design and more.
And for Cary residents not submitting their work to the festival, Ennis said there are plans to include other installations around town for people to showcase other work and draw more community participations.
Event Details
June 14 to 17, 2018
122 E Chatham St.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos by Michael Papich, Hal Goodtree and the Town of Cary.
