2023 Program Guide

SEPTEMBER 7–9 STATESVILLE 2023NORTH CAROLINA 1 WWW.FULLBLOOMFILMFESTIVAL.ORG

S WELCOME MESSAGE...............................................3 FBFF COMMITTEES..................................................4 ONTENTPARTNERS..........................................................5 SPONSORS.....................................................6-7 VENUES & MAP...........................................................8 FESTIVAL EVENTS....................................................9 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE........................................10-11 ABLE OF COPENING NIGHT.......................................................12 RED CARPET FEATURES..................................13-14 T FEATURE FILMS...................................................15-17 SHORT FILM SESSIONS...................................18-25 INDEX..............................................................26-27 2

FROM: FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL WEL We graciously welcome you to the 2023 Full C Bloom Film Festival (FBFF) and our beautiful OME MES hometown of Statesville, North Carolina. Beginning in 2015, FBFF has screened over 460 films, hosted countless filmmakers and their friends and families, built lifelong friendships, and established an exciting and unique festival experience year after year. This year we will add 44 films to our total, representing artists from right here in North S Carolina, all over the United States, and 11 A other countries throughout the world. The FBFF Committee and our volunteers work tirelessly throughout the GE year to provide what we consider the very best event in our community. We could not continue the extraordinary endeavor without the amazing support of a host of dedicated sponsors who promote our vision of bringing our festival to life. We cannot thank you enough for being a part of and enjoying this little passion of ours. Please make yourselves at home, enjoy every moment, take in everything that we have to offer, and fall in love with Statesville like we all have. Welcome to the 2023 Full Bloom Film Festival! Charles Ashe Charles Ashe Chair, Full Bloom Film Festival 3

FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE CHARLES ASHE, CHAIR JOHN KOPPELMEYER, IAC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JERILYN DAVIDSON, HOSPITALITY OMMITTEES NANCY DAVIS, VOLUNTEERS & TICKETING JENNIFER GRIGGS, SPONSORSHIPS C RICHARD GRIGGS, VENUES SYDNEY KOPPELMEYER, MARKETING XOCHITL KOPPELMEYER, EVENTS KIRK LAWTON, TREASURER BRANDON SPROUL, FILM SELECTIONS ARNOLD WATT, TECHNOLOGY FILM SELECTIONS MARKETING COMMITTEE COMMITTEE SYDNEY KOPPELMEYER, CHAIR BRANDON SPROUL, CHAIR RILEY ANTONEK CHARLES ASHE ROBIN MCGUIRT JOHN BAKER BRANDON SPROUL AMANDA CLENDENIN RAOUL ENO EVENTS COMMITTEE TODD FOWLER KIM MCKINNEY XOCHITL KOPPELMEYER, CHAIR KATHERINE NEARY SHERI COARSEY PEGGY PALMER ADRIANA FOX CRAIG ROMEO AMY FUHRMAN HOLLACE SCANLON TERESA KUTTEH TOM WALLIS AMY LAWTON LEESAH WORKMAN ANGIE MCALPIN MICHELLE ROKES TRACY RYAN 4

FULL BLOOM FILM FESTIVAL P is a cultural project supported by the Iredell Arts Council ARTNERS and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. COMMUNITY SUPPORT VENUE PROVIDERS 5

TITLE PRODUCER SPONSORS DIRECTOR 6

SCREENWRITER SPONSORS LEAD ROLE 7

1 SHEARER HALL 2 ROTARY AUDITORIUM Mitchell Community College Campus Mitchell Community College Campus 500 West Broad Street 500 West Broad Street Statesville, North Carolina Statesville, North Carolina SCREENING VENUE SCREENING VENUE 3 IREDELL ARTS COUNCIL 4 CENTER STAGE ALLIANCE 203 South Meeting Street 109 East Broad Street Statesville, North Carolina Statesville, North Carolina SCREENING VENUE SCREENING VENUE PARTY VENUE 5 STATESVILLE WOMAN’S CLUB 6 LAKE MOUNTAIN COFFEE 515 West End Avenue 110 West Broad Street Statesville, North Carolina Statesville, North Carolina PARTY VENUE FBFF BOX OFFICE VENUES AND MAP 7 LEE DELLINGER FINE ART 8 THE INN ON FRONT STREET 120 West Broad Street 317 West Front Street Statesville, North Carolina Statesville, North Carolina VIP MEET AND GREET FILMMAKER ROUNDTABLE 2 8 88

DENIM & PEARLS: OPENING FILMMAKER CREATIVE FES NIGHT SCREENING & PARTY ROUNDTABLE OPEN TO FILMMAKERS, SPONSORS AND OPEN TO FILMMAKERS ONLY VIPS ONLY - BADGES REQUIRED Saturday 9/9 • 8:30AM-10:00AM Screening • Thursday 9/7 • 6:30PM-7:30PM The Inn on Front Street Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College 317 W Front St • Statesville NC TIV 500 W Broad St • Statesville NC A facilitated discussion where FBFF Party • Thursday 9/7 • 7:30PM-10:00PM filmmakers can share a dialogue around the Statesville Woman’s Club creative process of filmmaking. This year the 515 W End Ave • Statesville NC focus will be “perspectives” and bringing your AL E The films are only half the fun at Full Bloom, idea to reality. We hope a discussion around as the festival is as known for its parties as it the struggles hidden in these steps will serve is for its film screenings. Join us for a curated to educate, strengthen, direct and inspire selection of films followed by a little grillin’ our group. Breakfast provided by The Inn on & chillin’ as we launch the 2023 festival into Front Street. action! Enjoy some NC Pork BBQ, cold drinks, RED CARPET EVENT & SCREENING V and other fixings (including vegan options) that E will satisfy any moviegoer’s appetite. Guests Red Carpet • Saturday 9/9 • 5:30PM-6:00PM are encouraged to dress up in your favorite Screening • Saturday 9/9 • 6:00PM-8:00PM N denim with pearls and break out your boots! Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College VIP MEET AND GREET 500 W Broad St • Statesville, NC T Walk the red carpet followed by the screening OPEN TO FILMMAKERS, SPONSORS AND of BRIDGE TO THE OTHER SIDE, a feature S VIPS ONLY - BADGES REQUIRED film by director KT Curran about a woman’s Friday 9/8 • 3:30PM-5:00PM grief and self-destruction, and her journey to Lee Dellinger Fine Art overcome that grief by helping to save people 120 W Broad St • Statesville, NC struggling with mental illness. A Q&A session with the filmmaker will follow the screening. A casual gathering for filmmakers, sponsors THE BUBBLY & THE BEAUTIFUL: and VIP’s. Beverages and light hors d’oeuvres FILM AWARDS provided by 220 Cafe. OPEN TO FILMMAKERS, SPONSORS AND RED CARPET EVENT VIPS ONLY - BADGES REQUIRED & SCREENING Saturday 9/9 • 8:00PM-10:30PM Red Carpet • Friday 9/8 • 5:30PM-6:00PM Statesville Woman’s Club Screening • Friday 9/8 • 6:00PM-7:30PM 515 W End Ave • Statesville, NC Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College Celebrate with filmmakers and sponsors as 500 W Broad St • Statesville, NC we raise a glass of bubbly and announce the Walk the red carpet followed by the screening winning films of this year’s festival. Men are of TUPUNGATO: EMPATHY IN DEATH, a encouraged to wear a tuxedo or dark suit, documentary by director Rafael Pease about and women wear evening or cocktail attire. his journey to the peak of Volcano Tupungato Just wear your most beautiful look - OR NOT! and his fight for conservation in Chile. This will be a fun, intimate evening honoring the magic of this year’s films. Dinner and ROCK ‘N ROLL WITH ROCKIE drinks will abound. LYNNE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Friday 9/8 • 7:30PM-10:00PM FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE Iredell Arts Council Wednesday 9/6 • 12:00PM-6:00PM 203 S Meeting St Thursday 9/7 • 11:00AM-5:00PM Statesville, NC Friday 9/8 • 8:00AM-4:00PM Join us at the Old Jail for Saturday 9/9 • 8:00AM-4:00PM a night of rock ‘n roll by Lake Mountain Coffee Iredell’s own Rockie Lynne. 100 W Broad Street • Statesville NC Rockie is a nationally known music artist with a documentary in this year’s Pick up your badge or purchase tickets festival showing both Friday and Saturday at our mobile box office (and grab a afternoon. You don’t want to miss that or this delicious cup of coffee while you’re at it). rockin’ party! Food trucks, cold drinks, and a specialty cocktail with a Full Bloom Film Festival keepsake glass available for purchase. 99 This event is rain or shine.

2023 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE SH RA IAC CSA EVENTS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 6:00 PM VIP OPENING NIGHT 7:00 PM 6:30-7:30 8:00 PM VIP PARTY WOMAN’S CLUB 7:30-10:00 9:00 PM AL SCHEDULE 10:00 PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 9:00 AM KING OF KINGS: AN ANIMATED SHAPING TIV CHASING EDWARD JONES AMUKA + LENS PATHS 10:00 AM 9:00-10:45 WILD CLIMATE 9:30-10:30* 9:15-10:45* 9:30-11:15 11:00 AM ROCKIE LYNNE: LOSS AND STORIES FES WHERE I BELONG HEALING RETOLD 12:00 PM 11:15-12:45* CAGE: 11:15-12:45* 11:30-12:45* BETWEEN TWO BATTLES 11:45-1:15 1:00 PM THE YEAR OF HUMAN LIVING WITH 2:00 PM THE DOG LOREN & ROSE CONNECTION PURPOSE 1:30-3:15* 1:45-3:15 1:30-3:00* 1:30-3:00* 3:00 PM VIP MEET & GREET 4:00 PM LEE DELLINGER ART 3:30-5:00 5:00 PM RED CARPET 5:30-6:00 6:00 PM TUPUNGATO: EMPATHY IN DEATH 7:00 PM 6:00-7:30 VENUES 8:00 PM PARTY SH - Shearer Hall IREDELL Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC ARTS COUNCIL 9:00 PM 7:30-10:00 RA - Rotary Auditorium Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC 10:00 PM IAC - Iredell Arts Council The Old Jail, 203 S Meeting St, Statesville, NC CSA - Center Stage Alliance 109 E Broad St, Statesville, NC 1010 *Session includes Q&A with filmmakers.

2023 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE SH RA IAC CSA EVENTS FES SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 8:00 AM ROUNDTABLE TIV 9:00 AM INN ON FRONT STREET 8:30-10:00 10:00 AM THE YEAR OF UNYIELDING LIVING WITH AL THE DOG CAGE: SPIRIT PURPOSE 11:00 PM 10:00-11:45* BETWEEN TWO BATTLES 10:15-11:45* 10:15-11:45* 12:00 PM 10:30-12:00 SCHEDULE KING OF KINGS: LOREN & ROSE HUMAN LIMITLESS 1:00 PM CHASING EDWARD JONES 12:30-2:00 CONNECTION CREATIVITY 12:30-2:15 12:30-2:00* 12:30-2:00* 2:00 PM 3:00 PM ROCKIE LYNNE: AMUKA + LOSS AND SHAPING WHERE I BELONG WILD CLIMATE HEALING PATHS 2:45-4:15* 2:30-4:15 2:45-4:15* 2:45-4:15* 4:00 PM 5:00 PM RED CARPET 5:30-6:00 6:00 PM BRIDGE TO THE OTHER SIDE 7:00 PM 6:00-8:00 8:00 PM VIP PARTY 9:00 PM WOMAN’S CLUB 8:00-10:30 10:00 PM 11:00 PM VENUES VENUES SH - Shearer Hall (Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC) RA - Rotary Auditorium (Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC) SH - Shearer Hall IAC - Iredell Arts Council (The Old Jail, 203 S Meeting St, Statesville, NC) Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC CSA - Center Stage Alliance (109 E Broad St, Statesville, NC) RA - Rotary Auditorium *Session includes Q&A with film directors, crew and actors. Mitchell Community College Campus, 500 W Broad St, Statesville, NC IAC - Iredell Arts Council The Old Jail, 203 S Meeting St, Statesville, NC CSA - Center Stage Alliance 109 E Broad St, Statesville, NC *Session includes Q&A with filmmakers. 1111

FULL BLOOM OPENING NIGHT Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College Screening • Thursday 9/8 • 6:30PM-7:30PM FIRST MEMORY Director: Chip Hackler United States • 2022• Short Narrative • 0:01:00 Memory’s a funny thing. THE SPRAYER Director: Farnoosh Abedi OPENING NIGHT Iran • 2022 • Animation • 0:08:34 In a land where no one has the right to grow any kind of plants in public or private, a soldier finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something revolutionary. SATURATED Directors: David Kernodle & Morgan Paterwich United States • 2023 • Short Documentary • 0:19:40 Matt Moore, an eccentric artist exploding with chaotic creativity and drenched with talent and emotion, brings an intensity that is both inspiring and frightening through his bold expression of style and color. PAPER PLANES Directors: Michael Glover Smith & Alyssa Thordarson United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:17:01 A woman with agoraphobia and the airbnb guest across the hall strike up a correspondence that becomes something more for the holidays. 12

RED TUPUNGATO: EMPATHY IN DEATH Director: Rafael Pease CARPET Chile • 2023 • Documentary Feature • 01:14:32 A winter expedition to the highest peak, Volcano Tupungato at 21,555 feet, evolves into a fight for conservation. The hope is creating a national park, containing 340,000 acres in FEA one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, as well as a significant source of water for 40% of Chile’s population. TURES Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College Red Carpet Friday 9/8 • 5:30PM-6:00PM Screening Friday 9/8 • 6:00PM-7:30PM 13

BRIDGE TO THE OTHER SIDE + Q&A AMUKA + WILD CLIMATE TURES Director: KT Curran United States • 2022 • Narrative Feature • 1:39:45 In a world that’s falling apart, a grieving widow struggling with her own grief and self-destruction, fights to save young people RED CARPET FEAstruggling with a mental health crisis. Embedded with the fire department, she’s battling the Shearer Hall men who don’t want her there, the @ Mitchell Community College clients who fight her tooth and nail, and her own wounded psyche. Red Carpet Saturday 9/9 • 5:30PM-6:00PM Screening Saturday 9/9 • 6:00PM-8:00PM 14

AMUKA + WILD CLIMATE FEA AMUKA Director: Antonio Spano Rotary Auditorium TURE Belgium • 2021 • Documentary @ Mitchell Community College Feature • 01:10:27 The Democratic Republic of Congo Friday 9/8 • 9:30AM-11:15AM could feed almost 1 in 2 people Saturday 9/9 • 2:30PM-4:15PM on Earth, yet one in six Congolese people suffers from hunger, despite the fact that agriculture accounts for 70% of the population there. Faced FILMS with this paradox, the peasants regroup in agricultural cooperatives to have their voices heard. WILD CLIMATE Director: Meredith Meeks United States • 2020 • Short Documentary • 00:26:22 A film which focuses on the impacts of climate change on livestock and crops in the rural west with staggering evidence, and the stories of those fighting to keep their livelihoods intact in the face of the existential threat in hopes of compelling people to action. CAGE : BETWEEN TWO BATTLES Director: Cenk Izgören Turkey • 2022 • Narrative Feature • 01:23:00 The story of the transformation of a nationalist and macho man, defeated by the system, trying to heal the traumas of the war in his soul with other wounds, in the graveyard of the orphans, against the backdrop of a misty, cold and poor Istanbul. Rotary Auditorium @ Mitchell Community College Friday 9/8 • 11:45AM-1:15PM Saturday 9/9 • 10:30AM-12:00PM 15

KING OF KINGS : CHASING EDWARD JONES Director: Harriet Marin Jones France • 2022 • Documentary Feature • 01:38:13 A European filmmaker searches for the truth about her grandfather, a legendary African American who rose to the heights of financial and political prominence in Depression-era Chicago. In shaping the destiny of a city, Edward Jones could not, however, escape his skin color. Executive produced TURE FILMS by legends Quincy Jones and Debbie Allen. Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College FEA Friday 9/8 • 9:00AM-10:45AM Saturday 9/9 • 12:30PM-2:15PM LOREN & ROSE Director: Russell Brown United States • 2021 • Narrative Feature • 01:22:52 A single meal frames this three-act story of the indelible bond between Loren, a promising filmmaker, and Rose, a storied actress looking to invigorate her career. Two people whose love of art, understanding of grief, and faith in life’s potential guide them through personal and creative hardships. Rotary Auditorium @ Mitchell Community College Friday 9/8 • 1:45PM-3:15PM Saturday 9/9 • 12:30PM-2:00PM 16

ROCKIE LYNNE: WHERE I BELONG + Q&A FEA Director: JC Summerford United States • 2023 • Documentary Feature • 01:24:35 TURE Timing is everything. That theme permeates singer/ songwriter and North Carolina native Rockie Lynne’s life. This documentary illuminates Rockie’s distinguished music career, an unwavering dedication to his national non-profit, Tribute to the Troops, his exciting new album, “Love”, and the search for his original family. FILMS Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College Friday 9/8 • 11:15AM-12:45PM Saturday 9/9 • 2:45PM-4:15PM THE YEAR OF THE DOG + Q&A Directors: Robert Grabow, Michael Peterson & Andrew McGinn United States • 2022 • Narrative Feature • 01:37:17 Matt, a loner alcoholic, struggles to maintain sobriety and honor his mother’s dying wish to see him get sober. His AA sponsor offers him refuge at his farm where Matt finds Yup’ik, a stray husky with a unique talent. With the help of their Montana community, the two strays find a connection and discover what it takes to pull through to the finish line. Shearer Hall @ Mitchell Community College Friday 9/8 • 1:30PM-3:15PM Saturday 9/9 • 10:00AM-11:45AM 17

AN ANIMATED LENS “No artist tolerates reality.” - Nietzsche Iredell Arts Council • Friday 9/8 • 9:30AM-10:30AM THE BALLAD OF LIQUID SKY SIONS Director: Jo Knorpp United States • 2023 • Animation • 0:03:34 An original folktale, set to the music performed by a mysterious bard, recounts the story of a lost connection between a sea goddess and a small harbor town. NOBODY Director: Mingyuan Li United States • 2022 • Animation • 0:04:05 A woman comes to Paris, France seeking chances of making money to support her struggling family in China, and her fate has since been rewritten. EMERGENCE Director: Nick Pascoal United States • 2023 • Animation • 0:03:54 An isolated man’s anxiety and paranoia are about to be pushed to the limits when a mysterious colossal nemesis invades the calm and serenity of the peaceful countryside. SHORT FILM SES GNOSIS Director: Peaches Wilczak United States • 2023 • Animation • 0:03:09 A reinterpretation of the seven days of creation through the lens of the metaphysical artist trying to reconnect with their art. LETE Director: Duban Pinzon Colombia • 2022 • Animation • 0:20:00 After a long and devastating war, a dying soldier returns back home with the hope to find the whereabouts of his daughter. A NATURAL FORCE Director: Gordon LePage United States • 2022 • Animation • 0:03:16 Two raccoons - strategizing for snacks - follow different paths along the physics of things. THE SPRAYER Director: Farnoosh Abedi Iran • 2022 • Animation • 0:08:34 In a land where no one has the right to grow any kind of plants in public or private, a soldier finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the 18 beginning of something revolutionary.

HUMAN CONNECTION SHORT “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller Iredell Arts Council • Friday 9/8 • 1:30PM - 3:00PM Iredell Arts Council • Saturday 9/9 • 12:30PM - 2:00PM PAPER PLANES Directors: Michael Glover Smith & Alyssa Thordarson FILM United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:17:01 A woman with agoraphobia and the airbnb guest across the hall strike up a correspondence that becomes something more for the holidays. LIKE A DOG SES Director: Hamid Naseri Moghadam Iran • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:19:52 A young lonely boy lives in a city on the outskirts of Tehran and is interested in helping stray and injured SIONS dogs. He meets a young woman who has a secret that takes the relationship between them to a different direction. THE CHAPERONE Director: Mary Louise Renegar United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:14:24 Two discontented women accompany one another on their travels, becoming a little more than strangers. THE END OF THE WORLD Director: Aleksandra Podziewska Czech Republic • 2020 • Short Narrative • 0:10:03 Jitka and Jaromir, a married couple in their seventies, live their life while constantly getting on each other’s nerves, and one day finally has to deal with a surprising twist of events, which ends up being a beginning of a new, unexpected adventure. YOU LOOK PRETTY UP HERE Director: Thom Hilton United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:20:13 In the wake of a tense breakup, a young actress accidentally crashes her ex-boyfriend’s retreat to a remote Oregon cabin. 19

LIMITLESS CREATIVITY “The power of art can break the shackles that bind and divide human beings.” – Daisaku Ikeda SIONS Center Stage Alliance • Saturday 9/9 • 12:30PM - 2:00PM HAPPY OKAY MATE Director: Luke Collins United Kingdom • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:03:58 Rob arrives to collect the bins at the back door of a theatre before his eyes fall on a ‘cancelled’ theatre production. Spying an open back door Rob slips into the theatre and takes to the stage once more before an unexpected character joins him. SATURATED Directors: David Kernodle & Morgan Paterwich United States • 2023 • Short Documentary • 0:19:40 Matt Moore, an eccentric artist exploding with chaotic creativity and drenched with talent and emotion, brings an intensity that is both inspiring and frightening through his bold expression of style and color. CURTSY Director: Nicole Triche United States • 2023 • Short Documentary • 0:26:56 SHORT FILM SES A small-town dance studio plans to celebrate its 50th year in business. Unfortunately that year is 2020. Follow a dance teacher in her seventies as she faces the challenges of the last three years. OKLAHOMA UNDERGROUND Director: Brea Mullen United States • 2023 • Short Documentary • 0:29:30 Eight artists from Tulsa, Oklahoma travel to Miami, FL to exhibit during one of America’s most prestigious art weeks. Bringing an unheard voice to the coast, these artists band together as a community as they test their limits in a new environment full of possibility. 20

LIVING WITH PURPOSE SHORT “The greater the complication, the richer the tale.” – Thor F. Jensen Center Stage Alliance • Friday 9/8 • 1:30PM - 3:00PM Center Stage Alliance • Saturday 9/9 • 10:15AM - 11:45AM 0530: RIDING IN THE DARK FILM Directors: Griffin Hart Davis & Wes Salisbury United States • 2022 • Short Documentary • 0:25:24 In the 0530 cycling group, the bonds among riders - both on and off the bike - sustain lasting friendships and offer life-giving support when it’s needed most. A PERFECT LOVE SES Director: Kyle Saylors United States • 2022 • Short Documentary • 0:27:42 The true life story about one family’s dream to adopt SIONS a child with special needs from China. Eight years and six children with special needs later, the family copes with the everyday struggles of bringing two worlds and cultures together to form an everlasting bond with love as the tie that binds them together. UNSHAKEN Directors: James Q. Martin & Nicholas Geib United States • 2022 • Short Documentary • 0:17:07 Mohlenne Bosse, a young Haitian woman, finds strength and learns how to walk on crude prosthetics after suddenly losing both of her legs to a mysterious affliction, baffling the Haitian and American doctors who worked to save her legs and then her life. 21

LOSS AND HEALING “The song is ended, but the melody lingers on.” - Irving Berlin Iredell Arts Council • Friday 9/8 • 11:15AM - 12:45PM SIONS Iredell Arts Council • Saturday 9/9 • 2:45PM - 4:15PM APOLLO BOY Directors: Verve Reposar & Paige Jones United States • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:07:48 A lonely tale of two siblings separated by life, but reunited by a boy on the moon. HAPPEN TO HAPPEN Director: Julie Joohee Jeon South Korea • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:38:58 Follow Noori’s journey as she tries to return her friend Sena’s cat, Tori, in this adventurous and heartwarming tale. MAYFLY Director: Keith Andreen United States • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:26:51 SHORT FILM SES Best-selling self-help author Aaron Driscoll may look like a successful motivational speaker on the outside, but inside hides a dark secret he thought would remain buried deep in the past, and is eventually forced into a painful reckoning that will either kill him or be his salvation. 22

SHAPING PATHS SHORT “Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we’re proud of. Some will haunt us forever. The message: we are what we choose to be.” - Graham Brown Center Stage Alliance • Friday 9/8 • 9:15AM - 10:45AM Center Stage Alliance • Saturday 9/9 • 2:45PM - 4:15PM RESURRECTION UNDER THE OCEAN FILM Director: Serkan Aktaş Turkey • 2021 • Short Narrative • 0:03:00 The resurrection of a man who was helplessly sinking to the bottom of the ocean, with a symbolic narrative. FRAGILE STRENGTH SES Director: Chris Weatherly United States • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:09:07 When the obstacles of poverty prevent a highly gifted SIONS student from succeeding, a teacher steps in to advocate for the success of those in need by building a support team around her. NIGHT VOICES Director: Bradley Hawkins United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:23:59 A jaded talk radio host in a cycle of hopeless and demoralizing monotony makes a life-altering decision while on-air. FIVE AND A HALF Director: Heidi Nyburg United States • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:14:58 Based on a true story, a sheltered little girl spends an unnerving afternoon with her estranged father where she’s left with just her imagination to stop time and escape impending disaster. ALICE, MY FATHER! Director: Fernando Cunha Jr. Brazil • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:24:35 Alice is a drag queen who has a son who will be a father. The girlfriend wants an abortion. In the conversation between father and son, a secret is revealed and a decision is made. 23

STORIES RETOLD “A man’s real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor.” - Alexander Smith SIONS Center Stage Alliance • Friday 9/8 • 11:30AM - 12:45PM FIRST MEMORY Director: Chip Hackler United States • 2022 • Short Narrative • 0:01:00 Memory’s a funny thing. EARTHLING Directors: Keith Lane & Molly Graham United States • 2023 • Animation • 0:10:17 An animated documentary about Jack Weiner, a grown man whose entire life has been shaped by being abducted by aliens when he was young, a life story nobody believes. LINDA & HENRY Director: Rebecca Branson Jones United States • 2022 • Short Documentary • 0:25:25 SHORT FILM SES A celebration of the love story of the Mabes, now in their 51st year of marriage and Henry’s 60th year of playing fiddle, showcasing Henry’s brilliant talent and Linda’s steadfast support and also discontent of “festival life.” WILDERNESS THERAPY Director: Nate Wiggins United States • 2023 • Short Documentary • 0:28:11 Venturing into the controversial world of wilderness therapy programs, this documentary explores the delicate balance between the beneficial power of nature and the negative encounters experienced by participants during their time in camp. 24

UNYIELDING SPIRIT SHORT If you can’t 昀氀y then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” - Martin Luther King Jr. Iredell Arts Council • Saturday 9/9 • 10:15AM - 11:45AM MINE MINE MINE FILM Director: Duncan Ragg Australia • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:20:29 A bed-bound man reflects on his childhood with Peter Pan, and how sometimes everyone grows up without you. GABRIELA SES Director: Evelyn Lorena United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:16:01 A young undocumented Guatemalan woman dreams SIONS of joining a Country Club swim team in the American South. THINGS UNHEARD OF Director: Ramazan Kilic Turkey • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:15:36 A little Kurdish girl tries to put a smile back on her grandmother’s face after the disappearance of her television, her only window into the world. MID IRIS Directors: McCready Brothers United States • 2023 • Short Narrative • 0:25:45 A goth highschooler tries to maintain his will to live in the face of the terrible awkwardness and pain of adolescence. 25

FILM PAGE FILM PAGE 0530: RIDING IN THE DARK.........................21 GNOSIS.................................................18 Directors: Griffin Hart Davis & Wes Salisbury Director: Peaches Wilczak Short Documentary • 0:35:32 Animation • 0:03:09 A NATURAL FORCE........................................18 HAPPEN TO HAPPEN......................................22 INDEX Director: Gordon LePage Director: Julie Joohee Jeon Animation • 0:03:16 Short Narrative • 0:38:58 A PERFECT LOVE.............................................21 HAPPY OKAY MATE........................................20 Director: Kyle Saylors Director: Luke Collins Short Documentary • 0:27:42 Short Narrative • 0:03:58 ALICE, MY FATHER!.........................................23 KING OF KINGS : Director: Fernando Cunha Jr. CHASING EDWARD JONES...........................16 Short Narrative • 0:24:35 Director: Harriet Marin Jones AMUKA........................................................15 Documentary Feature • 01:38:13 Director: Antonio Spano LETE...................................................................18 Documentary Feature • 01:10:27 Director: Duban Pinzon APOLLO BOY...................................................22 Animation • 0:20:00 Directors: Verve Reposar & Paige Jones LIKE A DOG.......................................................19 Short Narrative • 0:07:48 Director: Hamid Naseri Moghadam BRIDGE TO THE OTHER SIDE........................14 Short Narrative • 0:19:52 Director: KT Curran LINDA & HENRY................................................24 Narrative Feature • 1:39:45 Director: Rebecca Branson Jones CAGE : BETWEEN TWO BATTLES................15 Short Documentary • 0:25:25 Director: Cenk Izgören LOREN & ROSE................................................16 Narrative Feature • 01:23:00 Director: Russell Brown CURTSY......................................................20 Narrative Feature • 01:22:52 Director: Nicole Triche MAYFLY........................................................22 Short Documentary • 0:26:56 Director: Keith Andreen EARTHLING......................................................24 Short Narrative • 0:26:51 Directors: Keith Lane & Molly Graham MID IRIS.............................................................25 Animation • 0:10:17 Directors: McCready Brothers EMERGENCE.............................................18 Short Narrative • 0:25:45 Director: Nick Pascoal MINE MINE MINE..............................................25 Animation • 0:03:54 Director: Duncan Ragg FIRST MEMORY........................................12 & 24 Short Narrative • 0:20:29 Director: Chip Hackler NIGHT VOICES.................................................23 Short Narrative • 0:01:00 Director: Bradley Hawkins FIVE AND A HALF............................................23 Short Narrative • 0:23:59 Director: Heidi Nyburg NOBODY.............................................................18 Short Narrative • 0:14:58 Director: Mingyuan Li FRAGILE STRENGTH......................................23 Animation • 0:04:05 Director: Chris Weatherly OKLAHOMA UNDERGROUND.....................20 Short Narrative • 0:09:07 Director: Brea Mullen GABRIELA................................................25 Short Documentary • 0:29:30 Director: Evelyn Lorena PAPER PLANES..........................................12 & 19 Short Narrative • 0:16:01 Directors: Michael Glover Smith & Alyssa Thordarson Short Narrative • 0:17:01 26

FILM PAGE INDEX RESURRECTION UNDER THE OCEAN............23 Director: Serkan Aktaşş Short Narrative • 0:03:00 ROCKIE LYNNE: WHERE I BELONG.................17 Director: JC Summerford Documentary Feature • 01:24:35 SATURATED...................................................12 & 2O Directors: David Kernodle & Morgan Paterwich Short Documentary • 0:19:40 THE BALLAD OF LIQUID SKY...............................18 Director: Jo Knorpp Animation • 0:03:34 THE CHAPERONE.................................................19 Director: Mary Louise Renegar Short Narrative • 0:14:24 THE END OF THE WORLD..................................19 Director: Aleksandra Podziewska Short Narrative • 0:10:03 THE SPRAYER.................................................12 & 18 Director: Farnoosh Abedi Animation • 0:08:34 THE YEAR OF THE DOG.....................................17 Directors: Robert Grabow, Michael Peterson & Andrew McGinn Narrative Feature • 01:37:17 THINGS UNHEARD OF........................................25 Director: Ramazan Kilic Short Narrative • 0:15:36 TUPUNGATO: EMPATHY IN DEATH..............13 Director: Rafael Pease Documentary Feature • 01:14:32 UNSHAKEN...................................................21 Directors: James Q. Martin & Nicholas Geib Short Documentary • 0:17:07 WILD CLIMATE.......................................................15 Director: Meredith Meeks Short Documentary • 00:26:22 WILDERNESS THERAPY.....................................24 Director: Nate Wiggins Short Documentary • 0:28:11 YOU LOOK PRETTY UP HERE............................19 Director: Thom Hilton Short Narrative • 0:20:13 27