CARY, N.C. — The Cary Theater today announced key programming for the 7th annual BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival, which will take place September 5-8, 2024. Filmmakers and audiences can expect to experience top short films from around the world. Attendees will also have opportunities to participate in panel discussions, workshops, and more. BEYOND is designed to support emerging filmmakers with all events and social activities taking place within walking distance of our downtown theater.
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Opening Night Film
How to Sue the Klan
Director & Producer: John Beder
“We could see elements of this 40-year-old story being forgotten and missed with each passing year… A documentary could help preserve this fading piece of history and also bring it the attention it deserves.” – John Beder, film director
How to Sue the Klan is the story of how five Black women from Chattanooga used legal ingenuity to take on the Ku Klux Klan in a historic 1982 civil case, fighting to hold them accountable for their crimes and bring justice to their community. Their victory set a legal precedent that continues to inspire the ongoing fight against organized hate.
The Opening Night Film and Reception are sponsored by the Southern Documentary Fund.
Closing Night Film
Luther: Never Too Much
Director: Dawn Porter
“Essential viewing… an overdue portrait of one of music’s best.” — THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Luther: Never Too Much chronicles the story of a vocal virtuoso. Using a wealth of rarely seen archives, Luther tells his own story with assistance from his closest friends and musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, Valerie Simpson and Roberta Flack. The film relives the many stunning moments of Luther Vandross’ Grammy® award-winning musical career, while exploring his personal life, health struggles, and a lifelong battle to earn the respect his music deserved.
Special Programming
Live Table Read – Puddin’
Screenwriter: Lauryn Massenburg
Directed By: Debra Grannan and Mark Zumbach
“I have discovered that my stories are transformations of real-life feelings and experiences with love, family, and identity that come together to create a blend of endearing characters, emotional storylines, and relatable problems,” said Lauryn Massenburg.
A young girl and her grandfather’s day out goes awry when she witnesses his interactions with other women and locks her baby sister in the car in a diner parking lot. They come to realize the truth about each other while using an old trick to rescue her baby sister.
This year’s recipient of the Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay is Puddin’ by Lauryn Massenburg. Lauryn is a writer, director, producer, and recent MFA screenwriting graduate of UNCSA’s School of Filmmaking from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Every Little Thing
Director: Sally Aitken
“The stars of the film are undoubtedly the birds, spectacularly captured with slow-motion macro photography to breathtaking effect.” – Screen International
Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness.
A Song For Imogene
Director: Erika Arlee
Producer: Kristi Ray
Cast: Kristi Ray, Haydn Winston, McKenzie Barwick
“With an intelligent, insightful script that never hits a false note and a strong ensemble cast, Arlee has crafted one of the year’s finest low-budget indie films.” – The Independent Critic
After discovering she is pregnant by her abusive boyfriend, a fallen-away musician must decide between freeing herself or remaining a relic of her drive-by Southern town. Independently financed and locally produced in rural Eastern North Carolina, A Song For Imogene is the feature film debut from the award winning, female-led production house, Honey Head Films. A Song For Imogene had its World Premiere at Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival and opened the 29th Annual Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington.
Can I Kick It? – Kill Bill Vol. 1
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Live score by Shaolin Jazz
A Quentin Tarantino classic with a live score by Shaolin Jazz. In Kill Bill: Vol. 1, a pregnant assassin, code-named The Bride (Uma Thurman), goes into a coma for four years after her ex-boss Bill (David Carradine) brutally attacks her. When she wakes up, she sets out to seek revenge on him and his associates.
Workshops
Workshop: Writing/Rewriting Your First Screenplay
Instructor: Ron Stacker Thompson (Writer, Producer)
Staying up all hours trying to determine the difference between your theme and your plot? Going bonkers trying to define your characters, find their dialogue? Getting the jitters trying to reduce your screenplay from 150 pages to 110? This workshop will give you some tips on how to relieve the stress (writing-wise), better our screenplay, and maybe get a good night’s sleep.
Workshop: Crowdfunding to Build Independence
Instructor: Emily Best (Founder/CEO, Seed & Spark)
Most people think about crowdfunding simply as a fundraising tool, but we’re going to show you how it’s so much more than that. Discover how to have a successful crowdfunding campaign… and career! You’ll learn how to find your audience, structure your crowdfunding campaign, pick the right goal and incentives, and more.
Workshop: Developing Your Short Film into a Feature or Series
Instructor: Crickett Rumley (Senior Director, Film Festival Development, New York Film Academy)
Have you received feedback from audiences that your short could be a feature or a TV show? Did your film originate as a proof of concept, so now you need to develop the script or series bible? Or do you have an idea for a feature or series but you want to make the short first? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, this session is for you. In it, we’ll discuss best practices for expanding your short, from recommendations on the development process, to tips for writing a low budget feature to direct, to opportunities that the film festival circuit offers filmmakers promoting their next project. Time will be allotted for questions and light workshopping.
Workshop: Distribution Down Low
Instructor: Emily Best (Founder/CEO, Seed & Spark)
Distribution is one of the most mysterious and misunderstood topics for independent creators. We break down the current landscape of distribution for indie films and series, including the different avenues to take, the right questions to ask potential partners, and most importantly, the economics for every window, from theatrical through VOD and beyond.
Films in Competition
A Home on Every Floor (Norway | 2023 | 10:50 min)
Directed By: Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid
Through an electrifying spoken word performance, Poet Hanna Asefaw visits her childhood universe reimagined in miniature, and reflects on community, diversity and belonging, and the political indifference that broke it apart.
American Daydream (USA | 2024 | 14:50 min)
Directed By: Ziyu Luo
An undocumented immigrant has always relied heavily on her daughter to get through life in America. Now her daughter wants to leave to pursue her own dreams. How is this illiterate mother going to survive?
American Seams (USA | 2024 | 16:36 min)
Directed By: Carly Jakins
American Seams captures the stories of three quilters as an intimate portrait of rural women in the American West.
Beyond (USA | 2023 | 3:10 min)
Directed By: Raquel Salvatella de Prada
In animated form, Beyond addresses the history of Taiwan’s White Terror, possibly the darkest period in Taiwan.
Birdfeeder (USA | 2024 | 11:30 min)
Directed By: Daniel Feighery
The birds outside a Brooklyn window help a man heal as the world turns upside down. When a family of birds moves in on his fire escape, they bring hope for a new beginning.
Brenda Gets Gaslit (USA | 2023 | 14:27 min)
Directed By: Jessica Vitkin
Brenda Donaldson is a regular gal, living in a regular world, until one day she experiences a pain so intense that it lands her in the office of her local physician. This visit sets off a series of unfortunate events that throw poor Brenda into a crazy adventure deep inside the medical gaslight zone.
Cow (USA | 2024 | 7:55 min)
Directed By: Joe Appel and Tristan Alkemper
A cargo-ship-piloting alien is on his usual livestock abduction route when an angry farmer sneaks aboard the ship disguised as a cow, with a burning desire for vengeance.
Dembaya (Ireland | 2024 | 2:20 min)
Directed By: Borja Espana Guillot
Forced to flee their African village due to war, a young girl and her family seek refuge in Ireland. As they rebuild their lives, they discover that home is not just a place, but a feeling they create together.
Forbidden Fruit (USA | 2023 | 11:41 min)
Directed By: Isaiah Alexander Forte-Rose
A black eleven-year-old navigates a day in his life of rural poverty while his mother is stuck at work.
Hero’s Journey (USA | 2023 | 8:36 min)
Directed By: Ash Suh and Wes Smith
Hero’s Journey is a 2D and 3D animation which reframes the common story structure of mythic adventures through the modern perspective of a role-playing video game.
Hi, Friends! (USA | 2024 | 7:09 min)
Directed By: Wheaton Simis
Hi, Friends! is a cringe-inducing short film that takes place in the all-too-familiar present day of New York City. The world is closing in around us, and it’s a battle of wills for who can go the longest before the obvious is proclaimed: we are not OK.
I Could Just Die, And That Would Be All Right (USA | 2023 | 19:58 min)
Directed By: A.K. Espada
Trying to end her life, a woman offers herself as a meal to the monster in the woods near her house. Unfortunately, her plan backfires when she wakes up with a thirst for blood and realizes she has joined the ranks of the immortal undead.
Lillo (Mexico | 2023 | 8:13 min)
Directed By: Andrea Figueroa
After the death of his father, a little boy must work the cornfield harvest on his own, overcoming his loss with the help of his imagination.
My Boyfriend Stole My Kidney (USA | 2024 | 16:02 min)
Directed By: Coven
When a young woman wakes up from a one-night stand missing a kidney, she struggles with who to trust as she finds her way to the hospital.
Provisions (USA | 2023 | 4:54 min)
Directed By: Kheyal Roy-Meighoo
K, a young Trinidadian American woman, calls her grandmother for advice on how to make the traditional Trinidadian dish, provision soup. Their conversation quickly evolves into a conversation about community and how it feels to be a child of the diaspora.
The School of Canine Massage (USA | 2024 | 11 min)
Directed By: Emma D. Miller
The Ojai School of Canine Massage provides professional training in the art and science of dog massage therapy. With a mix of whimsy and tenderness, The School of Canine Massage offers a portrait of this unique school and its dog-loving participants, revealing how people heal dogs and dogs heal people.
Shannon Is Strange (USA | 2024 | 16:48 min)
Directed By: Don Hessell and Alan LaFave
A phone call sends Shannon through a labyrinth on her way to an epic showdown with the elusive Jack. Will she succeed or fail at her quest? Embark on a Bowie-inspired odyssey that celebrates deep tracks, eclectic friends, playful diversions, and the underdog in a small town.
Strings (USA | 2024 | 17 min)
Directed By: Paige Archer
A college senior revisits her abusive childhood home after years of estrangement to attend her mother’s funeral and finds her younger sister is stuck reliving the past.
Stud Country (USA | 2023 | 10:33 min)
Directed By: Lina Abascal and Alexandra Kern
Stud Country, the largest queer country western line dancing event in America, was created to preserve Los Angeles’ little known 50+ year queer line dancing tradition. Despite its success and fiercely committed community, the event is set to lose its venue due to gentrification.
The Sun is Bad (Hong Kong | 2023 | 3 min)
Directed By: Sum Yee Rachel Mow
Set in Hong Kong during the late 80s, a temperamental girl tries to destroy the sun and stop it from melting her city using whatever she has.
Sweet Pea (USA | 2024 | 13:36 min)
Directed By: Clarke L. Phillips
In a world where oxygen is a commodity, a young woman must find a way to provide for her younger sister who suffers from a respiratory disease or lose her to social services.
Titty Boy (USA | 2023 | 13:52 min)
Directed By: Austin Ford Franklin Culp
Titty Boy tells the story of a teenage boy with gynecomastia (aka “man boobs”) who attempts to change his body by taking matters into his own hands.
Tortilla Woman (USA | 2024 | 10:32 min)
Directed By: Aly Castillo
A dutiful tortilla maker must balance her kitchen job with her home life on the day of her turbulent son’s birthday.
Wizard Therapy (USA | 2024 | 5:16 min)
Directed By: Jake Mah and Gabriel Warren
When a brave but herb-addicted knight is deserted at his own party due to his immense grief, he seeks help. Little does he know the very help he seeks plagues him with a whirlwind of magical issues.
Worry World (Ireland | 2023 | 8:49 min)
Directed By: Jessica Patterson
In a regimented world of black-and-white, where all thought is on display, a rebellious young factory worker who thinks in color makes an unexpected connection.
