BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival
BEYOND returns this fall featuring 35 independently produced short films presented with workshops for all experience levels, including a screenwriting masterclass.
Produced by the Cary Theater, BEYOND received a record number of entries, inviting 37 unique films for festival competition. Each will screen in-theater over three days with workshops and filmmaker Q&As, and a table read of the screenwriting competition winner.
2021 Festival Sponsors
Past Festival Highlights
Feature Films, Short Films & Filmmaking Workshops
Highlights of previous years include the screening of Batman Forever plus Q&A with the film’s writers Janet Scott and Lee Batchler. More than 250 people came to our family friendly festival kickoff screening outdoors at Cary’s Downtown Park.
The festival also included screenings of important documentaries such as Cancer Rebellion with filmmaker Hernan Baragan.
Each year, the festival has included a screenwriting masterclass from writers behind Hollywood films like Pompeii, Drumline, A Rage In Harlem, Encino Man, and much more. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting Hollywood blockbuster screenwriter Janet Scott Batchler, Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Joy Goodwin, television, film and theatre writer Ron Thompson, and actor-writer Shawn Schepps.
Why Beyond?
The roots of our theater slogan “Beyond Ordinary” originate from the Town’s name from the late 1700s as Bradford’s Ordinary. It represents our mission of providing a unique setting to experience affordable art house cinema here in downtown Cary.
We go above and beyond to celebrate the art of storytelling through cinema with a fun and affordable film festival with something for everyone to enjoy. Activities are conveniently located within walking distance of our historic theater downtown.
What to Expect at the Festival
BEYOND is a welcoming small-town North Carolina film festival that’s known for our hospitality and convenient walkability. Filmmakers from far and wide have come to screen their short films and dazzled our enthusiastic audiences. This year, we’re back in the theater and ready to screen 37 films and host 3 filmmaking workshops for you to enjoy.
We will have a full schedule up very soon, including all the film blocks, social events and more!
