In honor of our 25th anniversary, the humans over at Cucalorus wanted to give our fellow Cucalorians a special treat every month: 25 tasty tidbits of info that you might want to share with your friends, your hairdresser, or your dog. Hop on the Cucalorus train and ride it all the way till November, y’all!

Here’s our list of 25 memorable moments from Cuc24 that we LOVED sharing with you all. What were your favorite moments? Tag us @cucalorus on social media and use the hashtag #Cuc25. We’re so excited to start our 25th anniversary celebration with you!

1. Rhiannon Giddens lit up Thalian and led march to the 1898 Massacre Memorial, launching a local revolution.
2. Cucalorus filmmaker alum Susan Ellis (Corporate Innovation at SAS) headlined the Connect Conference.
3. 50% of Cuc24 films were directed by women. YES!
4. Opening night film Agave – Spirit of a Nation featured Mezcal tasting as part of Mezcal Week!
5. Thalian Hall filled to the brim as 34 cast and crew hit the stage for 8 Slices QnA, filmed in Holden Beach!
6. Film Festival Alliance hosted a Regional Roundtable with 28 fest professionals from Ashland, Vancouver, Atlanta, and beyond!
7. Superchunk rocked the Brooklyn Arts Center and all of us inside that big beautiful monster on opening night!
8. New Visual/Sound/Walls Lounge features fringe hits like Ike Once More, The Future Perfect, and Langston Hughes III.
9. The 2018 candidate for Best Emcee Outfit of all Time goes to…..
10. Provocateur Mads Brügger was caught kissing Aaron Hillis in the filmmakers lounge…
11. Dance-a-lorus hits hearts at Thalian. BOOM.
12. Late night soul sessions lit up our late night Jengo’s hearts.
13. Grits. Mezcal. Yard Bed. Need I say more?
14. Anna Stromberg returned to Wilmington with her “live-wire performance” of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
15. Erica Dunton brings her many-ith film to Cucalorus, Abigail Falls.
16. Birds Without Feathers filmmaker Wendy McColm jumped on stage with Matt Malloy, the boy who plays guitar, for a random dance parties!
17. Jackfruit Shorts!!! SEXXY DAANNNCEERRR!! SPANKO!!!! FREE WEEK YOGA!!! Get weird y’all!
18. Kodak + Super 8 + Norwood Cheek = one kooky film!
19. Ruby Assata. Ruby Assata. Ruby Assata. Watch one of our fave 10×10 experiments!
20. Gullah Gone, Saltbox, See You Next Time, The Reservoir. Fierce informal feedback from the masses.
21. Girls Code! Blink blink and beyond!! Digital literacy in Wilmington!
22. Bystanders stunned, dancers melting down City Hall steps. Sleep Piece by Lucy Kerr, fireworks!
23. Deanne Smith, Kevin Yee, matching bowties! Dead Crow Comedeee
24. We ate a lot of bundt cakes. That is all. #deathbygluten
25. A little bit of football….a little bit of fantasy….Diamantino was the Secret Screening! Say? What!

Stay tuned every month for another list of 25 greats!