
The 32nd annual Cucalorus Film Festival will take place November 19-22, 2026 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The 32nd annual Cucalorus Film Festival will take place November 19-22, 2026 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Cucalorus was founded in 1994 by the underground filmmaking collective Twinkle Doon. At the inaugural event, crowds wrapped around the block to see 16 local films screening at Water Street restaurant by the Cape Fear River. These days, Cucalorus takes place every November, celebrating independent and international film for four days in historic downtown Wilmington, NC. Cucalorus has become known for being a filmmaker friendly film festival, being named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “50 Film Festivals worth the Entry Fee” for many years.
The Festival showcases more than 90 films, complemented by performances from dancers, comedians, musicians, and theater artists, bringing thousands of fans and industry professionals to venues all over downtown Wilmington. The festival’s expanded cinema events explore topics like virtual reality, dance/cinema, distribution, and accountable storytelling. The festival's most cherished traditions include Dance-a-lorus, a showcase of choreographers experimenting with film; and the Bus to Lumberton, an immersive theatre experience honoring David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet,’ which was produced in Wilmington. The Cucalorus Film Conference covers topics from sound for social change to crowdfunding to build independence. Other education and outreach programs include Global Perspectives, Works-in-Progress Lab, and Media Literacy.

On the night before Halloween in a small New England town, a local hot wiener delivery driver attempts to get out of work on time for a holiday tradition he’s kept since childhood.
Thu
Nov
19
2026
9:00 pm
Jengo’s Playhouse
815 Princess St

An ex-convict stalks a family through four mashed together retellings of Cape Fear, where 1962, 1991, 1993 and 2026 remix into a glitchy casserole of vengeance and vibes.
Thu
Nov
19
2026
11:15 pm
Jengo’s Playhouse
815 Princess St

An athlete, artist, and activist, Romare Bearden defied boundaries placed on Black men of his generation.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
10:15 am
Jengo’s Playhouse
815 Princess St

Along with her newly sober father Paul, 16-year-old Caity prepares for the new Halloween season of their family-owned haunted house.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
1:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Experts and homeless neighbors alike bust myths about Seattle’s homelessness crisis in a deeply reported, humanistic dispatch from the front lines. Homelessness was declared a civil state of emergency in Seattle in 2015.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
1:15 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Deep in Mexico’s mushroom-rich forests, two women from indigenous communities have become mycologists.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
4:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Two studious, straight-arrow high school teens set out on a covert weekend of experimentation, unknowingly attracting the attention of two emboldened incels.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
4:15 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Rosa, a contemporary music composer, agrees to give her first television interview at her colleague Tere’s apartment to keep it secret from her husband.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
4:15 pm
Thalian Hall
310 Chestnut St

After losing her firstborn son to gun violence, a mother gathers cherished memories and erased histories to connect his death to her city’s haunting legacy of racism.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
6:30 pm
Jengo’s Playhouse
815 Princess St

Born from internet culture and fueled by a shared love of video games, anime, and pop culture, nerdcore music evolved from a niche online subgenre into a thriving global community of independent…
Fri
Nov
20
2026
6:45 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Nicole's discovery of an eviction notice shatters her family's houseboat vacation, forcing them to confront their patriarch's troubles, lost homes, and fractured identities through a turbulent…
Fri
Nov
20
2026
7:00 pm
Thalian Hall
310 Chestnut St

The denizens of a strip-mall casino in Asheboro, North Carolina endure two tumultuous years.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
9:45 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Tennessee Williams aka TEN WILL, a recently released convict, must race against time to register as a sex offender.
Fri
Nov
20
2026
10:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Investigative reporter George moves to New York, but needs a roommate. Knowing no one else in the city except her childhood best friend Trish, George agrees to move in with Trish’s city bestie,…
Sat
Nov
21
2026
10:00 am
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

More than 50% of transgender boys have attempted suicide. Through two life stories, directors Lexie and Logan unravel why their community is particularly vulnerable to living and dying quietly.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
10:15 am
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Three seemingly disconnected stories unfold across New York City.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
1:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Joybubbles discovers he can manipulate the telephone system by whistling a magic tone.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
1:15 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Four friends reunite when the album they made as pre-teens becomes a cult hit on the internet and scores a record deal twenty years later.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
3:45 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

The unforgettable, striking, and emotionally raw story of Eddie, a young bodybuilder struggling to define himself in a community with limited opportunity.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
4:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

Henry runs away from an abusive home with his imaginary best friend, Ebb. The journey tests their friendship, as well as Henry’s inner 'need' for Ebb as Ebb’s control and manipulation over Henry…
Sat
Nov
21
2026
4:00 pm
Thalian Hall
310 Chestnut St

A gritty, funny, and uniquely American story about second chances, legacy, and what it takes to outrun your past.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
6:45 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

In the 1960s, students across the United States ignited a movement that challenged the nation to live up to its promises of equality and justice.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
7:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

In a sun-kissed beach town south of the border, burnout Airbnb manager Toby (Steve Little) has perfected a life of booze, bong hits and very little ambition.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
7:00 pm
Thalian Hall
310 Chestnut St

After the death of her high school sweetheart, a teen spirals into dangerous and violent behaviors fueled by hallucinations and memories of her lost love.
Sat
Nov
21
2026
9:45 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

After a sexually frustrated hammer salesman steps on a rusty nail, he must determine whether the world’s sudden and violent turn against him is real or the result of an infection consuming his body…
Sat
Nov
21
2026
10:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

When the paper mill that defined Canton, North Carolina announced it would close, the town had just three months before its largest employer—and a core part of its identity—was gone.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
10:30 am
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

This documentary follows the transformative journey of two sisters—Christine Rucker and her younger sister, LeAnne Rucker—following LeAnne's cancer diagnosis.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
10:45 am
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

When a private police foundation in Atlanta tries to raze an urban forest to build the country’s largest police training facility, a diverse, decentralized, and intersectional movement defends the…
Sun
Nov
22
2026
1:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

When an ungovernable 40 something wild child collides with her venomous mother, her life blows up spectacularly leaving her newly evicted, partially single, and in bed with her best friend’s husband.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
1:15 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Four friends reunite when the album they made as pre-teens becomes a cult hit on the internet and scores a record deal twenty years later.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
4:00 pm
The Pointe 14
2223 Blockbuster Rd

In a quietly apocalyptic world a lonely woman discovers a small wooden door on the side of her body and must decide whether or not to open it.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
4:15 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Blue
501 Nutt St

An event featuring a live music soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones of Shaolin Jazz. Four baby turtles come in contact with a mysterious substance called ooze and are transformed into human-sized crime fighters.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
4:30 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St

Along with her newly sober father Paul, 16-year-old Caity prepares for the new Halloween season of their family-owned haunted house.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
7:30 pm
The Pointe 14
2223 Blockbuster Rd

Who knows?! Come and find out.
Sun
Nov
22
2026
8:00 pm
Aloft Coastline Center – Main
501 Nutt St
