Wilmington, NC– Cucalorus Film Foundation is excited to announce the upcoming lineup for Friday Nite Films at Jengo’s Playhouse, starting this Friday, September 22nd with Burned: Protecting the Protectors. Burned is the true story of Diane Cotter’s journey to find answers to decades of firefighter cancer. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director Elijah Yetter-Bowman, and discussion with Wilmington firefighter Laura Brantford and Cape Fear River Watch’s executive director, Dana Sargent. Tickets are $10 and the screening begins at 7:30pm.
The second film in the Friday Nite Films series is the locally-made golf comedy, Birdies, featuring an all-star cast of Wilmington actors; written and directed by North Carolina native, Troy Carlton. Continuing in the theme of celebrating filmmakers in our community, Jonathan Landau’s dark comedy, The Devil’s Stomping Ground, will return to Wimington after having its world premiere at the 28th annual Cucalorus Film Festival this past fall. Filmmaker Jonathan Landau said, “This film is an NC film through and through. Every actor in it is from NC. It was written, produced, edited, scored, all in NC. And it’s about an NC Folk Legend that actually predates the founding of this country.”
Fans of dark comedy and horror will also enjoy the return of the satirical slasher film, Poundcake. Directed by Onur Tukel, Poundcake debuted as a work-in-progress at the 28th annual Cucalorus Film Festival, to rave reviews from moviegoers. Not for the faint of heart, this serial killer comedy will appropriately screen on Friday, Oct. 13th.
On October 20th, Friday Nite Films will bring an encore screening of Christopher Everett’s documentary Wilmington on Fire, about the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. This special screening is a co-presentation between Support the Port and Cucalorus and is part of Reparations and Representation Week, dedicated to celebrating Black excellence, heritage, and culture within our community. Also screening that week is the newly restored film Wilmington 10. Nearly unseen for decades, Wilmington 10 tells the story of 10 civil rights activists who were falsely convicted and incarcerated for nearly a decade following a 1971 riot in Wilmington, over school desegregation.
Friday Nite Films showcases a mixture of independent, regional and international films (both narrative and documentary) and films that are a part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. Upcoming Southern Circuit films include:
- One Pint at a Time by Aaron Hose / Oct. 27 at 7:30pm
- The Only Doctor by Matthew Hashiguchi / Dec. 1 at 7:30pm
- Freedom Hill by Resita Cox / Jan. 19 at 7:30pm
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers connects US-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South for screenings and conversations around important stories and the art of filmmaking. Prioritizing southern filmmakers, filmmakers of color, LGBTQ+ filmmakers, and filmmakers with disabilities, Southern Circuit is presented locally through a partnership between University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Office of the Arts, WHQR Public Radio, Working Films and the Cucalorus Film Foundation.
Friday Nite Films is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources through the Spark the Arts program.
Tickets to all screenings are available now at https://jengos.eventive.org/schedule.
###