Eleven filmmakers from North Carolina will receive project funding this year through the “Filmed in NC” fund. The program is an initiative of the Cucalorus Film Foundation and the NC Film Office with support from Artless Media in conjunction with The Magnifying Glass. The program was launched in 2015 to increase independent production activity and to support the work of emerging artists. The fund has distributed more than $40,000 to support original and singular films by diverse artists working in North Carolina.
Eleven projects were chosen from over 80 submissions by a panel of Filmed in NC Alumni. The 2019 Filmed in NC fund supports seven female directors, four projects from African American filmmakers and two projects from Latinx artists.
2019 Filmed in NC awardees:
- Kamara Thomas for Country Soul Songbook, a documentary series tracing the common roots of country and soul music through the stories and travels of North Carolina songwriters.
- Tamara Hopkins for Cucumber, a dark comedy feature involving a sadistic preacher, a feisty pagan, a wannabe cucumber grower and a man who thinks he’s a chicken.
- Cara Hagan for Monster News Feed, a short dance film/stop motion animation exploring the effects of the media we consume and one person’s decision to fight back.
- Pilar Timpane for Reality the Movie, a feature documentary that delivers an unexpected portrait to challenge our notions of life together.
- Rodrigo Dorfman for Bulls and Saints, the epic story of an extended family and community divided by the border and bound together by political resistance, indigenous traditions and spiritual healing.
- Stephanie Diane Ford for The Black Baptism, a short afro-futurism fantasy psychological-thriller about an imprisoned young woman, informed by a mysterious voice, who must pass a series of enigmatic tests or face a terrifying death.
- Christopher Zaluski for Holy Chaos: The Haywood Street Fresco, a documentary following the year-long creation of a fresco mural and chronicles the individuals being painted who are battling homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.
- JR Rodriguez for Remember Yesterday, a short narrative about regrets and second chances.
- Jennida Chase for Queen City : Playable Space, a transmedia sensory ethnography documentary project highlighting the neighborhoods of Charlotte, NC.
- Liam Hall for Here On Out, a feature length narrative about life’s transitions and how they affect our relationships.
- Leslie Cunningham for JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana, a feature documentary about brown-skin showgirls, whites-only audiences, and the brave African-American showman who left an extraordinary legacy despite the insurmountable odds against him and his dreams.