I Was Falling in Love: An Ode to Cucalorus

Dear sweet & delicious Cucalorus,<Written to Space Age Love Song on repeat, as it always reminds me of being in Wilmington.>One day when I leave planet earth, let it be known that one of my greatest love stories was with you.You were my first break-out affair from my longtime and steady relationship with the Sidewalk Film Festival (that romance is alive and well, too). A chance meeting on the streets of Birmingham, Alabama with Ash McGuire would blow my world up, as later that year you’d accept my short film Bubble into your program. That was 2012. I don’t think I quite understood what was about to happen during that first drive over the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. That I’d entered a portal into another time and place where I would find my film family. I’m sure many others have had that same experience, but through the other Cucalorus portal known as the pocket-sized ILM airport. I’d come back to write my first feature film, ELECTRIC BLEAU, during a three month artist residency on Jengo’s campus in 2014. In fact, I’d return to the festival almost every year after that.I should be paying permanent rent at Pink House since I’ve stayed there so many times. Me and the ghost are good pals. That’s just a little backstory… but some of my most valuable treasures through you are the people I’ve met and the art I’ve witnessed. I considered naming names, but I’d surely leave a great many out. You are the queen of the film, Polycule. I’ll know many of these friends for the rest of my life as we are permanently intertwined. In the film festival history books, there will have existed a time on Cape Fear where cinema magic erupted at precisely the same time every year. My hope is that you continue to contort into whatever shapeshift is next and needed in the artist world. Thank you for bringing creative culture to The Deep South. Jen West