New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Each year, we'll add new components to go beyond the screen and highlight new facets of the art of storytelling through film.
Filmmakers took center stage at BEYOND: The Film Festival as the Cary Theater premiered the Town of Cary's signature independent film and screenwriting competition. The festival screened independently produced short films and curated feature-length films, as well as hosted a screenwriting workshop and screenwriter's competition. BEYOND will return for year two in June 2019, with festival submission dates to be announced this fall.
"Transplant" by Tim McDevitt was named the 2018 Walter Hines Page Screenplay Award winner, selected by the film festival advisory board.
Four short films in competition were recognized with 2018 Bradford Audience Awards. Those films include:
"What Remains," by writer/director
Julie Zografos Koegl, and producers Bernice Miller, Dan Parra, and Julia Festa Hobgood.
"Dulatown," by director Beth Davison.
"Somewhere in Beulah Land," by director/producer Andrew Harrison Brown, and producer Rick Cross.
"Lost in Buffalo City," written, directed and produced by Raymond Wallace, writer and producer Todd Densmore, and producer
Peter Bancroft.
"The Town of Cary and the Cary Theater kicked off our first year of BEYOND: The Film Festival with an enthusiastic outdoor screening that attracted 400 attendees, followed up by four days of unique short films and curated feature-length films," said Joy Ennis, Operations & Programming Supervisor for The Cary Theater.
Short films in competition represented any genre, yet were required to be under 30 minutes and produced by independent filmmakers. The 20 films screened at the festival represented works from North Carolina, New Brunswick, Washington and beyond.
Ennis is excited about the opportunity to expand the film festival next year. "Each year, we'll add new components to go beyond the screen and highlight new facets of the art of storytelling through film," she said.
The inaugural film festival included a screening of Taiwanese feature "Missing Johnny," which won four awards at the 2017 Taipei Film Awards. It also featured a screenwriting master class taught by Shawn Schepps, who wrote films "Encino Man" and "Drumline" and television show "Drop Dead Diva."
About BEYOND: The Film Festival
A hearty dose of new south hospitality is a cornerstone of the filmmaker experience at BEYOND: The Film Festival. Hosted in the heart of North Carolina, BEYOND takes place at The Cary Theater in the Town of Cary. At BEYOND, filmmakers take center stage with an enthusiastic audience as they experience a festival designed to help them thrive as storytellers.
The 2018 festival sponsors included: VEGAS Pro, Cary Magazine, The Mayton Inn, Cary Citizen, Bond Brothers Beer Co., Final Draft, Pharmacy Bottle & Beverage, The Morris Foundation, Melinda Baran, Steve Rebach, FRESH Local Ice Cream, Cary Chamber of Commerce, InkTip, and Sister Cities Association of Cary.
About The Cary Theater
The Cary lights up downtown with its mission to provide a unique setting to experience art house cinema and live performances that enhance cultural arts in the Town of Cary. Originally constructed in 1946, the theater was meticulously restored in 2014 to create a vibrant space downtown to offer classic, repertory, independent and documentary films, live performance comedy and improv, the Six String Presents music series, and other live events. The Cary is owned by the Town of Cary and operated by the Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources.
