Macon Film Festival - 2019 Program by Jim Burt

Spotlight Films

Special Screenings Freaks

Friday / 9:40-11:30 (Doors open at 9:30) Douglass Theatre In this genre-bending psychological sci-fi thriller, a bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father’s protective and paranoid control.

Illuminauts: A Multi-Sensory Fulldome Experience Thursday / 7:15-10:30 (Doors open at 6:45) Museum of Arts & Sciences A multi-sensory aesthetic experience that brings forth spiritual redemption through the medium of a dome-projection. Opening Reception at Museum of Arts & Sciences

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

This Changes Everything Saturday / 4:45-6:30 / Douglass Theatre In the last 100 years, Hollywood has emerged as one of the most influential forces in shaping our society’s perceptions and expectations of women and girls in everyday life. As our country’s largest export, what comes out of Hollywood reaches the entire world. Who is creating these stories, and how does this shape the on-screen portrayal of women? It all begins with the storytellers. Told first-hand by some of the industry’s leading voices, including Geena Davis, Meryl Streep, Yara Shahidi, and Chloe Moretz, This Changes Everything uncovers what is behind one of the most confounding dilemmas in the entertainment industry – the under-representation and misrepresentation of women. It takes an incisive look behind and in front of the camera, into the historical and empirical evidence, and systemic forces that foster gender discrimination and reinforce disparities in our culture. Backed by hundreds of stories and overwhelming data, director Tom Donahue illuminates and unpacks an inherently misogynistic Hollywood machine. The film is a call for change and accountability, seeking and proposing solutions from inside Hollywood and around the world.

Mystify: Michael Hutchence Sunday / 11:00-1:00 / Douglass Theatre A documentary feature about the troubled heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, lead singer and songwriter of INXS.

Them That Follow Friday / 7:30-9:15 (Doors open at 7:00) Douglass Theatre Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia, where believers handle death-dealing snakes to prove themselves before God, Them That Follow tells the story of a pastor’s daughter who holds a secret that threatens to tear her community apart. (Adult Situations, Violence) After Party to follow at Society Garden, 9:00

Precious Saturday / 7:00-10:15 (Doors open at 6:00) The Grand Opera House Set in New York City’s Harlem, circa 1987, Precious is about an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child and is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. (Child abuse, Sexual assault, Language) After Party to follow at Grant’s Lounge, 10:00

HQ and VIP Room - 476 Third Street (The Dannenberg) HQ Hrs. Thur. 10-4 / Fri. 9-6 / Sat. 9-6 / Sun. 9-5 VIP Hrs. Fri., Sat. & Sun. 9-6 HAPPY hour Fri. & Sat. 5-6

THUR.

10am

Headquarters & VIP

VIP / Hospitality sponsor: Georgia Film Office

11am

saturday - Making room at the table (10:30-11:30) Vist Macon, 450 MLK, Jr. Blvd / Moderated by Kalena Boller

Getting Around Festival venues are located primarily in downtown and easily walkable. There are several parking decks and plenty of on-street parking. Uber and Lyft are availble (and very reasonable) for getting back and forth to the Museum of Arts & Sciences and Society Garden. Trans South Shuttle will provide shuttle service for All Access pass holders from the Douglass Theatre to Society Garden on Friday from 9:00-Midnight.

Friday, August 16

Friday - from extra to proffessional (1:30-2:30) Vist Macon, 450 MLK, Jr. Blvd / Moderated by Joe Finkelstein

1 pm

2 pm

3 pm

5 pm

6 pm

7 pm

Museum of Arts & Sciences

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

Douglass Theatre

1:00-2:30, DOC

11:15-12:30, NF

3:00-4:30, NF

Her Turf / Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin

Electric Love

7:30 (Doors open at 7:00)

Them That Follow

5:00-6:30, NS

Wonderwall / Speed of Life

“Wait. What?”

AFTER PARTY Following at Society Garden

2:45-4:00, MUS

11:00-12:30, SS

Soul Man / I Can Only Be Mary Lane

1:00-2:15, LGBT

“The Future of Film”

Pageant Material

11:00-1230, NF

11:00-12:15, FD

A Special “LATE NITE” movie event

4:15-6:00, DOC

“The Nature of Relationships”

Singular

Freaks (Douglass Theatre)

“Love & Acceptance”

2:30-4:00, NS

1:00-2:00, MUS

Rwanda

9:40 (Doors open at 9:30)

5:00-6:30, LGBT

Free Trip to Egypt 1:30-230 / Workshop

From Extra to Professional: Finding Roles in Film

1:30-3:15, FD

“Art X Extreme”

“Earth Lovers”

NOTE: THIS WORKSHOP WILL TAKE PLACE AT VISIT MACON, 450 MLK, JR. BLVD

3:00-4:00 & 4:00-5:00, VR

“Immersive Experiences”

11:00-12:30, LGBT

1:00-2:30, MUS

“Love & Acceptance”

3:00-4:15, DOC

16 Bars

4:45-6:30, SPOTLIGHT

Liyana

This Changes Everything

10:30-11:30 / Workshop

Making Room at the Table: Women in Georgia’s Film Industry

Forsyth Rd

I-75 ATM

ve eA c r Pie

les Ing e Av

Rivers ide

ide

Travis Jean

12:00-1:30, NF

Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero 10:30-12:00, GA

“Macon Made”

12:30-1:45, LGBT

11:00-12:30, FD

4:15-5:45, NF

“Wait. What?”

NOTE: THIS WORKSHOP WILL TAKE PLACE AT VISIT MACON, 450 MLK, JR. BLVD

6:15-7:15, MUS

This World Alone

1:30-2:45, FD

“Art Extreme”

“Southern Stories”

“Peach Shorts”

2:15-3:45, NS

Pageant Material

6:00-7:00, DOC

4:00-5:30, GA

Wonderwall / Speed of Life

Rwanda

Museum of Arts & Sciences

Douglass Theatre

Grant’s Lounge

I-16

Piedmont HQ & VIP

Douglass Theatre

Hay House

Downtown Ga. Sports Hall of Fame Marriott City Center

Riverside Dr

Mulberry St Cherry St Poplar St

Map not to scale

Hargray Caitol Theatre

2:00-3:30, NF

Singular

3:45-5:00, FD

“Full Moon”

“Family Fun” 7:00 (Doors open at 6:00)

11:30-12-30 & 12:30-1:30, VR

Precious with Special Guest Gaboury Sibide

3:30-4-30 & 4:30-5:30, VR

“Immersive Experiences”

AFTER PARTY Following at Grant’s Lounge

Rookery & Dovetail

I-75

1st St 2nd St 3rd St MLK, Jr

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

10:00-11:30, NF

The Grand Opera House

Downtown Grill

Society Garden

sunday, August 18

Ingleside Pizza

Hargray Capitol Theatre

saturday, August 17

Museum of Arts & Sciences The Grand

9 pm

at Museum of Arts and Sciences

Hargray Caitol Theatre Museum of Arts & Sciences

8 pm

Illuminauts and Opening Night Party

The Grand Opera House

Downtown Macon

4 pm

7:15 (Doors open at 6:45)

Douglass Theatre

Workshops

12 pm

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Hargray Caitol Theatre

1:15-2:45, NF

11:00-1:00, SPOTLIGHT

10:30-11:45, DOC

Liyana

This World Alone 12:15-1:45

(Special Encore) TBA

Museum of Arts & Sciences

“Southern Stories”

2:00-3:15, FD

“Sunday Showcase”

Visit Macon

The Grand Opera House

2:15-3:15, DOC

“Immersive Experiences”

Echo in the Canyon

4:45-6:15, NS

“The Nature of Relationships”

3:45-5:15, MUS

5:45-7:15, NF

16 Bars

Film Blocks Fulldome DOCUMENTARY (DOC)

11:30-12-30 & 12:30-1:30, VR

MFF Awards Presentation &

Free Trip to Egypt

Soul Man / I Can Only Be Mary Lane

1:00-2:30, NF

7:30 (Doors open at 7:00)

5:00-6:45, DOC

“Peach Shorts” 3:00-4:15, MUS

11:00-12:30, DOC

Her Turf / Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin

3:00-4:30, GA

Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero

Mystify: Michael Hutchence

NARRATIVE SHORT (NS)

Electric Love

Workshops Family Friendly FULLDOME (FD) MUSIC (MUS)

Program design: Burt&Burt Schedule Grid Sponsor: Jaime H. Webb, Your Downtown Real Estate Specialist

Special Screening Spotlight Film Georgia Made Screening Venue GEORGIA MADE (GA)

LGBT

NARRATIVE FEATURE (NF)

STUDENT SHORTS (SS)

VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)

Times and locations are subject to change, please visit MaconFilmFestival.com for up-to-date information, and follow us on social media. After Party Admission: All Access Pass required and you must be at least 21 years old.

MaconFilmFestival.com

Welcome to the 14th Annual Macon Film Festival! Over the past 14 years, the Macon Film Festival and Downtown Macon have “grown up together.” We’ve both plowed ahead on our own paths, but have managed to find a connection centered around creativity and collaboration in film, and over the years, we have seen emerging artists discover their voices and launch sustainable careers. Our special guest this year, Gabourey Sidibe, represents a new era of women in film with her authentic voice and fresh perspective as an actor, director, and author. As a sign of the times, 40 percent of films screening this year are by women, including the short film Tale of Four directed by Ms Sidibe. The Macon Film Festival offers something for everyone. Whether it’s a sci-fi thriller, a soulful music documentary, a Fulldome sensory experience, or family friendly animated tale, we’ve got you covered. Each year I look forward to this immersion in independent film which brings a fresh surge of talent and culture to our community. Of course none of it would even be possible without the support of our sponsors, patrons, our tireless Board of Directors, the hardest working group of volunteers, and naturally our filmmakers. Thank you for being a part of the Macon Film Festival and living your “Fest life” with us! Priscilla Esser President, Board of Directors

The 2019 Macon Film Festival is presented by

Welcome

Contents Welcome

Venues

Awards

Workshops

Spotlight Films

Special Screenings

Film Blocks

Official Selections

Jurors

Sponsors

Stay up-to-date with schedules and go in depth with bios and the Official Selections at MaconFilmFestival.com.

#maconfilmfest

Festival Board Priscilla Esser, President Tony Long, Sr., Vice-President Steven Fulbright, Secretary April Hornsby, Treasurer Justin Andrews Jim Burt Aaron Buzza Cherise Cartwright Joseph Finkelstein Chris Hall Emily Hopkins Christi Johnson Bob Mavity Lisa McClendon Steve Murray Ruth Sykes Terri Teodecki Everett Verner Susan Welsh Julie Wilkerson, Ex-officio Tabitha Lynne Walker, Programmer

Venues

2018 Macon Film Festival

Venues: Headquarters, VIP, Screening, & After Parties* HQ and VIP Room - 476 Third Street (The Dannenberg) HQ Hrs. Thur. 10-4 / Fri. 9-6 / Sat. 9-6 / Sun. 9-5 VIP Hrs. Fri., Sat. & Sun. 9-6 HAPPY HOUR Fri. & Sat. 5-6 VIP / Hospitality sponsor: Georgia Film Office

Douglass Theatre - 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Hrs. Fri. 11-10 / Sat. 10-10 / Sun. 10:30-9 Hargray Capitol Theatre - 382 Second Street Hrs. Fri. 11-6:30 / Sat. 10-7:15 / Sun. 10-5:30 Venue sponsor: Quantum Dynamics

Museum of Arts and Sciences (Fulldome Venue) - 4182 Forsyth Road Hrs. Thur. 12-4:15 & 7:30-10 / Fri. 12:30-6:15 / Sat. 11-6 / Sun. 1-4:30 Venue sponsor: Knight Foundation

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame - 301 Cherry Street Hrs. Fri. 10-7 / Sat. 11-7 / Sun. 10:30-6:15 The Grand Opera House (VR Venue) - 651 Mulberry Street Hrs. Fri. 1-3 / Sat. 11-1 & 3-5 / Sun. 11-1 AFTER PARTY LOCATIONS Thursday Night Museum of Arts and Sciences 4182 Forsyth Rd.

Friday Night* Society Gardent 2389 Ingleside Ave

Saturday Night Grantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lounge 576 Poplar St.

After Party Admission: All Access Pass required and you must be at least 21 years old. *Trans South Shuttle will provide shuttle service for All Access Pass holders from the Douglass Theatre to Society Garden on Friday from 9:00 pm - Midnight.

SCREENING & CATEGORY KEY Film Blocks Fulldome

Spotlight Film Workshops

Family Friendly

Special Screening Female Filmmaker

Georgia Made

Macon Made

DOCUMENTARY (DOC) FULLDOME (FD) GEORGIA MADE (GA) NARRATIVE FEATURE (NF) NARRATIVE SHORT (NS) MUSIC (MUS) LGBT STUDENT SHORTS (SS) VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) Times and locations are subject to change, please visit MaconFilmFestival.com for up-to-date information, and follow us on social media. *After Party Admission: All Access Pass required and you must be at least 21 years old.

The 2019 Fulldome and Virtual Reality Immersion films are supported by:

The 2019 Macon Film Festival Workshops are supported by:

MaconFilmFestival.com

Festival Awards

Melvin Douglas Best in Show Award Melvyn Douglas was born in Macon in 1901. His career began on Broadway in 1928 and alternated between stage and screen for the rest of his life. He won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Hud and Being There and he was nominated for Best Actor for his work in I Never Sang for My Father. Douglas had memorable roles in The Changeling, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Death Takes a Holiday, Ninotchka (opposite Greta Garbo), and Ghost Story. He won an Emmy Award for a CBS Playhouse performance and was nominated for his turn in Inherit the Wind, and he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Best Man. The Macon Film Festival “Best in Show” award was named in honor of Melvyn Douglas during the 5th Annual Macon Film Festival in 2010. Douglas’ granddaughter, actress Illeana Douglas, accepted the honor on behalf of the Douglas family.

Karen Black Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature Karen Black performed in more than 150 films as well as many Broadway and off-Broadway plays. Her performance opposite Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces made her a star and household name and earned her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. She also won a Golden Globe for her role in The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford. Ms. Black appeared in numerous iconic films such as Easy Rider, Airport 1975, Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy, Jimmy Dean, Nashville (which garnered a Grammy nomination), and Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot. She reached a new generation of fans more recently with her role as Mother Firefly in Rob Zombie’s House of 1,000 Corpses. Ms. Black touched our hearts with her wit, charm, and endearing personality. It is our great honor to name the Audience Choice Award for Narrative Feature after our dear friend Karen Black. AWARD CATEGORIES Melvyn Douglas Best in Show Award Sponsor: Marsha Kapiloff and Paula Kapiloff Karen Black Audience Choice Award Sponsor: Visit Macon Georgia-Made \ LGBT Sponsor: Travis Jean Emporium | Music Audience Choice Documentary | Audience Choice Narrative Short Documentary | Fulldome Awards | Narrative Feature Narrative Shorts | Student Shorts | VR Audience Choice Award

Plan your “Fest Life” at MaconFilmFestival.com.

Workshops

2019 Macon Film ALL WORKSHOPS AREFestival FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC !

From Extra to Professional: Finding Roles in Film Panelists: Walter Duckworth, Chris Payne & Terry Wilson Friday / 1:30–2:30 / Visit Macon, 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Moderated by Joe Finkelstein, this workshop will provide valuable information and tips from actors and a casting agent for anyone who has ever thought, “I’d like to be an actor.” Walter Duckworth has been in the film industry since 2010. His experiences range from feature films to commercials. Film credits include An Innocent Kiss, Exit 101, The Games That Children Play, and Ace the Zombie. Television credits include Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies, Murder Calls, Swamp Murders, Dead of Night, Fatal Encounters, Clairvoyance, and CMT’s My Big Redneck Wedding. Chris Payne, a native of Macon, began his film acting career in 2011 appearing in a local “indie” that sparked his passion. Chris has also worked on well over 100 different productions as a background artist, including The Walking Dead, Brockmire, and Miracle Workers. Terry Wilson has worked behind the scenes with multiple theatre productions, pageants, fashion shows, and indie films and has gained experience in casting, production assistance, behind the screen and continuity photography, decorating sets, wardrobe, location scouting, and craft services. In 2005 she started Middle GA Talent helping bring more opportunities to the talent in central Georgia.

Making Room at the Table: Women in Georgia’s Film Industry Panelists: Kalena Boller, Chad Darnell, Laura Lundy, Jameelah Nuriddin, and Dr. Michele Prettyman Saturday / 10:30–11:30 / Visit Macon, 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Moderator Kalena Boller (GPB’s “The Credits” podcast talks with a panel about how Georgia’s film industry has changed over the years for women cast and crew. Kalena Boller hosts the Georgia Public Broadcasting podcast The Credits where she meets the people who work behind the scenes in Georgia’s multibillion dollar film industry, which now hosts the most feature-film productions in the world. Chad Darnell casts talent all over the Southeast. His most recent credits include the series Florida Girls and the feature films Live, The Poison Rose, Emperor, Killerman, and The Coll3ted. Laura Lundy lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves as the Chief Judge for the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit. While in law school, Laura trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in L.A. She is also an actress and co-founder of the group Safety Shot, a group trying to address sexual abuse within Georgia’s film industry. Jameelah Nuriddin’s professional acting career started at age 12 playing opposite Don Cheadle and Cicely Tyson. A wild storm of innovation and natural-born storyteller, Jameelah’s creative background lends a unique perspective as a business leader and project manager. Dr. Michele Prettyman, co-founder of Daughters of Eve Media, is a media consultant, writer, and a scholar of film, media, and African American cinema.

Learn more about the WORKSHOPS at MaconFilmFestival.com.

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Spotlight Films

Freaks Friday / 9:40-11:30 / Douglass Theatre (Doors open at 9:30) In this genre-bending psychological sci-fi thriller, a bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father’s protective and paranoid control. Directed by Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein (104:00)

Mystify: Michael Hutchence Sunday / 11:00-1:00 / Douglass Theatre A documentary feature about the troubled heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, lead singer and songwriter of INXS. Directed by Richard Lowenstein (114:00)

Special Screenings

2019 Macon Film Festival

Illuminauts: A Multi-Sensory Fulldome Experience Thursday / 7:15-10:30 (Doors open at 6:45) Museum of Arts & Sciences Opening Night Party and Special Screening. ln the summer of 2019, a league of Illuminauts banded together to create a multi-sensory aesthetic experience that brings forth spiritual redemption through the medium of a dome-projection. Transforming landscapes into abstract composition as we search for universal expression through mystical symbolism and music allusions. We are expressing the emotion of the cosmic scheme; to present a sensation of cosmic bodies in harmony with each other by means of color and form. (20:00) Q&A to follow with Diana Reichenbach / Supported by Knight Foundation After Party to follow at the Museum of Arts & Sciences Opening Night Party admission: All-Access Pass or ONP Special Ticket ($50). This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Them That Follow Friday / 7:30-9:15 (Doors open at 7:00) Douglass Theatre Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia, where believers handle death-dealing snakes to prove themselves before God, Them That Follow tells the story of a pastorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter who holds a secret that threatens to tear her community apart. Directed by Britt Poulton & Dan Madison Savage (Adult Situations, Violence 98:00)

After Party to follow at Society Garden at 9:00 (2389 Ingleside Ave, 31204)

After Party Admission: All Access Pass required (or Opening Night Party ticket for Thursday) and you must be at least 21 years old. Film screenings and times subject to change. Visit MaconFilmFestival.com for up-to-date schedule info and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Special Screenings

Precious (Also screening: “The Tale of Four”) Saturday / 7:00-10:15 / (Doors open at 6:00) / The Grand Opera House Set in New York City’s Harlem, circa 1987, Precious is about an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child and is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. Directed by Lee Daniels (Child abuse, Sexual assault, Language, 110:00) The screening of Precious will be preceeded by the short The Tale of Four (2016) directed by Gabourey Sidibe. This multi-layered story inspired by Nina Simone’s “Four Women” spans one day in the lives of four different women connected by their quest for love, agency and redemption. (24:00) Q&A with Gabourey Sidibe to follow screenings. After Party to follow at Grant’s Lounge at 10:00 (576 Poplar St, 31201)

Echo in the Canyon Sunday / 7:30-9:15 (Doors open at 7:00) Douglass Theatre A look at the roots of the historic music scene in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon featuring the music of iconic music groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas. The 2019 Macon Film Festival Awards presentation will immediately preceed the screening. Directed by Andrew Slater 98:00)

Official Selections

2019 Macon Film Festival

Film Blocks

FAMILY FUN Fulldome (FD, 68:05)

SOUTHERN STORIES Documentary Shorts (DOC, 60:00)

Space Driver • The Adventures of Claws and Green Dream of Flight • Beyond the Sun Aqua Dome

GSHF SAT 6:00-7:00 / HCT SUN 2:15-3:15

The Vision of Ulyssess Davis Edgecombe • Lumpkin, GA PEACH SHORTS Georgia Made Shorts (GA, 86:47) GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

Playtime’s Over • A Leg Up The Producer • Places Encounters • Touch and Go Treatment • Dead Winter MACON MADE Georgia Made Shorts (GA, 89:07)

MAS SAT 3:45-5:00

FULL MOON Fulldome (FD, 71:00) MAS SAT 1:30-2:45

Imagine the Moon Apollo: 50 Years of Innovation Big Astronomy • Voyager SUNDAY SHOWCASE Fulldome (FD, 63:48) MAS SUN 2:00-3:15

Erasure • This Day Sucks The Come Back • Euphorica

Waterdome • American West Four Elements • Immersive Dream of Flight • Heartbeats of the Sea • Space Driver

LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE SHORTS LGBT (LGBT, 90:00)

THE NATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS Narrative Shorts (NS, 92:18)

HCT SAT 10:30-12:00

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

Listen • Fran This Summer Clouds • Shared Heather Has Four Moms • Hank Mudpots • Lolo ART EXTREME Fulldome (FD, 67:03) MAS SAT 11:00-12:30

Waterdome Heartbeats of the Sea Immersive • Vertical Street City Urban Levitation • Sphere ART X EXTREME Fulldome (FD, 68:00) MAS FRI 11:00-12:15

5 Minutes of Death End(o) • Hiruko EARTH LOVERS Fulldome (FD, 99:30) MAS FRI 1:30-3:15

American West • Four Elements Birth of a Planet • EXO: Are We Alone? Aurorae

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

Two Balloons • Portraitist Swagger Back • Muteum Every Nine Hours • Generations Wireless • My Daughter Yoshiko WAIT. WHAT? Narrative Shorts (NS, 90:47) HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

The Chop • Sac de Merde Grace • Molly Peggy • Only a Movie! Futures • First Disco THE FUTURE OF FILM Student Shorts (SS, 85:00) GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

Tangle • Skin I’m In American Letters Long Lost • Tequila Sunrise Eternity IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES Virtual Reality Shorts (VR, 51:00) GRA FRI 3-5 SAT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

Ashe ‘68 • The Atomic Tree Dawn Land • Everest Lionhearted • See Me

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Official Selections

5 MINUTES OF DEATH (FD, 5:00) Project Creator: Pia Mozet, Jenny Elisabeth Kleine / Germany She is dead. What sounds like the end of the story is actually the beginning. What happens to our body when we’re dying? In this short film we are visualizing the stages of biological death. MAS FRI 11:00-12:15

16 BARS (MUS, 94:00) Language

Director: Samuel Bathrick / United States 16 Bars is a music documentary that offers a rare glimpse at the human stories that are “locked away.” The film follows three inmates at the city jail in Richmond, Virginia, and one former inmate who was recently released and is struggling to adapt to life on the outside. All are a part of a unique rehabilitation effort that involves writing and recording original music.

DT SAT 1:00-2:30

HCT SUN 3:45-5:15

THE ADVENTURES OF CLAWS AND GREEN (FD, 20:00)

Project Creator: Vicky Rubinstein / Argentina Claws and Green are two astronauts on a space mission to pick up special materials on Pluto. They have fun in their adventures while the audience learns about the solar system. MAS SAT 3:00-5:00

AMERICAN LETTERS (SS, 19:30) Director: Kevin Keck / United States A mailman in rural East Tennessee who struggles to make a human connection with others is forced to reconsider his involvement in the life of his co-worker when he suspects she might be in a toxic relationship with her spouse. GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

AMERICAN WEST (FD, 8:00) Project Creator: chul kwon / South Korea Short fulldome film of starry nights of the American West, such as the Grand Canyon, Arches, and Monument Valley.

MAS FRI 1:30-3:00 & SUN 2:00-3:15

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

APOLLO: 50 YEARS OF INNOVATION (FD, 6:00) Project Creator: Immersive Media Production students at Rowan University / United States 50 years ago the human race made history when astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon. But what did it take to get us there? Apollo: 50 Years of Innovation gives us an in depth look at how the Apollo Missions came to be.

MAS SAT 1:30-2:45

AQUA DOME (FD,13:16) Project Creator: Lynn Tomlinson, Zoe Friedman, and Elsa Lankford / United States Aqua Dome is a collaborative animated dome-film and artwork. Working with over 150 collaborators across disciplines and age groups, Aqua Dome combines mixed-media stop motion animation and animated kaleidoscopic collage video projection with an immersive soundscape in four movements.

MAS SAT 3:45

ASHE ‘68 (VR, 10:00) Director: Brad Lichtenstein, Jeff Fitzsimmons & Rex Miller / United States The ASHE ’68 Virtual Reality Experience brings viewers into the intimate moments right before Arthur Ashe’s historic 1968 US Open win, an event that changed his life and the course of sports history forever. This unique VR experience weaves together 360° video re-creations, archival material, and evocative, never-before-seen 360° sand animation to tell the story.

GRA FRI 3-5

S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

GRA FRI 3-5

S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

THE ATOMIC TREE (VR, 10:00) Directors: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee & Adam Loften / United States The Atomic Tree leads you on an immersive journey through the memories held within the Yamaki pine, a 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai tree that survived the Atomic blast at Hiroshima. Viewers will experience the intricate “living strands of relationship” woven between the human and non-human worlds in the places the tree has lived.

AURORAE (FD, 25:00) Project Creator: Rio Tinto Montreal Planetarium / Canada This immersive show proposes its viewership to admire the aurora borealis as if he was there, but also to learn the reasons for their appearance and to equip the audience to go and experience memorable moments under this green sky. MAS FRI 1:30-3:15

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

BEYOND THE SUN (FD, 26:00) Project Creator: RENDER AREA S.L. / MONIGOTES ESTUDIO 2.0 / Spain While Celeste is fighting off sleep in her room by reading a book on astronomy she receives an unexpected visit from Moon. Together, they will enjoy a journey through the Universe to discover what exoplanets are and how they can be detected. MAS SAT 3:45-5:00

BIG ASTRONOMY: PEOPLE, PLACES, DISCOVERIES (FD, 22:00) Project Creator: California Academy of Sciences and the Big Astronomy Dome Travel to the world’s most extraordinary observatories and meet the extraordinary people who make astronomical discoveries possible. Astronomers are piecing together the origins of planets and the history of our system. This show will give you a new perspective on the observatories that will usher in the next leaps forward in “big astronomy.”

MAS SAT 1:30-2:45

BIRTH OF PLANET EARTH (FD, 24:30) Produced by Spitz Creative Media, NCSA’s Advanced Visualization Lab, Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc., in association with Tellus Science Museum / United States The film explores some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?

MAS FRI 130-3:15

THE CHOP (NS, 1:12) Director: Jennifer Sheridan / United Kingdom Terry’s done a bad thing, but why?

DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

CLOUDS (LGBT, 5:20) Violence, Adult Situations

Director: Anna Buryachkova / Ukraine Bullying ruins lives and families. The film stands for #superparents supporting their children inspite of their gender and preferences. This touching music video reveals the story of a mother and a son who feels like a girl. The plot is based on real story. The video encourages parents to protect their children from bullying in any situation.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

THE COME BACK (NS, MM, 32:45) Language, Violence

Director: William Adams / United States A father comes back into his son’s life and finds that his son is on the wrong path, a path that the father is all too familiar with. The father wants to see his son change his life for the better before it is too late. He doesn’t know what sacrifices will have to be made for his son to realize the error of his ways though. Big Ron isn’t prepared for the choice he will have to make before it is all said and done.

HCT SAT 10:30-12:00

DAWN LAND (VR, 5:00) Director: Scott Gorman / United Kingdom An estimated 10,000 people of Abenaki heritage live throughout New England and Quebec, Canada. Today, Abenaki is fluently spoken by less than 10 individuals. Dawn Land was made to bring attention to the issue of dying languages in general, but also to serve as a tool for Abenaki revitalization. GRA FRI 3-5

S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

DEAD WINTER (NS, GA,15:35) Language

Director: Jason Winn / United States Audrey spends every day fighting for her family in the post-apocalyptic American South. But her sister and her grandmother want nothing more than for Audrey to move on and try to have a better life. Audrey can’t and won’t imagine any other life for herself. She is focused on caring for the only people she has left in the world, but in the end, there is only one option to truly care for her family.

GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

DREAM OF FLIGHT (FD, 5:15) Project Creator: Fred Trétout, Stefano Gemmelaro, Philippe Hugues, Kyle Switzer, Cédrick Lalaizon / Canada A little is girl dreaming in her bedroom as she receives a letter from her grandfather who lives on another other planet. The girl does everything possible to visit her cosmos traveler grandfather. MAS SAT 3:45-5:00 & SUN 2:00-3:15

EDGECOMBE (DOC, 14:32) Director: Crystal Kayiza / United States Edgecombe County is a predominantly AfricanAmerican agricultural community in North Carolina. Crafted as a character exploration, Edgecombe highlights the exhaustion of overcoming individual circumstances while navigating shared systemic experiences. The film presents the numerous ways Black folks overcome across generations.

GSHF SAT 6:00-7:00 / HCT SUN 2:15-3:15

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

ELECTRIC LOVE (NF, 79:00) Adult Situations, Language

Director: Aaron Fradkin / United States Four couples traverse the modern dating scene in Los Angeles utilizing popular dating apps.

DT FRI 11:15-12:30 / HCT SUN 5:45-7:15

ENCOUNTERS (NS, GA, 7:12) Directors: Luke Pilgrim & Brad Kennedy / United States Eli is a selfish teenager who wants to avoid family time at all costs. After an encounter with an otherworldly entity, he quickly learns that you should be careful what you wish for.

GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

END(O) (FD, 20:00) Project Creator: Alba Corral & Alex Augier / Spain & France end(O) is an original and immersive piece specifically created for the Satosphere. It merges the aesthetics and technical researches of musician Alex Augier and visual artist Alba G. Corral into a transversal and coherent artistic proposition, focusing on what turns out to be an original and hypermedia-specific pathway.

MAS FRI 11:00

ERASURE (NS, MM, 11:35) Directors: Rachel Hastings, Ryan Fordham / United States Two friends reminisce about a single, contentious night from their past.

HCT SAT 10:30-12:00

ETERNITY (SS, 24:00) Director: Anna Sobolevska* / Ukraine The year is 2058. Corporations digitize the souls of the dying and place them in the digital world beyond the grave forever. Young guy Ian is strongly against digitalizing. A sudden car crash makes Ian go against his principles. He wants to bring back to life his wife, who is in a coma after the accident. GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

EUPHORICA (NS, MM, 33:22) Language

Director: Phillip S. Wheeler / United States Miles discovers a new drug that gives him the feeling he’s been looking for. However, the feeling of this drug does not last and leaves him in need of more. By the time he realizes the drug harms him more than helps, it is too late.

HCT HCT 10:30-12:00

EVEREST: THE VR FILM EXPERIENCE (VR, 10:00) Director: Jonathan Griffith / United Kingdom & Nepal Follow Sherpa Tenji as he attempts to climb Mt Everest without the use of bottled oxygen, something that only 175 people have done before. Travel with him through the “Death Zone” and experience the thrilling highs and lows of climbing at the highest elevations on earth.

GRA FRI 3-5 S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

EVERY NINE HOURS (NS, 12:00) Language

Directors: Adam Margolis & Jim St. Germain / United States A modern-day exploration of skin color and gender and how they affect one’s ability to participate in relationships and society.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

EXO: ARE WE ALONE? (FD, 25:00) Project Creator: Rio Tinto Montreal Planetarium / Canada Today we know of thousands of exoplanets that offer valuable information about our own planet, its origins, and life on Earth. Enjoy this fulldome journey.

MAS FRI 1:30-3:15

FIRST DISCO (NS, 18:00) Director: Helen O’Reilly / Ireland It’s 1983, Culture Club are no. 1, everyone’s glued to Knight Rider, and Kelly Harrison is not only experiencing her first crush, she’s going to her first disco. The only problem is that she’s getting train tracks before her big night and becomes besieged by self consciousness. However with the help of her best friend, Kelly realises what’s really important in her life. DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

FOUR ELEMENTS (FD, 17:00) Project Creator: Natalia Oliwiak / Polska This fulldome animation is about the immeasurable power of elements: water, air, earth, fire. In ascetic, poetic pictures, we can see the increasing force of elements that can be contemplative and relaxing but also destructive and terrifying, which makes a human being defenseless. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a reflection of our emotions, personification of the primary images encoded in our subconscious.

MAS FRI 1:30-3:15 & SUN 2:00-3:15

FRAN THIS SUMMER (LGBT, 10:44) Director: Mary Evangelista / United States Fran This Summer follows teenage lovebirds, sensitive Francis and their skater girlfriend Angie, as they spend the summer shacked up at home while Fran begins their transition.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

FREE TRIP TO EGYPT (DOC, 93:00) Director: Ingrid Serban / Egypt, Switzerland, United States An entrepreneur living in Switzerland offers a free trip to Egypt to Americans concerned about an Islamic threat. What happens when the ultra conservative school teacher and her husband are paired with a young Egyptian revolutionary? The liberal American woman with an Egyptian journalist who covers her hair, the preacher and Miss Kentucky with an ultra orthodox Muslim family?

HCT FRI 4:15-6:00 / DT SUN 5:00-6:45

FUTURES (NS, 12:50) Language

Director: Daniel Marc Janes / United Kingdom A tense moral thriller about fast money and predatory behaviour. Leo, a swaggering trader in London, is an unreconstructed alpha male. Recently promoted, he wants to pursue riskier trades and bullies his underlings into going along with him. But how far can he push Teddy and Rosie before they reach their moral limits?

DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

GENERATIONS (NS, 11:00) Language

Director: Sune Sorensen / Denmark In a final attempt to re-connect after years of falling out, Alex embarks on a road trip with his father in their old family Beetle. The car that Alex hates and his father loves, becomes an intimate setting for two stubborn men, who are forced to deal with their issues as they are both literally and figuratively brought together.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

GRACE (NS, 6:00) Directors: Alexia Oldini & Steven Gray / United States Grace is the story of the eviction of a young woman of color from her home. Her subsequent encounters reveal the callousness of a society built to exploit the precariousness of people like herself. In the end she confronts head-on a struggle far easier to identify than it is to overcome. DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

HANK (LGBT, 16:40) Adult Situations

Director: Hongyu Li / United States Struggling with a recently opened marriage, a middle aged gay man must decide if the relationship is worth his compromise.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

HEARTBEATS OF THE SEA (FD, 6:15) Project Creators: Maria Camila Muñoz Arias, Ana Carolina Naranjo Rojo, Diego Alberto Pérez Osorno, Juan David Aranzazu Gallego / Colombia This fulldome video seeks to represent the universe of the humpback whale.The viewers will be submerged in an experience where they will find an abstract world fabricated based on the songs recorded from the whales that visit the Pacific Coast of Colombia every year.

MAS SAT 11:00-12:30 & SUN 2:00-3:15

HEATHER HAS FOUR MOMS (LGBT,14:08) Adult Situations

Director: Jeanette Buck / United States When Heather decides to lose her virginity for her 15th birthday, Mom’s wife must convince Mom, and Mom’s ex, and Mom’s ex’s partner that it’s time for Heather to have “the talk.” Which mom is ready to help Heather make a big decision? It’s a mother-daughter story – times four.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

HER TURF: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ABOUT THREE FEMALE FOOTBALL REFS (DOC, 18:00)

Director: Shantel Hansen*/ United States This documentary follows three female football referees as they claim access to a powerful role in a male-dominated industry. This timely film reveals the struggles and triumphs of three referees who didn’t set out to be trailblazers but are, by their very presence, opening doors for women who will arrive after them.

DT FRI 1:00-2:30 / GSHF SUN 11:00-12:30

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

HIRUKO (FD, 43:00) Project Creator: MASASHIGE IIDA / Japan Hiruko is a Butoh movie work starring Kazuko Mogami. The Butoh is a form of Japanese dance theatre that encompasses a diverse range of activities, techniques, and motivations that express Japanese views of body, nature, life, and death. Hiruko, a primordial deity, symbolises how nature has been treated in the progress of developing the modern society.

MAS FRI 11:00

I CAN ONLY BE MARY LANE (MUS, 59:00) Director: Jesseca Ynez Simmons / United States At 82, Mary Lane is one of the last legendary Blues musicians that made the Great Migration from America’s south though she has never received the recognition she deserves. This story follows Mary as she records just her second studio album and first in over 20 years. Her producer thinks it could potentially win her a grammy, if only they can get it done.

GSHF FRI 2:45-4:00 & SUN 3:00-4:15

IMAGINE THE MOON (FD, 26:15) Project Creator: Adler Planetarium / United States Imagine the Moon, explores how the moon has inspired human creativity throughout history. Each discovery bringing new opportunities to contemplate and imagine, until we traveled there in the amazing journeys that culminated in astronauts walking on the moon. Imagination continues to inspire our relationship with the Moon as our partner in space and companion in our sky.

MAS SAT 1:30-2:45

IMMERSIVE (FD, 8:10) Project Creator: ARCAAN Collective (Jérémy Oury, Antoine Briot) / France Immersive plays with the Op art concept to produce illusions and gives a new perception of time and infinite space to get out the spectator of his custom point-of-view.

MAS SAT 11:00-12:30 & SUN 2:00-3:15

A LEG UP (NS, GA, 11:00) Language

Director: Joe Jennings Jr. / United States An aging dope dealer has a realistic sit-down with his son, sharing the harsh realities of growing up black in America.

GSA SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

LIONHEARTED (VR, 12:10) Director: Ricarda Saleh / Greece, Germany Eight-year-old Rida fled with her family from Pakistan to Greece. Now she lives in Hotel City Plaza, a refugee shelter in Athens. Through the voice-over we learn details about the escape. Rida explains how her family entered Turkey by foot, how she experienced living in a camp arriving in Greece. She tells us about her nightmare, in which she remembers crossing the Medieval Sea and her fear of drowning.

GRA FRI 3-5 S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

LISTEN (LGBT, 4:20) Director: Jake Graf / United Kingdom Featuring young trans actors in trans roles, Listen honestly and frankly depicts some of the myriad struggles experienced daily by trans children and teenagers, giving a much needed voice to this often maligned section of the community. GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

LIYANA (DOC, 77:00) Adult Situations

Directors: Aaron Kopp & Amanda Kopp / Swaziland Five Swazi orphaned children turn their past trauma into creative fuel for an original collective fairytale, in which they send a young girl on a dangerous quest. DT SAT 3:00-4:15 / HCT SUN 10:30-11:45

LOLO (LFBT, 13:40) Language

Directors: Leandro Goddinho & Paulo Menezes / Germany Lolo is an openly gay 11-year-old boy trying to finally convince Max, his first love, to go public with their relationship at the school party.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

LONG LOST (SS,12:00) Director: Jordan Edmeades / Australia Things don’t go to plan for Ali when she realizes she is adopted and travels from Australia to Scotland to find her “long lost” sister Heather.

GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

LUMPKIN, GA (DOC, GA, 39:00) Director: Nicholas Manting Brewer / United States A fading southern town. A massive immigrant detention center down the road. A mosaic of life in the middle of America’s immigration crackdown.

GSHF SAT 6:00-7:00 / HCT SUN 2:15-3:15

MOLLY (NS, 10:00) Director: Phyllis Jackson / United States He’s just your average, middle-aged divorcee looking for his first fix. Today he meets Molly.

DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

MUDPOTS (LGBT,12:39) Adult Situations, Language

Director: Cate Smierciak* / United States 16-year-old Shelby and her best friend Jess spend one last afternoon together at the Salton Sea. In a stolen moment at Shelby’s surprise going-away party, they acknowledge something more between them. GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

MUTEUM (NS, 4:10) Director: Aggie Pak Yee Lee / Hong Kong In an art museum, we better learn well, from outer to inner, from deep to very deep, serious and sincerely.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

MY DAUGHTER YOSHIKO (NS, 15:00) Language

Director: Brian Blum / United States With her daughter Yoshiko diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and her husband overseas serving in the military, Saki Omura is finding it harder and harder to cope. Too ashamed to burden others and too proud to ask for help, Saki faces the now-daunting task of giving her daughter the best life possible.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

ONLY A MOVIE! (NS, 17:18) Director: Teddy Cecil / United States Guy realizes that life is a terrible movie and searches for a way to rewrite his own ending.

DT FRI 5:00-6:00 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

PAGEANT MATERIAL (LGBT, 74:00) Language, Violence

Director: Jonothon Mitchell / United States Rodney dreams of escaping his hometown in pursuit of following in his mother’s footsteps as an award-winning pageant queen. Despite an onslaught of bullying and abuse from his stepfather, step-brothers, and classmates, Rodney calls upon his best friend and a unique cast of characters to help him take the crown in an upcoming teen drag pageant.

GSHF FRI 1:00-2:15 / HCT SAT 12:30-1:45

PEGGY (NS, 12:00) Language

Director: Justin O’Neal Miller / United States Everything seems to work out perfectly for Peggy, but her social graces are put to the test when she is surrounded by admiring and covetous parents at a birthday party for her eight-year-old son. Chaos ensues. DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

PLACES (NS, GA, 11:11) Director: Betsy Morson / United States Mockumentary of a three-member dance troupe reuniting despite bad blood between two rivaling dancers. Tension emerges as they relive the moments leading to their disastrous performance three years ago. GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

PLAYTIME’S OVER (NS, GA, 10:48) Director: Tony Reames / United States The only thing Dee loves more than classic horror movies is terrorizing the babysitter. It’s New Years Eve, Dee’s parents are looking forward to one of the rare nights without their angel. Little does Laurie, the new babysitter know, the fifty bucks an hour won’t cover the years of therapy needed after spending one night with Dee and her stuffed friends. GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

PORTRAITIST (NS,15:00) Director: Cyrus Neshvad / Luxembourg A grandfather kindles a relationship with his dying granddaughter through art.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

THE PRODUCER (NS, GA, 10:11) Language, Adult Situations

Director: David Marshall Silverman / United States A Hollywood producer takes the biggest meeting of his life.

GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

RWANDA (NF, 90:00) Adult Situations, Language, Violence

Director: Riccardo Salvetti / Italy On April 6,1994, Rwanda was involved in one of the most systematic genocides in history. Augustin is Hutu, and he must kill. Cécile is Tutsi, and she must die. However, something gives them the strength to do the right thing. What happened during that bloody spring changed not only Augustin’s and Cécile’s life, but also the young actors called to interpret them on stage many years later.

HCT FRI 11:00-12:30 / GSHF SAT 12:00-1:30

SAC DE MERDE (NS, 13:27) Language, Adult Situations

Director: Greg Chwerchak / United States Based on a true story, Sac de Merde tells the tale of Mazel Mankewicz, an unluckyin-love yet irrationally optimistic New Yorker who thinks her luck has changed when she spends the night with the man of her dreams. As it turns out, he might just be full of s#!t – literally.

DT FRI 5:00-6:30 / HCT SAT 2:15-3:45

SEE ME (VR, 5:00) Adult Situations

Director: Alethea Root / United States See Me is an exploration of women reclaiming their sexuality from the patriarchy. Experience the persistent barrage of verbal attack – cat calls to self-shaming – that women are exposed to daily. Watch as these women strip off those confines and emerge ready to truly be seen.

GRA FRI 3-5 S AT 11:30-1:30 & 3:30-5:30 SUN 11:30-1:30

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

SGT STUBBY: AN AMERICAN HERO (NF, 84:00) Director: Richard Lanni / Canda With World War I looming, a young Army Pvt. Robert Conroy is adopted by a stray, stumptailed terrier. Conroy names his new friend Stubby and gives him a home, a family, and a chance to embark on the adventure that would define a century. The two quickly find themselves in the trenches of France and on the path to history.

GSHF SAT 10:00-11:30 / DT SUN 1:15-2:45

SHARED (LGBT, 7:06) Language

Director: Julien Vallon / France In this world we would all know a natural, biological sex change before 30 years and this is the wonderful news that Joe will announce to her friends. Her friends are delighted. However, at the announcement of this news one of them will reveal their true feelings against this natural process, against his own sex change.

GSHF FRI 5:00-6:30 / DT SAT 11:00-12:30

SINGULAR (MUS, 63:00) Directors: Dennis Scholl & Marlon Johnson / United States The extraordinary rise of Cécile McLorin Salvant, already renowned as one of America’s top jazz vocalists at the age of only 29, is chronicled in this love letter to the storied talent. Anchored around a recording of a recent McLorin concert, Singular follows Cécile’s story from her Haitian and French heritage to her studies in Europe and her breakout successes.

HCT FRI 1:00-2:00 & SAT 6:15-7:15

SKIN I’M IN (SS, 6:04) Director: Chavez Caley / United States An African American girl struggles with issues of her skin color and decides bleaching her skin is the solution to all her problems. Her mother catches her with the bleaching products and tries to prevent her from making the same mistake that she did. GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

SOUL MAN (MUS, 12:55) Language

Director: Kyle Taubken / United States Ben Whitaker, Jr., an aging and mostly washed up singer-songwriter from the 60s/70s era of big soul music, navigates loneliness, failed relationships, and a botched career in modern day Memphis, Tennessee. GSHF FRI 2:45-4:00 & SUN 3:00-4:15

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

SPACE DRIVER (FD, 3:34) Project Creator: Beyond Pixel Studio / Thailand In the far distant future you still need a driver’s license. Navigate your ship through the space station. Follow the track and avoid the obstacles, to reach the finish alive and safe. Complete your space-driving test to get your first Space Driver license. Go the edge and beyond.

MAS SAT 3:45-5:00 & SUN 2:00-3:15

SPEED OF LIFE (NF, 76:00) Director: Liz Manashil / United States In 2016, June and Edward are in the midst of an argument when Edward suddenly falls into a wormhole created by David Bowie’s death. In 2040, June continues to mourn the loss of Edward while facing the dark reality of being locked away along with the rest of society’s senior citizens. Unwilling to disappear, June begins to plan her escape when Edward suddenly reappears in her life.

DT FRI 3:00-4:30 / GSHF SAT 2:00-3:30

SPHERE (FD, 45:00) Project Creator: Robot Koch and Mickael Le Goff / Germany Award-winning german composer Robot Koch joins forces with french visual artist Mickael Le Goff to present Sphere, an audiovisual experience designed especially for planetariums and full dome venues.The Show takes the audience on a trip through space and time, oscillating between deep, synth-driven sciencefiction moments and blissful suspension, carried by lush string arrangements.

MAS SAT 11:00-12:30

SWAGGER BACK (NS, 11:00) Language

Director: George Kenyon / United States Can a veteran who has lost both his legs in combat get his swagger back?

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

TANGLE (SS, 7:36) Director: Malihe Ghloamzadeh / Iran The life of a girl during war.

GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

Official Selections

2019 Macon Film Festival

TEQUILA SUNRISE (SS, 16:00) Language

Director: Adam Bentley / United Kingdom After a night out on the town, a terrified slacker wakes to find himself slap bang in the aftermath of a gang shootout – or so he thinks. But things are not always quite what they seem. GSHF FRI 11:00-12:30

THIS DAY SUCKS (NS, MM, 11:25) Language, Violence

Director: Chris Hall / United States A hitman has an awful day, full of unexpected obstacles and set backs, as he works to carry out the plans given to him by his mobster boss.

HCT SAT 10:30-12:00

THIS WORLD ALONE (NS, GA, 90:00) Violence

Director: Jordan Noel / United States A post-apocalyptic drama following a young woman attempting to survive in a world without technology or power while being raised by her two mother-figures. One believes in a world of compassion and empathy whereas the other believes in an “only the strong survive” mentality. HCT SAT 4:15-5:45 / GSHF SUN 1:00-2:30

TOUCH AND GO (GA, 13:50) Adult Situations

Director: Heather Hutton / United States In the presence of physical danger, a teenage girl must remain calm under pressure in order to survive the flight of her life.

GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

TREATMENT (NS, GA, 7:55) Language

Director: Andrea (Andi) Behring / United States Hannah fights for her life both literally and figuratively while summiting her own personal “Everest.” Along her journey she is faced with the challenging choice of either giving up her fight to ultimately find peace, or instead clawing her way through the pain to recovery. In the end her larger than life adversary eventually becomes her greatest ally.

GSHF SAT 4:00-5:30 / DT SUN 3:00-4:30

Museum of Arts & Sciences - MAS The Grand - GRA GA Sports Hall of Fame - GSHF

TWO BALLOONS (NS, 9:08) Director: Mark C. Smith / United States Two adventurous lemurs navigate their dirigibles halfway around the world to a place where happenstance and fate threaten to disrupt their reunion.

HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

URBAN LEVITATION (FD, 5:10) Project Creator: Sergey Prokofyev, Studio Schwitalla / Germany This short FullDome film is an architectural visual story based on the conceptual project “Sports Tower” that has become a finalist in eVolo 2011 skyscraper competition and the model of Manhattan. MAS SAT 11:00-12:30

VERTICAL STREET CITY (FD, 2:28) Project Creator: Sergey Prokofyev, Studio Schwitalla / Germany This short film is based on a conceptual project that has become a finalist in the eVolo skyscrapers competition in New York City.

MAS SAT 11:00-12:30

THE VISION OF ULYSSES DAVID (DOC,10:00)

Directors: Alexia Oldini & Steven Gray / United States Ulysses Davis constructed an idiom distinctly his own and his extraordinary body of work speaks vividly to the nature of his experience as an African-American artist and barber in the American South in the 20th century. This film is a reflection on his work and an offering to the legacy of this singular man.

GSHF SAT 6:00-7:00 / HCT SUN 2:15-3:15

VOYAGER: THE NEVER-ENDING JOURNEY (FD, 26:40) Project Creator: UMA Vision (Yuriy Gapon, Maksym Kutlakhmetov) / Ukraine In 1977 two space probes were launched to explore the farthest planets of the Solar system. These spacecraft greatly enriched our knowledge of the distant worlds. Now after four decades they explore interstellar space. Like two bottles launched into the cosmic ocean, both probes carry a message intended for any alien civilization.

MAS SAT 1:30-2:45

Official Selections

Douglass Theater - DT Hargray Capitol Theatre - HCT

WATERDOME (FD, 15:34) Project Creator: Joshua Dengel; Michael Gamböck; Simone Glück; Sania Haschemi; Johannes Hanisch; Franziska Hauber; Jin Liu; Robert Ringard; Lorena Wolf; Bruno Gola; Isak Han; Kathrin Hunze; Arik Kofranek; Sangwon Nam; Victor Negri; Rauli Valo / Deutschland An audiovisual symphony. Abstract pictures and sounds represent the theme of water which shows in different colors, fascinating perspectives and especially in its movement.

MAS SAT 11:00-12:30 & SUN 2:00-3:15

WIRELESS (NS, 15:00) Director: David Fritzson / United States James, an aging baby-boomer, arrives just after closing at a local cell phone store seeking help with a smartphone. Derek, an empathetic employee, takes what he knows best and tries to create a connection across generations, helping James find the courage and strength to say goodbye. HCT FRI 2:30-4:00 / GSHF SUN 4:45-6:15

WONDERWALL (MUS, 7:00) Dir(s): Alexander Denysenko / Ukraine A musical story follows a young man whose heart has been broken due to the loss of a loved one, and he is trying to escape reality. But his surreal experience while in the Chernobyl exclusion zone gives him a chance to discover himself. FRI DT 3-4:30 / SAT GSHF 2-3:30

WORLDS OF URSULA K LE GUIN (DOC, 69:00) Dir(s): Arwen Curry / United States Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin is a feature documentary that explores the remarkable life and legacy of the science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Produced with Le Guin’s participation over the course of a decade, the film is a journey through the writer’s inimitable career and her worlds, both real and fantastic.

DT FRI 1:00-2:30 / GSHF SUN 11:00-12:30

MaconFilmFestival.com

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Header

Jurors

2019 Macon Film Festival

Georgia Made Jason Brown is Associate Professor of Mass Media at Valdosta State University and the director of the South Georgia Film Festival.He produced the short film Miracle Boy, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and screened nationwide on the Film Festival Collective channel. He is currently completing a documentary about John Sayles’ film Matewan and its impact on West Virginia. This past year, Jason was chosen to participate in the Television Academy’s Faculty Seminar program in Hollywood and was also chosen for the NATPE Faculty Fellowship in Miami, Florida. Joel Malizia spent his early adulthood working as a professional musician and carpenter. As his family grew, he leaned more on his carpentry skills than on his musical chops and took a job at Home Shopping Network building sets. While at HSN, Joel was able to work in several departments furthering his education of the production process. Joel is co-founder of the video production company, Pilot Moon Films. Pilot Moon has produced content for Google, NFL, CFA, SXSW, Johns Hopkins, Disney and is currently producing a music documentary series titled The Dancehall Tapes: A Texas Music Preservation Project. Amor Owens is honored to have served as a juror at the Macon Film Festival for the last three years. She has been involved in some capacity in filmmaking since 2010 either in front of or behind the camera. She has freelanced as a line producer, casting, set costumer, and costume designer, for several production companies in Georgia. Amor currently works as an actress for film, TV, and stage and is represented by JPervis Talent Agency in the Southeast and Avalon Artists Group in New York and LA. Amor has a passion for good storytelling and supports independent filmmakers creating quality original content.

Narrative Feature Harry Musselwhite is a New Mexico-based filmmaker, actor, writer, and musician. He recently served a three year term as President of the Board of The New Mexico Film Foundation, and was Executive Director of the Rome International Film Festival for a number of years. He is the Executive Producer/Creator of the reality television series Horse People. He recently acted in the TV series Better Call Saul, and he is the music composer for documentarian Stephanie Gardner’s series 33 and Me. Harry served in the production department of the new horror feature Artik in current release. Jody Schiesser is responsible for the award-winning short films The Street Cleaner, You Are Beautiful, and Antigone’s Song. He directs, produces, and scouts/manages locations for film and television. His work includes feature Crackerjack, Untouched, Four Senses, Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies, Christine, Magic Mike XXL, Adam Sandler’s The Do-Over, and most recently Daisy Winters. His movies have gone on to win awards and play at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival. His films have been selected three times for the Macon Film Festival. Plan your “Fest Life” at MaconFilmFestival.com.

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Jurors

Victor Pisano started his career at 20th Century Fox Studios as a screenwriter where he wrote the original screenplay, Voice of the North End for director, Martin Ritt. “Hundreds” of film and television projects then followed as writer, producer, and director. Victor has spent much of the last five years lecturing on intellectual property and performing arts at seminars, colleges, and universities while creating and developing the worldwide launch of a new entertainment restaurant/venue called, The BluCarat..

Narrative Shorts Jeremiah Bennett is an international award-winning movie and television producer. His passion for media started young, and at thirteen he began running sound and lighting at his local church. During his early career, Jeremiah produced many award-winning indie films that have been featured in festivals around the world. He was a producer for TLC’s hit reality series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and produced feature films including Crimes and Mister Meanors. Jeremiah is the chair for the Atlanta chapter of the Producers Guide of America and a member of the Television Academy. He founded and serves as president & chairman of the board of directors for the ME Film Festival and currently serves as executive producer and CEO of Glass Door Studios, a film, television and new media production company. Gareth Jones has taught Film Studies for twelve years including Wesleyan College, Brewton Parker College, and currently at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In addition, he has worked more than twenty years for the Sundance Film Festival as a consultant for festival logistics in parking and transportation. He looks fondly back at his time in central Georgia and in particular helping out with the Macon Film Festival from 2013-2015. He feels honored to assist again as a juror. Seth Ingram is the Executive Director of the Rome International Film Festival. When not fulfilling his obligations to the festival, Seth writes, directs, and produces independent film and television projects. Seth is the owner of Army of Bears, a production company committed to creating original content. Seth and his talented bride, April, reside in Rome with their three children.

Documentary David Allison is a veteran filmmaker and graphic designer who worked on numerous projects including feature films and motion design work for the World Cup. David studied film and television at the University of North Texas before he went on to pursue film editing studies in Los Angeles. David is a co-founder of Pilot Moon Films, a production company specializing in music videos, commercials, and marketing and mini-documentary videos for companies and organizations. He is also co-founder of Et Cultura, a film, music, and art festival in St. Petersburg, FL. He is currently directing a documentary series in Texas called The Dancehall Tapes. Read the full bios of our JURORS at MaconFilmFestival.com.

| JURORS

2018 Macon Film Festival

Robert Fieldsteel is a resident of Macon, following a distinguished 28-year career in Los Angeles as an actor, writer, producer, and educator in film, TV, and theatre. He began his career working as filmmaker John Cassavetes’ assistant, running his film distribution company, co-producing three Cassavetes-directed plays and working on the films Gloria and Love Streams, making his screen acting debut in the latter. He is president of The Macon Film Guild, which brings current independent and foreign-language films to Middle Georgia. Charles Richardson, retired Editorial Page Editor for The Telegraph, is a McClatchy Journalism Fellow at Duke University and at the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism at the University of Maryland. He served as president of the board for the Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation, and the Macon Arts Alliance. He is now Artist in Residence at Middle Georgia State University. He also serves on the Board of Governors at the Grand Opera House and is on the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority board.

Music Justin Andrews is Director of Special Projects and Outreach at the Otis Redding Foundation specializing in event planning and student activities. Justin has served as the assistant camp manager for the Otis Music Camp for six years and is also involved in the day-to-day requests for the Otis Redding Estate. He was in Leadership Macon’s Class of 2017 and serves on the boards of Macon Arts Alliance, Macon Film Festival, and Macon Pops (where he also serves as event coordinator), as well as on the Community Advisory Board for Coliseum Health Systems, and the Fundraising Committee for Rebuilding Macon. Rob (Shrock) Shirakbari is a musician, composer, record producer, and arranger and best known as music director for both Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach as well as producer, co-writer, and music director for platinum recording artist, Rumer. Shirakbari has written, produced and performed on numerous songs on records and in film and TV. As a writer, Shirakbari has been a long-time contributor to Keyboard Magazine, Electronic Musician, and Remix Magazine (among others). He has taught master classes and workshops at the Otis Redding Foundation Music Camp (Macon, Georgia), Bimm Music Institute (Dublin, Ireland), Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles, California), and various elementary, Jr. high and high schools. Rumer Shirakbari is a critically acclaimed British singer and songwriter. Her debut album, Seasons of My Soul (Atlantic), has sold more than a million copies worldwide. Her sultry voice has earned her praise from Elton John and Burt Bacharach. Rumer’s success has taken her all over the world, and she has even performed for President and Mrs. Obama at the White House. Rumer now runs her own music and media production company, Night Owl, and is one Macon’s newest residents. Plan your “Fest Life” at MaconFilmFestival.com.

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

Jurors

Student Shorts Dr. Michele Prettyman, co-founder of Daughters of Eve Media, is a media consultant, writer, and a scholar of film, media, and African American cinema. She is currently Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Africana Studies at Mercer University, where she teaches screenwriting, digital storytelling, and film studies courses. She is also a co-curator of the CollegeTown and the Tubman African American Film Festivals and has a longstanding partnership with the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). Dr. Prettyman is currently developing her own projects and frequently consults with other filmmakers on their work. Andrew Black is a lecturer in mass media at Valdosta State University and also serves as the Program Director for the South Georgia Film Festival. His specialties are in media production and media law. Aaron Buzza is Vice President of Development and COO at Visit Macon. In that role, he is responsible for Visit Macon’s partnership and I Am Macon programs, and serves as the camera-ready liaison for Macon-Bibb County. Through that role he also leads the Macon Film Commission. Prior to Visit Macon, Buzza was with the Waterloo, Iowa, (IA) Convention & Visitors Bureau. He grew up in a small town in Southeast Minnesota and attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Buzza lives in Macon with his family. He’s an avid sports fan and enjoys reading and cooking.

LGBT DeMarcus Beckham is the Regional Field Director and Organizer for The New Georgia Project (Macon) and Chairman of the Macon and Middle Georgia AIDS Network. As a Middle Georgia-based social activist, he advocates ensuring all Georgians are versed in their voter rights, and civil rights, along with educating Georgians of the health advancements in HIV/ AIDS. As a grassroots advocate, he has been responsible for organizing several community talks, rallies, and protests. Jim Crisp is the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Macon. After 32 years leading the company, he retired in August of 2018, and is now pursuing community interests. Cindy Hill-Williams is a member of the Obama Foundation’s Museum Programming and Operations team that is creating the Obama Presidential Center. The Macon native previously served as the GPB Savannah Station Manager and host of “All Things Considered” for Georgia Public Broadcasting and in marketing and communications roles at Mercer University, Macon Arts Alliance, and 13WMAZ. She has served on boards of the Macon Film Festival, Theatre Macon, Georgia Arts Network, and Savannah Technical College and recently served as a panelist on the Sundance Film Festival screenplay workshop at the Macon Film Festival.

Read the full bios of our JURORS at MaconFilmFestival.com.

| JURORS

2018 Macon Film Festival

MaconFilmFestival.com #MaconFilmFest

PRESENTING SPONSOR

VENUE SPONSOR

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER SPONSORS