2023 Wake Forest Film Festival Playbill

SCREENINGS | PODCAST | MEET DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS

2023

MARCH 3 - 4, 2023

PRESENTED BY WAKE FOREST RENAISSANCE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

2023 WAKE FOREST FILM FESTIVAL

The Wake Forest Film Festival was created from the dreams of three like-minded women with a passion to evoke social change in their community: Cathy Gouge, Wake Forest Renaissance Center for the Arts Manager (2015–2019), Gauri Singh, filmmaker and resident, and Kimberly Soden, Cultural Arts Board member (2018–2020). These women discovered they shared the desire to bring awareness to the fast growing, diverse community of Wake Forest by creating a film festival that would attract independent film artists from across the globe.

After numerous meetings and conversations, festival founders Gouge, Singh, and Soden were joined by other community volunteers and a committee was formed to launch the first Wake Forest Film Festival in 2018. That first festival featured films from across the globe and attracted filmmakers and industry professionals.

The year 2023 marks the fourth year of the Wake Forest Film Festival. The two-day festival features 22 films in four categories: student, documentary, music, and family. These films shed light on issues and events that impact us all. Wake Forest welcomes filmmakers and industry professionals from across the United States and beyond to share their art of storytelling through the medium of film.

The festival would not be possible without the support of the Town of Wake Forest, our elected officials, the Renaissance Centre staff, the Town’s Communications team, and numerous volunteers. Thank you all for your contributions and dedication to the arts in our community.

We hope our festival will bring light to your world and that you leave the Renaissance Centre enriched, enlightened, and entertained. Enjoy the festival.

Debbie Dunn Renaissance Centre Director

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

6:00 – 7:00 pm

BLOCK 1 | MUSIC

I’m A Ukrainian – Bordertown

Back for the Future

7:00 – 9:30 pm

BLOCK 2 | STUDENT FILMS

Sunset

Dream Soda

Paper Chasers

Sticks and Stones

Avery Sonata

Tango Para La Vida

Denial

1700 lbs.

Homer: Great Teller of Tales

Suga Brown

9:30 – 11:00 pm

Mix & Mingle at Strike and Barrel

SATURDAY, MARCH 4

11:00 – 12:30 pm

BLOCK 3 |

Step by Step

DOCUMENTARY FULL LENGTH FILMS

1:00 – 4:30 pm

BLOCK 4 |

DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS

Why T-Rex Doesn’t Fly

There Is No Separation

abridged

The Wall That Heals

Bird Lady

Raised/Razed

4:30 – 5:15 pm

5:30 – 6:30 pm

6:30 – 8:15 pm

Live Podcast

VIP Dinner (by invitation only)

BLOCK 5 | FAMILY FILMS

Match Day Imposter Pastor

* This schedule does not show break times or winner video time slots

MUSIC FILMS

BLOCK 1

I’m A Ukrainian – Bordertown

Directors: Rob Underhill, Evelyn Putnam

Writer: Keith G Howard

Producers: Evelyn Putnam, Rob Underhill

“I’m A Ukrainian – Bordertown” is dedicated to and made in solidarity with the Ukrainian People. It is a North Carolina artist collaboration, filmed on location at the Raleigh Union Station in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Back for the Future

Director: Gia Diasamidze

Writer: Gia Diasamidze

Producer: Giorgi Tkemaladze

“Back for the Future” is a documentary about Georgia’s unique folk traditions, which have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years while changing and evolving.

YOU’RE INVITED

MIX & MINGLE

Please join us for an opportunity to Mix and Mingle with the filmmakers and industry professionals.

Strike and Barrel (next door to the Renaissance Centre)

Friday, March 3 | 9:30 pm –11:00 pm

Heavy Hors d’oeuvres

Everyone Invited! Please Come.

BLOCK 2

Sunset

Director: Cameron Parker

Writers: Cameron Parker, Will Dixon, III

Producer: Cherise Honore

Dante, an accomplished artist, is forced to face his feelings of guilt and responsibility over the death of his brother, Bo, to end a torturous psychological loop.

Dream Soda

Director: Sawyer Pasma

Writer: Josiah Croasdell

Producer: Josiah Croasdell

An awkward high school boy who has trouble staying in touch with reality finds his confidence after getting noticed by his lifelong crush and agreeing to go to homecoming with her.

Avery

Director: Nico Maurie Greenberg

Writer: Nico Maurie Greenberg

Producer: Nico Maurie Greenberg

A boy reminisces on a past relationship he had with a tree.

Tango Para La Vida

Director: Heidi Dalton

Producer: Kim Ferrell

A married couple who fled Venezuela strives to make a life in Cuenca, Ecuador through hard work, faith, and their love of tango.

STUDENT FILMS

Denial

Director: Evan Melloh

Writer: Evan Melloh

Producer: Lucas Bertsche

A young man is taken on a journey by a mysterious voice on the phone to find evidence of his best friend’s killer, but the truth is rarely simple.

1700 lbs.

Directors: Solomon Goluboff-Schragger, Amelia Maxham, Cate Slaughter, Zaharra Colla, Turner O’Neal

In the wake of a family loss, a farm boy tries to save a cow from slaughter.

Paper Chasers

Director: Collin Woolford

Writer: Evan Wardell

Producer: Ricardo Marble, Jr.

After a practical joke goes wrong, a group of friends must go on a journey to right their wrongs.

Sticks and Stones

Director: Jason Kelly Lee

Writer: Jason Kelly Lee

Producers: Jason Kelly Lee, Craig Garmany, Jorge Martinez, Russell Beaty

Set in the South in the not-too-distant past, “Sticks and Stones” takes a snapshot of the relationship between Mommy and her daughter, Adilynn.

Sonata

Directors: Madison Crisp, Abby Davenport, Fern Singleton, Vic Sosa

Writers: Madison Crisp, Hailey Hudson

Producers: Robert Mageau, Hailey Hudson

When a blackout derails a young man’s plans for the perfect first date, he must navigate his nerves, the heat, and a mischievous gang of shadows if he has any hope of connecting with the girl of his dreams.

Homer: Great Teller of Tales

Director: Amelia Cameron

Writers: Amelia Cameron, Trevor Stevens

Producer: Kaitlyn Franck

Desperate for fame, an unknown writer takes a job with the Gods of Ancient Greece for the chance to prove himself, but soon must choose between his morals and his fame.

Suga Brown

Director: Clarke Phillips

Writers: Clarke Phillips, Pat LaGue

Producers: Blaine McIndoe, Cherise Honore

In a world where free health care requires genetic alterations, a pregnant woman, Eden, must go to extreme lengths to ensure her child is born free of mandated modification.

BLOCK | 3 DOCUMENTARY FULL LENGTH

Step by Step

Director: Felix Starck

Producers: Felix Starck, Julia Golembiowski

“Step by Step” is a personal documentary about a “rootless” family trying to settle down and live a meaningful life.

BLOCK | 4 DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

Why T-Rex Doesn’t Fly

Director: Lorenzo Lonardi

Writer: Lorenzo Lonardi

Producer: Lorenzo Lonardi

Having traveled to many places around the world, Lorenzo, a nature lover and enthusiastic environmentalist becomes more and more aware that his way of moving around comes with a big cost for the environment.

There Is No Separation

Director: Wes Kline

Writer: Damon Falke

Producer: Damon Falke

“There Is No Separation” is a documentary portrait of a woman who has tried to live without harming the world, while remaining present to its changes.

abridged

Director: Gregory Simpson

The story of two unrelated people, grappling with homelessness for the first time in a quickly growing and prospering southern city.

The Wall That Heals

Director: Chuck Fishbein

Writer: Timothy David Stevens

Producer: Timothy David Stevens

“The Wall That Heals” is a documentary about North Carolina’s contributions to the Vietnam War. The film tells the stories of service members in the war and the stories of veterans who still struggle with the aftereffects of the war.

Bird Lady

Director: Carter Rostron

Writer: Carter Rostron

Producer: Carter Rostron

In this short documentary, Kansas City filmmaker Carter Rostron explores the mystery surrounding a statue that has become known as the “Bird Lady.” The film explores what’s been happening, what it means, and how it has become a beloved part of neighborhood folklore.

Raised/Razed

Directors: Lorenzo Dickerson, Jordy Yager

Writers: Lorenzo Dickerson, Jordy Yager

Producers: Mason Mills, Steve Humble

“Raised/Razed” is a documentary feature film about the lasting effects of the federally backed and locally executed Urban Renewal program, through the lens of Vinegar Hill, a large African American neighborhood in Charlottesville, Virginia.

FAMILY FILMS

BLOCK 5

Match Day

Director: Clay Randel

Writers: Clay Randel

Producers: Clay Randel, Kyle Steinike, Andrew Porten

After watching her favorite team lose in dramatic fashion, a young soccer fan must navigate the stages of loss with the help of her recently divorced father.

Imposter Pastor

Director: Micah Caronna

Writer: Jennifer Tobler

Producers: Micah Caronna, Melissa Caronna

On the run from a deal gone wrong, a conman and his wife try to pull off the ultimate heist after he is mistaken as the interim pastor of a struggling church.

PODCAST

New this year! A podcast featuring some of this year’s filmmakers. The audience will have the opportunity to experience a genuine conversation with the 2023 Wake Forest Film Festival filmmakers. The podcast will be led by Isaac Duque, one of the Renaissance Centre Technical Operations Specialists. Duque is the creator and host of the soon to be released “I’ve Heard Some Stories” podcast where he speaks to friends and guests about success, struggles, passion, and all the things that make life interesting. He will host the Festival’s LIVE podcast conversation with his deep curiosity and pursuit of understanding of people and life.

WAKE FOREST FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

ABOUT THE AWARD SCULPTURE

The 2023 Wake Forest Film Festival awards were created by artist Jordan Parah. The awards are miniature replicas of the sculpture, “Dancing in the Moonlight,” that currently lives outside the Renaissance Centre welcoming all who visit. The nine-foot sculpture is created from painted stainless steel and was on display in Roanoke, Virginia and Pitt County, NC, before finding it’s permanent home in Wake Forest. “Dancing in the Moonlight” was purchased in 2022 by the Public Art Commission of Wake Forest with funds donated to the Commission by the Friends of the Wake Forest Library.

Parah graduated from East Carolina University in 2014 with a BFA in Sculpture and minor in Art History. Her works are displayed in public and private collections throughout the southeast including North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Parah is the owner of Parahdise

2023 WAKE FOREST FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS

Music Film Award Winner Back for the Future | Director Gia Diasamidze

Student Film Award Winner Suga Brown | Director Clarke Phillips

Documentary Film Award Winner Raised/Razed | Directors Lorenzo Dickerson, Jordy Yager

Family Film Award Winner Imposter Pastor | Director Micah Caronna

A special thank you to the following volunteer film judges:

Jonnie Anderson

Michele Barnes

April Cannon

Amanda Cochrane

Candace Davis

Claudia Davis

Derek Ellington

Jacquie Lindsay

Angela McCray

Beth McGinnis

Trinna McGinnis

Mary Petretich

Joanna Siaw

Gauri Singh

Kim Soden

Sculpture located in Greenville, NC.