TCB April 18, 2024 — Watch Local

Triad-focused documentaries shine at this year’s RiverRun International Film Festival.

BY STAFF | PG. 12

THURSDAY

RiverRun International Film Festival @ various venues (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

RiverRun International Film Festival celebrates its 26th season with 196 film screenings — the most in its history — that highlight the best in independent cinema. All screenings after April 29 are virtual only. Find more information and purchase tickets at riverrunfilm.com

Opening Reception: Flutter @ SECCA (W-S) 6:30 p.m.

Join Los Angeles-based artist David Gilbert for the opening reception of Flutter, an exhibition of archival inkjet prints that represent Gilbert’s effort to “capture and suspend subtle moments and movements mid-flutter.” More details at secca.org

APRIL 18 - 20

FRIDAY

The Good Watts @ Natty Greene’s (GSO) 8 p.m.

Head to the Natty Greene’s patio stage (weather permitting) and enjoy your beverage while listening to live music by the Good Watts.

Parallel Lives @ Sidelines Sports Grill (HP) 9 p.m.

Greensboro-based band Parallel Lives is pleased to announce their first performance at Sidelines. Stop by and show them support!

SATURDAY

Grand Opening @ Joy Bar Coffee Co. (HP) 7 a.m.

The staff of Joy Bar Coffee is excited to announce a grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Joy Bar Coffee is dedicated to “creating employment opportunities for individuals with different abilities through Competitive Integrated Employment” and “creating a space for both the typically- and differently-abled community to experience the joy of learning from and working with new friends.” More information on the Facebook event page

Spring Plant Sale @ Reynolda House Museum of American Art Front Lawn (W-S) 8 a.m.

CITY LIFE

Reynolda Gardens is hosting its annual plant sale with specialty annuals, perennials and tropicals for your house or garden. Find more information and a list of plants for sale at reynolda.org/spring-plant-sale

420Fest @ Brown Truck Brewery (HP)

12 p.m.

420Fest at Brown Truck Brewery includes a “downright dank” assortment of beer releases, live music, pop-up vendors and food trucks. Special releases include Joint HOPeration, a collaboration with Nomad and Paddled South, Rum BA No. 30 Belgian Tripel and more. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

21

SUNDAY

Earth Day Holistic Health & Sustainability Fair (GSO)

12 p.m.

The Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, in partnership

APRIL 21 - 25

with the Holistic Health & Sustainability Fair, is hosting a wellness fair that “celebrates mindful living, environmental consciousness, well-being, and sustainability.” Shop with eco-friendly vendors, relax in a wellness retreat zone and learn more about recycling programs and zero-waste living. More details on the Facebook event page

Crafts at the G @ Gatsby’s Pub (W-S)

5:30 p.m.

Head to Gatsby’s Pub for the monthly Sunday craft event. On this day, create your own round door sign! Tickets include all supplies needed and a drink of your choice. Email blakegrace01@yahoo.com or send Gatsby’s Pub a Facebook message to purchase.

23

TUESDAY

Artists Thrive @ Enterprise Center (WS) 5:30 p.m.

Scan the QR code to find more events at triad-citybeat.com/local-events

Triad Cultural Arts is excited to host Artists Thrive, a free interactive workshop for artists to learn, network with other artists and plan for their artistic future. Attendees will also learn more about the Black Arts Impact Award that honors the achievements of Black artists and cultural leaders in the Winston-Salem area. Register at triadculturalarts.org

25

THURSDAY

Fresh + Foodie Series: Grocery Shopping on a Budget @ Deep Roots Market (GSO)

6 p.m.

Greensboro Public Library has partnered with Deep Roots Market to present this educational opportunity to learn how to grocery shop within your budget without sacrificing health or flavor. Pre-register at tinyurl.com/ DGgrocery24

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Taking time off

There’s really no such thing as time off when you’re a reporter. The news never stops. There’s always something to report, whether it’s good or bad. And when you embed yourself in stories and communities, it can be hard to take a step back and breathe. When you miss an update or can’t cover all of the stories people send to you, guilt can set in.

It’s part of the job. And those feelings are what make for a good reporter.

So we gave her the week off. And we told her to take as vacation this summer, and this fall and this winter!

Because we all need it to stay sane and healthy.

I’m taking two trips in the next two weeks! (Send suggestions for Sante Fe and Portland, Maine if you’ve got ’em.)

I also play tennis no fewer than four times a week, sometimes on weekday mornings if I have a match. I work flexible hours and my team knows that I don’t need to be on the clock 9-5 if I can get the work done. And it’s been one of the main things that has allowed me to do the work.

We need time off to stay sane and healthy.

But because of that, it’s so important for us as reporters to take time for ourselves. It’s a conversation that I had recently with one of our reporters who was starting to feel overwhelmed by the work and the load.

Because any day can bring another stressful wave of stories: human trafficking, labor issues, a police shooting.

We cover any and all of it. And if we’re not taking time to care for ourselves, we can’t care for our community, and that’s kind of the whole point.

by Sayaka Matsuoka

GPD releases footage from shooting of

Graham Roberson, which reveal that he had a BB and toy gun

by Sayaka Matsuoka | sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

On June 22, 2023, Graham Thomas Roberson, a 51-year-old white man was shot and killed by Greensboro police officer John P. Corrigan. And on Monday, the Greensboro Police Department released the body-cam and vehicle footage from the incident after a Superior Court judge granted the department’s request to release the footage. They are now available to view on GPD’s YouTube page here

The compilation video, which runs close to 13 minutes long, shows Officer Corrigan’s interactions before, during and after the shooting. Here’s what we know so far.

The first release

The initial release from the city was scant in details.

According to the department, Corrigan was driving around Tuscaloosa Street around midnight on June 22 looking for a suspicious vehicle.

That’s when the officer noticed Roberson walking on the street. The officer approached him in the car.

“As the officer approached, the subject displayed a firearm. The officer fired their weapon from inside their police vehicle, striking the subject,” the release stated.

Subsequent reporting by the News and Record found that Roberson never fired the firearm he had, just displayed it. The newly released footage fills out the rest of the picture, including the fact that Roberson had a BB gun and a toy gun, but no real firearm.

What the footage shows

The video starts by explaining the process for releasing the videos and shares facts that led up to Officer Corrigan’s interaction with Roberson. Vital parts of the footage are emphasized in bold.

• Around 2:35: The vehicle-mounted footage begins to play.

• Around 3:10: Corrigan passes a man — presumably Roberson — walking on the street to the left of the car. Then, Corrigan drives up to a church parking lot and turns around, heading back towards the person who was walking.

• Around 4:16: Corrigan slows down his vehicle as Roberson approaches the vehicle on the right-hand side.

• Around 4:20: Roberson appears to point something towards the patrol car

• From 4:30-7:17: Police Chief John Thompson explains what viewers are about to see in the next half of the video. It is revealed that the suspicious vehicle call was placed from Roberson’s residence.

• Around 7:35: Viewers can see Roberson approaching the vehicle through the patrol car’s front windshield from footage captured on Officer Corrigan’s body-worn camera.

• Around 7:37: Viewers can hear Officer Corrigan shoot five rounds at Roberson but cannot see it. Corrigan then radios, “Shots fired.”

• Around 7:43: Officer Corrigan exits his patrol car with his gun in hand and approaches Roberson who is lying face down on the ground.

• Around 7:56: Officer Corrigan asks Roberson, “Where is it?” about the object he had

A screenshot from the police body-cam footage shows captures Graham Thomas Roberson walking next to the car through the front windsheidld.

pointed towards the patrol car earlier before Corrigan shot him. He asks him “Where is it?” again.

• Around 7:59: Roberson responds, “I don’t know. It was a BB gun.” GPD later confirmed that Roberson had a BB gun and a toy gun but no real gun.

• Around 8:03: Officer Corrigan yells, “Put your hands out!”

• Around 8:05: Roberson responds, “I can’t move.”

• Around 8:18: It is a bit unclear but it sounds like Roberson says, “You fucked up, man.”

• Around 8:20: Roberson starts to say, “You made a goddamn…” The last word that Roberson says is unclear.

• Around 8:23: Officer Corrigan radios for EMS for the first time and says that the suspect was “shot multiple times.”

• Around 8:35: Roberson can be heard groaning, indicating that he is still alive.

• Around 9:22: Officer Corrigan handcuffs Roberson. Roberson is still and quiet.

• Around 9:46: Officer Corrigan radios for EMS again, says that Roberson was “shot multiple times” and is “not conscious, not breathing.”

• Around 10:06: Officer Corrigan rolls Roberson’s body over so that he is facing up. He finds and removes what appears to be a different silver handgun from Roberson’s front waistband. This is later confirmed to be a toy gun.

• Around 10:17: Corrigan starts performing CPR on Roberson 2 minutes and 38 seconds after first shooting him.

• Around 10:24: Corrigan checks Roberson’s pulse.

• Around 10:34: Officer Corrigan exclaims, “Fuck” and continues CPR.

• Around 10:45: EMS personnel show up and Corrigan tells them where the guns were.

• Around 10:56: An EMS employee asks Corrigan, “Officer involved?” To which Corrigan replies, “Yeah, I shot him.” Then EMS takes over.

What happened afterwards

On June 22, Officer Corrigan was placed on administrative duty. According to TCB’s past reporting, Corrigan was hired in 2018 and is 32 years old. He currently makes $54,762 annually.

On Feb. 26, Guilford County District Attorney Avery Crump determined that Corrigan’s actions were justified by both the commonlaw principles of selfdefense and also by NCGS 15A-401 which “permits the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer to defend himself or another from what he reasonably believes to be the imminent use of deadly force,” according to the police department.

In her statement, Crump wrote that “wherein mere seconds elapsed from the moment Graham Roberson raised and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at Officer Corrigan and when Officer Corrigan had time to react, the undersigned will not recommend the filing of a criminal charge against the officer involved.”

The second “gun” was in fact, a toy gun.

The Greensboro Police Department is conducting its own investigation into the incident as well, which has not been made public.

What questions remain

While the shooting of Roberson may have been found to be justified based on state law, questions remain as to why it took Corrigan so long to administer potentially life-saving aid to Roberson. Based on the video footage, Corrigan started CPR on Roberson 2 minutes and 38 seconds after shooting him five times. He also waits almost a full minute after handcuffing Roberson to start CPR.

According to the GPD’s directives, “whenever an officer uses force on an individual in custody, the officer will ensure the individual receives appropriate medical treatment as outlined in Departmental Directive 11.1.5. If an individual is affected by a use of police force, and is not in-custody, officers will make reasonable efforts to ensure any associated medical issues are addressed.”

However, a look at Directive 11.1.5 shows that there are no specific guidelines in place for when and how to administer life-saving aid like CPR after a police shooting.

There’s also the question of Roberson’s motivations and why he was walking around with a BB gun and a toy gun. According to his Facebook page, his most recent post from Jan. 13, 2023, about five months before this incident, shows Roberson’s unstable state of mind. He posts how his wife died in August 2022 and how he wants “nothing more than to join her.” However, Roberson goes on to say that he “will never commit suicide.”

Roberson also has one review on his Facebook for the Greensboro Police Department in which he writes, “Stop beating people for no reason. Thugs. Horrible thugs.”

In the past, TCB reported that one of the most prevalent types of deaths at the hands of law enforcement involve “suicide by cop” incidents. In these cases, victims exhibit suicidal behavior directed at law enforcement to elicit use of lethal force. That could explain the reason why Roberson had a BB gun and a toy gun when he approached Corrigan’s car. The question also remains as to why the call about a suspicious vehicle was made from Roberson’s residence.

Police footage and statements that have been put out also did not mention where Roberson was shot.

Who was Graham Roberson?

Facebook posts on Roberson’s profile show that he was married to Jessica Roberson in February 2020.

An online obituary for Roberson notes that he was a Greensboro resident who graduated from Page High School and later from UNCG.

“He enjoyed working with computers, spending time with friends, good music and cooking,” the obituary reads. “Graham was a natural DJ and spent time working with the radio station at Guilford College. More than anything, Graham loved time with his family and friends.”

In the tribute book linked on the obituary, Claudette Jones writes that they were a mail carrier for Roberson’s house.

“He was such a nice, personable person,” Jones writes. “We had several conversations in [sic] during the time I was his carrier. When I found out that it was Graham that got shot, my heart sank.”

Another person, Vernon L. Drake, writes that Roberson had recently opened up his home to Drake and his two dogs.

“He would share with me how he loved Blue Grass music; Especially the two brothers and daughter band [sic];” Drake writes. “He was definitely a person who was beyond tech savvy as he would show me things while staying with him. I am saddened by his passing especially how it came about because I Dont believe it.”

A photo of Graham Roberson pulled from the online obituary.

On April 2, six tenant organizations from around the state banded together to start a new statewide tenant union called the North Carolina Tenants Union, led by Nick MacLeod. In a conversation, TCB asked MacLeod and Housing Justice Now’s Sudarshan Krishnamurthyabout how the new statewide organization will help local branches like HJN in WinstonSalem.

Disclosure: Sudarshan Krishnamurthy is a freelance writer for TCB

Tell me about how the NC Tenants Union got started.

NM: So it started about three to four years ago. The NC Housing Coalition read the landscape of the state and saw that there wasn’t a statewide tenant organization. They kept getting into fights where tenants rights were being eroded and realized that there was a meaningful difference between access and power.

The downside of doing nothing just got unavoidable; it’s too dangerous to do nothing. I was brought on as the organizing director of the housing coalition in 2020 with the

goal of building these organizations and helping them build up infrastructure. We were lucky enough to have built up folks who were already moving like Housing Justice Now because the fact is that tenants have been organizing in North Carolina for decades and decades.

How many organizations are part of NCTU and what does it mean to be part of the union?

NM: Part of the reason why we’re saying it’s a tenants’ union is because we recognize that our power comes from mass numbers.There are currently six local groups and our board is made up of people from each of these groups. I’m currently the only staff member. The important part is that it’s a directly democratic organization. Being able to get to collectively negotiated leases is like collective bargaining. It’s a power shift between tenants and landlords. This is not like a labor union; there is not a legal form for a tenant union but we know that there is a lot of power outside of the legal structure.

Tenants protest for more housing rights. COURTESY

SK: Exactly, it’s about learning from what has worked and what hasn’t worked and sharing strategies.

Why is this important for tenants in NC?

SK: Housing is a crisis all over the state. I think seeing this union will build solidarity and will allow the locals to share struggles from all over NC. It will also encourage more folks to join the fight and learn that they were not alone. It helps to construct narratives of these shared struggles.

NM: Our hope is that all of these pieces are mutually reinforcing.

SK: So that looks like saying, ‘Hey, this is what we did with Crystal Towers. We moved the Winston Housing Authority in this way, so you can do that in Wilmington, too.’

What do you imagine for the future of NCTU?

NM: Since we launched on Tuesday, we’ve heard from so many other folks around the state. We want to get to all the places where housing is a crisis which is quite literally everywhere.

Ultimately, we’re hoping we have more full-time workers for each local chapter and beyond. NCTU only exists because of the incredible work that the workers and tenants on the ground are doing. It’s very much been a collective effort.

SK: A lot of what will change is that we will have more people, we will benefit from other locals and we will benefit from the central NCTU structure; it will be immensely helpful.

new offerings for spring

charcuterie & cheese boards

turkey club sandwiches

mimosa specials

lavender miel • fun buns

ham & brie sandwiches

gluten-free pistachio lemon rose cake

new hours

DOWNTOWN WS

M-W: 7a-6p Th-Sun: 7a-10p

BROOKSTOWN

7 days a week 7a-6p

BAPTIST HOSPITAL Mon-Fri 7a-5p

deep roots many voices

2024 summer outdoor concert series

SATURDAY EVENINGS @ 7PM

may 25

june 1

june 8

june 15

june 22

june 29

july 6

East Nash Grass + The Amanda Cook Band

Caleb Caudle + Wild Ponies

Chatham rabbits

The SteelDrivers + The Wilder Flower

Tuba Skinny

Appalachian Road Show + None of the Above

The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee + New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters

july 13

july 20

july 27

aug 3

aug 17

aug 24

aug 31

David Wax Museum + The Travis Williams Group

Fireside Collective + Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road

Martha Redbone roots project + Zoe & Cloyd

the kruger brothers

Steep Canyon Rangers

Alison Brown Quintet + Wayne Henderson & Friends

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

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On Tax Day, a note about taxes

by Brian Clarey

We hear a lot about taxes this time of year, particularly when there’s an election on the horizon. So it’s as good a time as any to lay down some unassailable tax facts for beginners and advanced students alike.

Nobody likes paying taxes! Yet the fact remains that this is how we pay for everything we do as a community and as a nation: garbage and leaf collection, roads, sidewalks, the entire criminal-justice system, public water, public housing, public schools, public utilities, parks, Social Security, bridges, tunnels, foreign aid, elections and a massive military infrastructure, to name a few.

The money comes from state and federal personal income taxes, as well as corporate income taxes, and those incremental taxes that get us all, like sales taxes, estate taxes, payroll taxes, property and vehicle taxes and many, many other avenues. And so everyone pays taxes in one way or another — yes, even immigrants! And I’ll say it again: No one likes them!

of thousands of illiterate children roaming your street every day with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

In North Carolina, we have been running a grand experiment in regards to taxes in our state. Since 2013 — the year Republicans gained a majority in the NC Legislature in more than 100 years — we have been whittling down the corporate tax rate from 6.9 percent in 2013 to 2.5 percent as of 2019, with a plan to eliminate it entirely by 2030. That’s right! Nothing!

Our state budget is currently $30 billion, and like most budgets, it will not be going down in the future. And according to NC State University researchers, corporate income taxes brought in about $1.5 billion in revenue in 2020, revenue we now do without.

Taxes pay for everything we do as a community from leaf collection to the post office.

To make up the shortfall from corporate income-tax revenue, one might think that the burden then shifts onto personal income taxes. But not in NC! Our current personal income-tax rate is about 4.75 percent, dropped from a high of 7 percent in 2010, with plans to lower it further, to 3.9 percent, over the next couple years.

Which is great, because we all hate taxes, right?

John Cole

But another hard fact is that we all benefit from these expenditures. No American businesses could exist without the internet — invented by the government with public dollars — highways and roads, a workforce educated primarily in public schools, the power grid or the US Post Office. Literally everything that Congress does is paid for with taxpayer money. And even if you don’t directly benefit personally from government spending — like, say, someone without kids whose tax money goes towards public schools — you still benefit indirectly because there aren’t tens

Yet, the needs of North Carolinians from their government remain unchanged. They’re growing, actually — in 2023 we were the fifth-fastest-growing state in the nation, adding more than 139,000 people that year.

It should all come to a head over the next five years, when the NC General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Center predicts that we will be running a budget shortfall of about $1.9 billion, and by 2030 more than $2.5 billion.

That, friends, is what is known as a fiscal cliff. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Courtesy of NC Policy Watch

Make no mis-steak: Serve high-end restaurant-quality meals at home with products from Southern Foods

by Michaela Ratliff

Everyone’s a professional chef when they shop at Southern Foods.

An affiliate of Cheney Brothers, Inc. since 2016, Southern Foods is a food products supplier in Greensboro specializing in choice meats, seafood and specialty groceries from brands found nowhere else. By purchasing from Southern Foods, home chefs can create luxurious meals from exclusive products right in their home kitchens.

In addition to restaurants across the country, Southern Foods services customers at home via E-commerce and an on-site market. What started as a small shop in 2020 is now a grocery store full of the highest graded meat and seafood processed in-house. Products sourced locally and nationally give Patrons the same browsing experience as a restaurant owner. Certified Angus Beef to Heritage Breed Pork grown in the Carolinas. Clienteles can take advantage of non-commodity stocked product and explore higher grade like Joyce Farms Chicken and award-winning Wagyu Beef stock. Consumers are welcomed to attend every Saturday for Giveaways and Promotional events done in house from 8 a.m.-noon.

Upon entering Southern Foods’ lobby, visitors get a glimpse of more than two dozen plaques on the wall, awarded for quality and volume of meat sold each year given to the company by Certified Angus Beef, a beef supplier that grades cuts on 10 quality standards in three categories: marbling and maturity, consistent sizing and quality appearance and tenderness. With the Certified Angus Beef stamp of approval, diners know they’re in for an upscale experience. Southern Foods was one of the first suppliers in the country licensed to sell Certified Angus Beef, a testament to the quality the company provides.

“Just for December alone of 2023, we sold 9 million pounds. Out of this world,” says Bill Mutton, Division President of Greensboro.

The facility is divided into multiple processing areas, each dedicated to preparing specific products. To ensure items are meeting Certified Angus Beef standards, the beef processing area is inspected daily by the United States Department of Agriculture. Rooms are decorated with commercial machinery including a vacuum-sealed tumbler and a slicer for fajita meat. The star of the beef-processing room is the smart slicer, a million-dollar piece of machinery that works by laser scanning trimmed products to identify them, choosing the best slice according to the cut and slicing it to ounce dividends. According to Department Supervisor Ryan Gniser, the smart slicer allows for over three times more output than other methods.

“We were capped at 26,000 pounds of cut product a week. That machine being here, it can give us up to 80,000 pounds per week,” he says.

Hard at work behind the glass of the patty processing area are employees cutting patties to the customer’s specifications, and Southern Foods prides itself in a 1-day turnaround. The company offers custom molds in a variety of shapes and sizes and has even home plate-shaped patties for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the past. Not only can customers create patties from brisket, ribeye, tenderloins and more, they can

also choose the lean to fat ratio.

Lopez says, “You can pick and choose what you want.”

All dry-aging is also done in-house, and the company can dry age any product the customer pleases.

Southern Foods also offers the prized possession of the beef industry: Japanese A5 wagyu from Kagoshima, Japan. The shipping process takes 24 hours from Japan to Greensboro with meticulous tracking all in the hands of Andrew Vasko, a Purchasing and Sales Specialist at Southern Foods. Soon to be launched in the retail outlet and e-commerce site. The marbly, highly sought-after meat is stored on a temperature controlled suspended shelf that allows it to last for 180 days.

The company also specializes in fresh, never frozen seafood straight from the Carolina coastline and Arctic waters that is custom cut daily in an environment that utilizes an ozonated water system to “kill pathogens, prevent bacteria and support freshness.”

Southern Foods is an exclusive retailer of Sixty South salmon, a company that, like the beef industry, holds high standards.

“Inland customers cannot get a fresher product like this” Jim Stazak says, a Seafood Purchasing Specialist at Southern Foods.

Whether customers are catering a party or stocking their freezer, Southern Foods is the one-stop shop for pre-portioned or bulk top-notch items sure to please all who taste them.

CULTURE

At this year’s RiverRun, documentaries highlighting the Triad shine

through

by Sayaka Matsuoka and Brian Clarey

Astory about one team’s journey to the championships. An intimate look at three families’ birthing process. An inspiring music teacher. A portrait of an activist group.

For this year’s RiverRun Festival, we chose a handful of documentaries — both long and short — that were filmed in the Triad and feature local stories.

The festival starts on Thursday and runs through April 27. Several films will be screened at theaters in Winston-Salem and Greensboro and also virtually. For more information visit riverrunfilm.com.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Bloom

Directed by Elizabeth Miller-Derstine, Allison Rieff, 65 minutes

Showtimes:

• Marketplace Cinemas in Winston-Salem, April 21, 4 p.m. (A discussion will follow the screening with the filmmakers and representatives from Novant Health.)

• Virtual, April 29-May 6 at riverrun.com

In a highly politicized landscape around reproductive rights and healthcare, this one-hour documentary brings empathy and a conversation about care to its center. Directed by Wake Forest graduate students Elizabeth Miller-Derstine and Allison Rieff, the film follows the stories of three different couples and their respective doulas as they plan for the births of their children. By following closely from the weeks before their babies’ birth, to the delivery room to the period after the babies are born, Bloom takes viewers on an intimate look at what it’s like to give birth in North Carolina today.

The film starts with a stark reminder of today’s realities: “If you’re a mom today, you’re 50 percent more likely to die in childbirth than your own mom was, 3-4 times more if you’re Black, compared with if you’re white.” The film also highlights how in a March of Dimes Report Card, which highlights the latest key indicators to describe and improve maternal and infant health, Forsyth County received an F.

However, rather than being a depressing story about the dangers of giving birth, the film shows the kind of affirming experience that is possible when parents have a support system during one of the most important phases of their lives.

Couple Rachel and Lee, who have a large, 11-pound baby on the way, talk through details about cesarean sections with doula Jessica Bower. In Jessica and Ricky’s instance, doula Ka’Tiera Truett shows Jessica a catheter that would be used on her if doctors needed to induce pregnancy. Delaney and Thomas, who had a traumatic first birthing experience, opt for a water birth for their second child.

Throughout the film the case is made that it takes a village to not only raise a child but to bring them into the world and that doulas can help to carry that load. At the end, the film states that 11 states plus Washington DC have passed legislation for Medicaid reimbursement for doulas services, but that North Carolina is not yet one of those states.

But the hope is that as more parents like the ones featured in the film share their stories, the more normalized having support through pregnancies will become.

“It’s a safety net to have a best friend carry you through your pregnancy,” doula and birth educator ShLanda Burton explains.

Through the Lines

Directed by Gerry Gibson, 119 minutes

Showtimes:

• HanesBrands Theatre in Winston-Salem, April 21, 4:30 p.m.

• RED Cinemas in Greensboro, April 23, 5:30 p.m.

• Virtual, April 29-May 6 at riverrun.com

Through the Lines, Gerry Gibson’s deep dive on the NC Fusion soccer team, is a big story about a short season.

Specifically, he’s documenting the Fusion’s 2023 season, just their second in the USL2 division, as it emanates from their home pitch in

High Point to the championship game.

And from the beginning of this 2-hour documentary feature, we delve into the minutiae of the thing, game by game: mini-profiles the coaches and many of the players, to be sure, but also time on the travel bus, bits of game strategy, breakdowns of every bad call and red card, some discussion of the infrastructure of the American versions of the game as opposed to the European model, the drama of a thrown water bottle and lots more granular detail that will enthrall students of the game.

For the casual fan, there are the stories of the athletes themselves, overlooked players relegated to a lesser league with just three months to make their individual cases for promotion to the big time.

The film is more “Welcome to Wrexham” than “Ted Lasso,” with emotional monologues from the players as they rise through the league during that spectacular season, but without the colorful locals and Hollywood stars. For the soccer fan, it’s as real as a sports doc gets. With a 2-hour runtime, it’s pretty long — they win the SouthAStlantic Division at the halfway mark — but not if you love it. And by the end, it’s hard not to love these guys.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

‘Your Cadenza’

Directed by Chen Zheng, 24 minutes

Showtimes:

• HanesBrands Theatre in Winston-Salem, April 26, 5:30 p.m. (The film will be screened as part of North Carolina Shorts, Program Three: Winston Stories)

• Virtual, April 29-May 6 at riverrun.com

This sweet little film follows music teacher Olesya (Alex) Dashkevych as she teaches a group of elementary school kids how to play violin through the Winston-Salem Symphony’s PLAY Music Program. Dashkevych, who grew up playing violin in Ukraine, traveled to Italy playing in prestigious orchestras and chambers before finding herself in WinstonSalem as a teacher. Prior to taking up teaching, Dashkevych reveals that she had been assaulted, causing her lasting injuries that prevented her from playing violin professionally. Because of that, Dashkevych found herself going back to school for nursing in addition to spending time teaching the kids.

The film, which lasts 24 minutes, is as much about Dashkevych’s journey as it is her students’. Kids no older than 8 or 9 start by learning how to play the instrument using paper violins that they construct and decorate to eventually showing off their hard work in a seminario concert held at RJ Reynolds High School. Throughout the film, Dashkevych’s resiliency and bubbly personality shines through, highlighting the program, which helps kids from diverse backgrounds learn music and literacy. ALong the way, viewers can delight every time a child hits the right note in Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or the more difficult, Mary Had a Little Lamb. And by the end of the film which coincides with the concert, you can’t help but root for everyone involved.

‘United’

Directed by Parker Beverly, Louie Poore, 16 minutes

Showtimes:

• HanesBrands Theatre in Winston-Salem, April 26, 5:30 p.m. (The film will be screened as part of North Carolina Shorts, Program Three: Winston Stories)

• Virtual, April 29-May 6 at riverrun.com

• Editor’s note: A longer version of this review was previously published online by TCB in February.

The camera zooms in on Michael Douglas’ face, years of life reflected in the slight wrinkles under his eyes and the white in his goatee. His eyes are closed, but the first line to come out of his mouth speaks volumes.

“We’ve got people living in two- and three- and five-hundred thousand dollar homes and we’re living in deficient housing, meaning Crystal Towers,” Douglas says.

Thus starts the short documentary “United,” which follows a small but determined group of residents — many of whom are elderly or disabled — who live in WinstonSalem’s 11-story, low-income housing facility.

The film, which is streaming on Vimeo, was created by Louie Poore and Parker Beverly as an assignment for Wake Forest’s documentary film program of which they are now graduates.

In the past several years, a dedicated group of residents and activists have coalesced around improving living conditions at Crystal Towers. Many news outlets, including TCB, have reported on the subpar living conditions afflicting residents including mold, broken elevators and even a recent fire. The result is a group called Crystal Towers United, which in large part has been led by resident Michael Douglas.

The film, which spans just about 16 minutes long, captures snapshots of residents fighting for change through speaking at city council meetings, strategizing at organizer Dan Rose’s dinner table and meeting in the library.

As a longtime resident of the building, Douglas is a natural protagonist. But his penchant for public speaking and activism didn’t stop with his living space. In November 2023, Douglas announced that he would be running for a seat on city council in the Northwest Ward. Like so many underdog stories, the film touches on the core reasoning why regular citizens become activists: because the powers at be, aren’t doing anything to help them, and often, are working against them.

“It wasn’t right,” Douglas says, reflecting on his speech at city council. “I shouldn’t have been there; I shouldn’t have had to complain; I shouldn’t have been forced to run for office.”

And at the 14-minute mark in the film, viewers finally see the point driven home.

Because even once the cameras stop rolling, the work continues.

CULTURE

Q&A with actor Andrew Brewer, who plays the Duke in Moulin Rouge! The Musical

by Sayaka Matsuoka | sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

Q A Q A Q A

Actor Andrew Brewer, 36, plays the Duke of Monroth in the North American Broadway tour of Moulin Rouge, which opens at the Tanger Center in Greensboro on Tuesday and runs through April 28. The musical, which debuted in 2018, is based on the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. In the film, McGregor plays Christian, a poet who falls in love with Kidman’s character, a cabaret performer and courtesan named Satine. In our conversation Brewer talked about imposter syndrome, self-care and his favorite part about playing the lead antagonist of the show.

How did you get started in musical theater?

I’m from a small town in Indiana and got into musical theater in college. I had known some musical theater before but I went to a very, very small high school — we had a graduating class of six — so we didn’t really have shows or anything like that. When I went to college, I made my way from math teacher to vocal performance and then switched to musical theater. Then, I moved to New York City in 2011 and started auditioning. The first show I got was Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, we actually came to Greensboro during that tour. And then in 2020, the pandemic hit and I started thinking about my career and what it is that I want.

Tell me about that time in your life.

Well, I re-evaluated everything in 2020 and decided to go whole hog. I decided that post pandemic, I was just going to say yes to everything. I had been asked to audition for Moulin Rouge in 2019 and didn’t hear anything for about six months. But then one day, I heard back and I’ve been on the road since the show started in 2022.

It sounds like you took a nontraditional route into the industry. How has that affected your career?

Yeah, so I was halfway through school and I hadn’t performed at all. I felt kind of behind; I wasn’t as far along as my peers were. And the other thing about musical theater is that your job ends; no matter what show you get, it has an end date. We usually work about 8-12 weeks performance wise. Broadway shows are tricky and can last for years or they can last just a few weeks. There’s never been that security. So to have a show like this where we’re scheduled out for a few years is rare.

Between Beautiful and Moulin Rouge, I didn’t do anything. It was almost four years of nothing so there’s always a bit of imposter syndrome in this business because there’s no upper mobility. Your last gig is your last gig and your career trajectory is not a steady climb; it’s always a sort of up-and-down thing.

Andrew Brewer plays the Duke of Monroth in Moulin Rouge! The Musical

COURTESY PHOTO

When I was living in New York, there’s the cliché of being a waiter/actor. That’s something I did for a while because it’s a job you can float in and out of. I did temp work, I worked as a night doorman, I worked catering, conventions; it’s a consistent grind. But the trade-off is that I get to do what I love; I trade the security for the joy.

Q A

It still sounds like an extremely difficult gig. What do you do to take care of yourself?

We are really lucky, especially with this company — they give us a mental-health stipend. We have an HR team; we have an EDI team. So there’s a lot of different aspects to this producing team and general management team.

But being on the road is hard, it’s consistent change. We do eight shows a week and we work holidays because those are the busy times. So you’re consistently busy and moving and traveling; you miss out on a lot of things.

I’m lucky that my fiancé is on tour with me and I have my cat. I have forgone flights so we take drives. I have access to an Airbnb instead of a hotel and I cook instead of having to constantly eat out. So as much as I can make this like a real life, and create a consistent state of hominess, that’s what I’ve needed to maintain my mental health.

Q A

Tell me about the character you play, the Duke of Monroth. It’s really fun for me; I’ve never really gotten to be the bad guy before so this is a fun turn.

Whenever we talk about the duke, we discuss the idea that he’s not really a villain. He has some negative aspects, like the first line he sings is, “I got money, that’s what I want.” His motivation is about owning things. He’s drawn in by Zigler who wants to find someone who will take care of Satine. But my character has his own ulterior motives, like trying to own Zigler’s club and everyone in it. He’s a blast to play. When I auditioned, it’s the role I was angling for. There’s such a fun aspect of trying to push the audience and getting them to question who to root for.

Q A

What’s your favorite part of the show?

The technical aspects of the show are really, really incredible. The lighting, the costumers, the set. As an actor, I think a lot of playing a character can be helped when you get to come in and put on this amazing costume. Also, my entrance is the coolest entrance I’ve ever gotten. It makes my job easier. It’s won 10 Tonys for a reason. They’ve spared no expense to really make this an experience.

Then there’s the music. There are 70-plus top songs, especially for Millennials, a lot of them are in my wheelhouse from Fun to Britney Spears to Katy Perry. But there’s also older stuff like Nat King Cole and I get to sing a Rolling Stones medley. The music makes me smile and it spans 100 years. There’s a plethora of music and genres and eras. So it’s an experience for us that is as fun as it is for the audience.

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

BY CAROLYN DE BERRY

CROSSWORD

‘Incomplete Broadway’ — some words don’t get an Act 2.

by Matt Jones

© 2023 Matt Jones