Longleaf 2018: Official Selections

Click here for a general history of Longleaf 2018 . . .
Click here for a list of award winners for 2018 . . .
Click here for special events at Longleaf 2018 . . .
Click here for a look at some photos from 2018 . . .

Longleaf 2018 screened the following 73 films, our 2018 Official Selections, on May 11 and 12 at the North Carolina Museum of History:

in alphabetical order by title
click on an image to expand it

Mark Playne
2 BY 2
Two macho shepherds – men divided by history, hate and a high border fence that separates their countries – suddenly realize that they have a chance to be the last two human survivors of an impending worldwide catastrophe. However, their survival depends on one of them being man enough to dress up as a woman. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to visit the production on Facebook.

Anne Ward and Chip Williams
A Father’s Dream
Family influences inspire fine-woodworker David Finck, based in western North Carolina, to change his career to making violins. Click here to follow him on Facebook.

Chip Hackler
A Summer’s Day
One father seeks a closer connection with his estranged son. Click here for information on the director.

Tom Dierolf
Almost Cured
“After the first touchdown, the crowd was a little less racist and after the second touchdown, they were almost cured.” This honest, personalized account of racial integration is set in a small North Carolina Appalachian community during the thick of the Civil Rights movement in 1963. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to read about some of the characters in this real-life story; click here to follow the project on Facebook.

W. Jarvis Rooker
Animal Doctor
An ornery, retired veterinarian is tasked by his nursing home attendant, Calvin, to diagnose a dog that was hit by a car and left at the roadside to die. Click here to read about the project launch.

Kieran Moreira
Art of Exchange
Renowned performance artist Tim Etchells and the Tate Modern gallery in London create a unique venue: three seemingly ordinary tables designed solely to reignite passion for exchanging ideas. See what happens when the public engages with this scenario after the exhibit debuts in the spring of 2017. Click here to watch a trailer.

Shannon Silva
Baby Oil
It’s 1978. Stranded without a car in the middle of nowhere North Carolina, a young mother rides out a severe storm and internally struggles with how to exit her abusive marriage. Click here to learn about the film on Facebook.

Bryan Reklis and Kenny Jones
Basilisk
Patrick leads a normal life—or he does until meeting with a mysterious stranger changes everything. Can Patrick keep his grip on reality? Click here to watch a trailer or click here to follow the production company on Facebook.

Ricky Kelly
Black Beach/White Beach: A Tale of Two Beaches
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, two national motorcycle festivals are held over the weeks around Memorial Day: one is primarily white; the other, predominately black. While the two groups of bikers enjoy both festivals, the city, community, and state have vastly different views of the two events, creating a divide among participants, business owners, and residents. Click here to watch an extended trailer or click here to learn about the film’s origins; click here to follow the film on Facebook.

André Silva
Black River
Shot on high-contrast black-and-white 16mm film, this introspective documentary observes a largely undeveloped river in southeastern North Carolina that is home to some of the oldest trees east of the Rocky Mountains. Click here to learn about the director’s accomplishments.

Tim Hall
Born River Bye
A disillusioned songwriter and a restless receptionist confront their regrets over an autumn weekend in Macon, Georgia. Click here to watch a trailer. Click here to view the film’s website or follow the film on Twitter or Facebook.

Bob Celli
Brooklyn in July
Frank Walker, a man scarred by a past that is lurking only skin deep, is an African American World War II veteran working as a chauffeur in the summer of 1945. Like so many other African Americans of the time, Frank has been drawn to New York by the promise of a better life—only to be confronted by the same realities, fears, and hatreds he hoped he had left behind. Click here to watch a trailer. Click here to visit the production company website or click here to learn more about the film on Facebook.

Jay Capers
Carolina ’Cross
Bicycle racers crisscross North Carolina from September to January racing bikes in a sport known as cyclocross. Originating in France in the early 1900s, racers compete on a short course, with multiple laps through parks, fields, and woods in mud, rain, and snow. Click here to watch a trailer.

Edward Loupe
Coffee: An Opera
A cozy musical vignette of three stories intertwining over the course of one night and a warm cup in a neighborhood coffee shop. Click here to watch a trailer.

Bradley Howard
Curse Words “Airlock” (Official Music Video)
Peter gets abducted and uses science to contact the aliens who captured him. His story is a new music video for the song “Airlock” by the band Curse Words. Click here to meet or follow the band on Facebook or click here to sample music from the group’s first full-length album, Doggie Heaven.

Adam Ferguson and Jordyn Kennedy
Daisy Creek
A man struggles to cope with the loss of his daughter as he begins to learn the truth of his reality. Click here to watch a trailer.

Kat Garrido
Daydreamer
A student falls asleep in class, is awakened by his teacher, and told to do a problem on the board that he doesn’t know how to solve. Click here to see how Kat made her film.

Michael Bojtos
Dickinson Avenue: The [Mostly] True Story of the Paddock Club
The Paddock Club wasn’t just a bar, it was home. It was family. It was the first place in eastern North Carolina where LGBT people could be themselves. The patrons and staff of the Paddock wove the tapestry that made up the story of the Paddock. This is their story. Click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Jim Haverkamp
Dressful of Dreams

Music, dance, and psychedelic 78 rpm loops mesh with the overripe southern landscape in this hallucinatory video for Durham’s dance and banjo conglomerate, The Bipeds. Click here to learn about the group or click here to follow the group on Facebook.

Scott Schimmel and Geoff Groberg
Driven Blind
Dan Parker, a world champion drag racer, struggles to adjust to his new reality after a tragic racing accident leaves him blind. Though he cannot see, he has not given up his love of working with his hands or his love of racing, and he is doing everything he can to be involved in the sport—and stay behind the wheel. Click here to follow the movie on Facebook.

Beth Davison
Dulatown
Dulatown, a community in Caldwell County, was established when slave owner Alfred Dula bequeathed land to his slave, Harriet, and their eight children. Regular reunions embrace this history and the family genealogy to publicly acknowledge that the Dulas share more than just a surname. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to read more about the community and its family.

Denver Hollingsworth
Essex
New Year’s Eve is Amy’s first night alone providing on-call support for Essex Enterprises, a home security firm. When a bad storm knocks the company servers off-line, she calls Jake, a down-on-his-luck support technician, and the two hit it off immediately. Click here to watch a trailer.

Miles McKeller-Smith and Acobe Cheek
Flagged: An American Love Story
After being thrown into the national spotlight, a young North Carolina educator learns what “Making America Great Again” means and how deep the love of country goes. Click here to to watch a trailer.

Evan Kidd
Flooded with You
This story reveals the inspiring, strong bond of the Davis family, whose members all live together in one small apartment in the wake of the historic August 2016 flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to see more work by the director.

Kevin Murray
For Love
Matt, who seems to be quite the average fellow, schleps through his workdays at a local convenience store, mostly unnoticed by customers and colleagues—and that includes being overlooked by his gorgeous coworker, Maddie. Yet, Matt is actually quite the remarkable fellow. Click here to watch a trailer. Click here to see other projects by the producer or click here to follow the director on Facebook.

Thomas Parrish V
Force B1 (Beyond the Outer Rim)
Shot entirely with drone cameras, this short film—written and directed by 12-year-old Thomas Parrish V—tells a brief story of young GewDaan B1, who discovers a power that has not been seen among his people in more than 1,000 years. Click here to access other information.

Brad Bennett and Jonah Guelzo
Forgive—Don’t Forget
During Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II, a number of swords were confiscated by American officers. To better understand the past and build a bridge between cultures in the present, a filmmaker attempts to return one of these swords to its original owner. Click here to view a trailer and other information on the film’s website or click here to follow its journey on Facebook.

Andrew Huggins
Goodman
This modern-day adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic short story “Young Goodman Brown” from 1835 follows one man’s journey from having morality, purity, and honor to his being filled with uncertainty and chaos. Click here to view a trailer or click here to follow the director on Facebook.

Michael Raab
Ground Zero Goldsboro
On January 26, 1961, two hydrogen bombs fell in eastern North Carolina. One was safe. One was armed . . . Click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Thomas Espy and Huiying Wang
Human Kaleidoscope
Stephanie struggles with body image, mood swings, and eating disorders. After she meets with professional body painter Cheryl Ann Lipstreu, she considers experiencing something she would have never thought possible. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to follow the film on Facebook.

William Rowe
Invisible
A homeless mother’s world is turned upside down when she begins to vanish from reality. This is her desperate race against time, to find someone to help her before she is gone forever. Click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Ryan Trenkamp
Joshua Messick: Hammered Dulcimer
Joshua Messick, national hammer dulcimer champion, discusses the story of his art and creative process and shares how he uses living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina as a source of inspiration. Click here to read about the director or click here to hear Joshua Messick play.

Evan Kidd
Learning Man
The ghost of a former slave has been wandering an old North Carolina textile mill, waiting on a promise, when she comes to believe a young construction worker is her long-awaited teacher. Can he become the promised “learning man”? Click here to watch a trailer or click here to read about shooting the film.

Bradley Howard
Light Armor
Major Harv Howard reflects on his unit’s experience, breaching the minefields and advancing into Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War. Click here to see some of the director’s projects on IMDb.

Holly Holder
Little Red Pocketbook
Brave students at the all-black Adkin High School in Kinston staged one of the first walkouts of the Civil Rights movement, an action that helped shape the course of history in Kinston. It is finally time for the world to know about this legacy. Click here to read more about the film or click here to read about the walkout.

Kim Best
Little Works of Art
Harold “Cat Man” Sims recently opened the American Museum of the House Cat in Sylva. Its more than 10,000 cat-related objects honor cats as “little works of art.” More importantly, Sims says, it supports his no-kill, open cat shelter that keeps homeless cats from being jailed until they can be adopted. Click here to follow the director on Facebook.

Raymond Wallace
Lost in Buffalo City
Against better judgement and warnings from locals, eager reporter John Miller is investigating a series of strange apparitions and deadly encounters related to a long-forgotten ghost town in the dark coastal swamps of North Carolina. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to read biographies of the cast; click here to follow the film on Facebook.

David Superville and Cameron Voris
Mark
“They woke him up. Now they’re gonna milk him for all he’s worth.” After being activated as a sleeper agent, a boxer-clad father with a mysterious past is put through a series of trials that test his resolve. With life hanging in the balance, Mark struggles to fight against the voice in his head. Click here to follow the film’s production company on Facebook.

Christopher Wagner
Mini Thor
Five-year-old Ashtin Gerberg is a baseball prodigy whose flowing hair and impressive talents earned him the nickname “Mini Thor.” Click here or here to read about the sports phenom!

Carl T. Rogers
Murky Water
In the backwater swamps of the south, a rebellious preacher’s daughter has hell to pay when she conjures her dead mother’s ghost. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to read about the director.

Christian Scales
Night
Writer/director/producer Christian Scales and producer Keaton Brower met during their senior year in the high school drama program at UNC School of the Arts. Since then, they have wanted to make films, like this one, in which a young woman confronts her fears when returning home late from work.

Noah Campagna
Night Shift
The local 24-hour convenience store is invaded by a bite-sized flying saucer!

Christen Christian
Oakdale
Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington was the first cemetery of the Rural Cemetery Movement—started in 1831 to locate burial grounds away from churches and outside population centers—to be built in North Carolina. Click here to some clips from the director’s portfolio or click here to learn about the cemetery.

Cameron Hardesty
Pathway to Success
A young woman is faced with a decision: should she join her friends and play or go home and study for her final exam . . . Click here to follow the director on Facebook.

Timothy Hearn and Matthew Hearn
Perfect Pitch
Two up and coming filmmakers ponder over what could be the best idea for a film they’ve ever had. The Hearn brothers have been making short films and videos in North Carolina for as long as they’ve had a camera, and know that sometimes the best idea doesn’t make much sense unless it’s pitched perfectly. Click here to read about the directors’ passions or click here to follow the exploits on Facebook.

Andrea Morgenlander and Joshua Overbay
Polished
Engaged in the seemingly menial task of putting on makeup for an evening out with her husband, a tormented woman escapes her eerily stagnant reality by deep-diving into the watery depths of her chaotic inner world. Click here to read an interview related to the director’s latest project.

Christopher Lusk
Prosperity
Past. Present. Future. Located in the mountains of Appalachia, Bluefield, West Virginia, saw unprecedented growth during the coal boom of the early 20th century. Now, with the decline of coal mining in the region, its dwindling population and limited economic development have left the city at a crossroads. This film will immerse you in the community with elements of documentary and experimental film. Click here to read about the director’s vision for the film or click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Dylan Powers
Purga
Making the leap into the afterlife, a wandering soul seeks a new beginning, but must provide an offering that could crumble his existence forever. Click here to read about the director or click here to view another short by him.

Nic Beery
Rabbits
African American adult twins Josh and Sheryl are at a crossroads. Their daddy has recently died and they are meeting in a park to spread his ashes. This also the day their relationship comes to a head; and there’s no turning back. Click here to view a trailer or click here to follow the director on Facebook.

W. Jarvis Rooker
Real Gone Cat
“Only a real-gone cat will catch the eye of a far-out fox” is ’60s slang for “the guy who marches to his own beat will get the girl.” The film was shot in Warren and Wake counties.

Georg Koszulinski
Recuerdos de Sangre (Blood Memories)
This is a personal essay film that reflects on my family leaving Cuba in the 1960s. Click here to see samples of the director’s work or click here to see an interview with him.

Tyler Holender
Redaction
A young man uses a found toy to travel back in time and correct his mistakes, all to create the perfect New Year’s Eve date. Click here to view other works by the director or click here to follow him on Facebook.

Brad Dillard and Nick Deel
Regrowth
Two “battle buddies” trace the friendship, recovery, and philanthropic endeavors of their lives 12 years after they were badly injured in an IED explosion in Iraq. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Forrest Tuff
Released
People released from prison often continue to pay for the mistakes of their pasts, though they also hold out hope for their future. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to learn more about the film.

Louis Cherry and Marsha Gordon
Rendered Small
Glimpse at a display of more than 1,200 handmade American folk-art buildings—homes, churches, storefronts, businesses, schools, factories, theaters, farmhouses—from Steven Burke and Randy Campbell’s private Hillsborough collection. Click here to follow the film on Facebook or click here to see a news story about the miniature structures.

Michael Pogoloff
Robeson Rises
As a proposed pipeline threatens to disrupt communities and ecosystems across North Carolina, a group of diverse activists rises up to challenge construction. Click here to watch a trailer.

Ashlen Renner
Showdown
Studio owner Cheryl Bellamy takes her dance team from inner city Durham to suburban Smithfield so they can compete at the first contest of the year, the Southeast Showdown Dance Competition. Click here to follow the director on Facebook.

Andrew Harrison Brown
Somewhere in Beulah Land
A young farmer works through his first year, learning how to love and care for a piece of land near Mount Airy. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to view other projects from the director’s company, Ragtag Tribe.

Sean Rooney
Straggler
An experienced ghost extractor finds an unexpected challenge when she encounters a youthful spirit who doesn’t realize he’s dead. Click here to watch a trailer.

Gavin Lankford and Aleksandre C. Kosinski
Supernova
When a little boy’s late-night viewing of his favorite space adventure videotape is cut short by a scolding from his mom, he channels the heroism of his sci-fi fantasy hero and makes it his mission to get the tape back. Click here to watch a trailer.

Beth Fletcher
Tethered
To live up to his father’s legacy, Oscar has created a musical invention that will change the weather. However, while testing it in amateur pilot Wendy’s balloon, the two end up taking a whimsical journey that helps him discover his true passions. Click here to watch a trailer.

Daniel Earney
The Backup Plan
When a down-on-his-luck single father faces eviction, he begins stealing catalytic converters to save his home. Click here to watch the trailer, or Click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Wil Weldon
The Imaginary Village of Allan Gurganus
Exploring the concept of what makes his literature “local,” what motivates his storytelling, and how he takes his work public, Allan Gurganus generously pulls back the curtains on a world seldom seen by outside eyes. Click here to watch a trailer.

Camden Watts
The Innocent AK
AK’s ex won’t leave her alone. Click here to read about the development of “AK” or click here to follow the film’s journey on Facebook.

Anna Kamoroff
The Little Giraffe
A hungry little giraffe needs the help of a friend so it can reach tasty leaves at the top of a tree.

Andrew Austin and Adam Ward
The Power of Glove
This is a documentary chronicling the history & legacy of the notoriously “bad” Nintendo Power Glove, a 1989 video game controller lauded as the first mass-marketed gesture-based commercial product, which paved the way for the future of Virtual Reality. Click here to watch a trailer or follow the film on Twitter or Facebook; click here to meet the filmmakers.

Victoria Duncan
The Transgressor
In a society where music is outlawed, one young girl is forced to decide between obeying the rules and following her heart. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to visit the film’s website or click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Jerome Aiello
Vigilance
Ignored by the self-absorbed, a little girl playing in the park wanders off into the woods, seemingly unseen. Someone is watching, though, and he follows her into the woods.

Becky Barker
We Are the Dead
A young American soldier on the front lines of the Argonne Forest in 1918 wrestles with fear as he prepares to go over the top for the first time and face almost-certain death. Click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Gorman Bechard
What It Takes: Film en Douze Tableaux
This intimate glimpse at songwriting and the balancing of life versus passion follows Chapel Hill legend Sarah Shook and her band of seasoned virtuosos, The Disarmers, into the studio to record their new album and prove they have what it takes to shake up country music. Click here to watch a trailer; click here to see some production stills or click here to follow the film on Facebook; click here to follow the director on Twitter.

Rachael Silberman
What Lies Unopened
Based on a true story of a dark mother-daughter dynamic set in the 1940’s, Marty accidentally unearths a family secret that sparks confusion and rage. Her choice: escape her mother’s abusive grasp or finally take a stand. Click here to the trailer or click here to follow the film on Facebook.

Grant Conversano
Where Mothbloods Bloom
Fed up and exhausted, Autumn ends her relationship with a heroin addicted boyfriend. But that leaves her stranded and alone, at a gas station, at night. There, she reaches out to Zane, a truck driver who’s eating alone. Click here to watch a trailer or click here to follow the film on Facebook!

Sam Griffith
Work
A young mom questions her choices and identity while raising her daughter on a farm. Click here to see the trailer.

Longleaf Film Festival

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Longleaf 2018: Official Selections