The folks who make Longleaf happen are employees of the North Carolina Museum of History—members of the museum’s interpretation staff with support from, well, just about everyone over the last 12 years: people from design, marketing, graphics and editorial, administration, collections and curation, the museum shop, and security—and volunteers. But our main work at the museum concerns finding ways to present history through exhibits, online materials, tours, and other access points so its message is comprehensive, relatable, tangible, and engaging.

All that is to say, as many of you have learned, our home base, the North Carolina Museum of History, is closing for an extended renovation project. And, clearly, all of us will be working to make the “new” museum as excellent as possible. In the meantime, we will also be packing up 30 years of “stuff,” transitioning it to storage, moving ourselves to temporary work spaces, then unpacking some of the stuff and getting back to work. Plus, I’m sure you know, the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is around the corner, and we are continuing to work on many aspects of commemoration related to that transformative period.

As we take on those new, exciting (and additional) projects, we are having to learn to also let go and recognize the truth—that, as difficult as it is to put on a film festival in our own building, it would be that much harder to do it somewhere else—while also carrying on our history-related work.

So, to really wrap up . . . we have decided that this year’s festival, our tenth celebration, will be the last Longleaf Film Festival—at least, for the foreseeable future. In making that announcement, I rest comfortably on how we’ve demonstrated that making films is making history.

With profound gratitude for the folks involved, the films shared, and the connections forged, all of which endure, please know that we believe in you, all of you, and we continue to be your biggest fans. We are excited for all you are going to create and be, and we thank you for sharing your work, for your support, and for your belief in Longleaf over the years. Keep creating! We will be, too.

Sally Causey Bloom