Real to Reel 2022

2022 Festival Lineup! - (Scroll down for film synopses)

the 2022 winners were....
Best of Fest: “Underdogs”
Best Professional Feature: “Sweet Disaster”
Best Professional Documentary: “Crazy Cat Lady”
Best Professional Short: “Talk to Me in Silence”
Best Professional Animation: “Molly’s Light”
Best Student/Amateur Documentary: “Shaping Seagrove”
Best Student/Amateur Short: “To the Roof”
Best Student/Amateur Animation: “Sonata”
Audience Choice: "Suga Brown"
Mayor's Choice: "A Moment of Humanity"
Best of North Carolina: “Sound of Judgement”

aDay Playing

Title

Rating

Runtime

Category

h:mm:ss

Wednesday, July 27 - 7pm-until

Q&A

Processing Magic

4min 19sec

Animation

Rocks for Sale!

16min 25sec

Documentary

Glory & Injustice

7min 20sec

Short

Q&A

Once There was Darkness

6min 13sec

Animation

Q&A

God Bless

8min 21sec

Short

Intermission

Sound of Judgement

PG-13

20min 18sec

Documentary

Q&A

Common Place

3min 22sec

Short

View Finder

PG-13

15min 43sec

Documentary

The Little Drummer Boy

PG-13

10min

Short

trt. 1hr 47min

Thursday, July 28 - 7pm-until

Green Thumb

4min 24sec

Animation

Q&A

Treasure Hunt

3min 42sec

Animation

Shaping Seagrove

8min 51sec

Documentary

Q&A

Alchemy

22min 58sec

Documentary

Intermission

Daily Bread

7min 44sec

Animation

Crazy Cat Lady

1hr 41min

Documentary

trt. 2hr 44min

Friday, July 29 - 7pm-until

To the Roof

13min

Short

Future's Resistance

PG-13

8min 56sec

Documentary

Talk to Me in Silence

PG-13

11min 15sec

Short

The Beyond

PG-13

9min 35sec

Documentary

Intermission

Midlife

PG-13

1hr 49min

Feature

trt. 2hr 47sec

Saturday Matinee, July 30 - 1pm

Tegula Sky

3min 10sec

Short

The Giant with a House 2

11min 26sec

Animation

You Did Good

3min 26sec

Short

Molly's Light

6min 42sec

Animation

Red Chili Please

13min 34sec

Short

A Moment of Humanity

PG-13

14min 16sec

Short

Intermission

Greg

8min 42sec

Short

Q&A

Tessellations

PG-13

5min 59sec

Short

Sweet Disaster

PG-13

1hr 30min

Feature

trt. 2hr 52sec

Saturday, July 30 - 7pm-until

Desert Waltz

3min 4sec

Animation

The Uncommon Garden

20min 40sec

Documentary

Q&A

Sonata

4min 24sec

Animation

Q&A

Suga Brown

PG-13

17min 46sec

Short

Underdogs

15min

Documentary

Intermission

Not to Forget

PG-13

1hr 24min

Feature

trt. 2hr 39sec

*(Schedule subject to change)

Awards & Party!

Awards will be announced during the PARTY following the final film on Saturday night!

Synopses (in the order they will screen)


Wednesday, July 27th

	Processing Magic Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC, [G] Directed by: Vale Stanley, Jo Knorpp Written By: Jo Knorpp, Vale Stanley Lead Animator: Cameron Panone, Jo Knorpp; When a dragon takes his first foray into wizard school, he, and those around him, soon discover that not everyone learns magic the same way.

	Rocks for Sale! Professional Documentary, Colorado, [G] Written & Directed by: David Dibble Kids in the former mining town of Silverton, Colorado, greet tourists with a time-honored rite of passage. Trailer

	Glory & Injustice Student Short, CA, [PG] Directed by: Jamieson Tabb Written By: Melissa Jean Martinez-Areffi, AJ Areffi, Bella Zoe Martinez, Sean E Crouch When a custody petition arrives, 13-year-old girl "Glory" must break her dad "Lord Injustice" out of a depression or they will lose each other forever.

	Once There Was Darkness Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG] Written & Directed by: Gary M Rodgers The universe is new and two brothers are created by a powerful deity with a common goal; to look over a little planet. Where one brother shines, the other struggles to do anything right. Is failure simply his destiny?

	God Bless Student Short, Charlotte, NC, [PG] Directed by: Kempson Bellington A mentally ill man, in an attempt to gain control of the city that has wronged him, rebuilds it. In miniature.

	Sound of Judgement Professional Documentary, NC, [PG-13] Directed by: Julia Wall Written by: Carli Brosseau, Julia Wall Sound of Judgment takes viewers into the small North Carolina town of Graham, where a Confederate statue stands facing north in the popular town square. This documentary is a production of The News & Observer and ProPublica. The News & Observer is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.

	Common Place Student Short, NC, [PG] Written & Directed by: Terrance Michael McLeod A young man goes to a common place he and his father used to visit to reconcile their relationship.

	View Finder Student Documentary, CA, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: Dylan Lloyd A 25 year old photographer begins living in his van right when the lockdown/ quarantine occurs in LA. He struggles with loneliness, continuing to create his art with photography, and finding a community in a world that views his van as "creepy" rather than the "#VanLife" style people glorify.

	The Little Drummer Boy Professional Short, NY, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: John Gray (*returning filmmaker) All is not what it seems when a father and son have a violent confrontation on Christmas Eve.

Thursday, July 28th

	Green Thumb Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG] Written & Directed by: Beau Sheil When a young boy named Sprout turns to gardening to cope with his neglectful homelife, his beloved garden takes on a hellish form as his plants grow into giant human body parts.

	Treasure Hunt Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG] Written & Directed by: Lauren White Produced by: Conor Callahan Two brothers searching for treasure end up fighting a dangerous robot guarding the ruins.

	Shaping Seagrove Student Documentary, Asheboro NC, [PG] Producers: Paige Dingler, Kat Cerruto, Breanna Stowe The Randolph Community College Photojournalism Class of 2022 presents "Shaping Seagrove", a documentary on the Pottery Capital of the USA, Seagrove, North Carolina.

	Alchemy Student Documentary, Gainesville, FL, [PG] Directed by: Bridget Fitzgerald Alchemy tells the story of glassblower and social entrepreneur, Rebeccah Byer, as she navigates her grief at the loss of her brother from ALS, to create a glass studio for youth. The Olio is a place of healing and growth for Rebeccah and her apprentices. In Alchemy, we witness this transformative power through one of Rebeccah's apprentices, Lucy McGinnis, who struggles growing up trans in North Carolina.

	Daily Bread Professional Animation, Spain, [G] Written by: Kristen Bernardi Rader Directed by: Manuel Sirgo Produced by: Manuel Sirgo An exchange student living in Madrid sets out to buy a loaf of bread, but finds herself lost in translation, making unexpected connections on her journey. website

	Crazy Cat Lady Professional Documentary, Bell Canyon, CA, [PG] Written & Directed by: Garrett Clancy (returning filmmaker) In the midst of a feral cat crisis in Los Angeles, an eclectic group of residents do their part to trap, spay/neuter, and adopt as many cats as they can. website

Friday, July 29th

	To the Roof Student Short, Elon, NC, [PG] Directed by: Cameron Wolfslayer Written by: Mallory Siegenthaler, Cameron Wolfslayer Ava and Georgie's lifelong friendship is tested when the friends disagree on their futures after high school graduation. website

	Future's Resistance Student Documentary, Monroe, NC, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: Duncan Lauer In this animated documentary, a young Lebanese woman recounts her story about the aftermath of the Beirut explosion. Through helping with the clean-up, and the protest that followed, her faith in her country comes into question.

	Talk To Me In Silence Professional Short, Brooklyn, NY, [PG-13] Directed by: Julia Ngeow "Which memory will you keep?" A nostalgic woman confronts a stranger in her house, one who ultimately reveals their shared history and the love they have for one another. website

	The Beyond Professional Documentary, Switzerland, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: Daniel Maurer Lausanne Vaud The second wave of Covid significantly increased mortality in hospitals. What does this mean for the work of Mathieu, employed in the morgue of a regional hospital center? How does he relate to these people whose souls have recently left their bodies? website

	MidLife Professional Feature, West Shokan NY, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: Aric Grooms, Matt Williams Follow Brad, a middle aged advertising executive as he is thrust into new adventures. He is forced to face his many shortcomings as he tries to deal with the relationships in his life. website

Sat., July 30th, 1pm Matinee

	Tugela Sky Professional Short, South Africa, [PG] Directed by: Timothy Hay Tugela sky is a story of a father and daughter that travel around the world, but on their recent hike in the Drakensberg mountains, Skye's eyesight deteriorates and her father reveals a secret he has kept since she was young.

	The Giant with a House 2 Professional Animation, Hong Kong, [PG] Written, Directed & Produced by: Sin-hong Chan This is a post-apocalyptic fantasy story. Talking about the journey of a big giant carrying a house with a small girl. This time they found a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, and a glowing modern metropolitan city in the wasteland.

	You Did Good Student Short, AR, [PG] Written & Directed by: Lance Smith A local EMT finds himself in the back of an Ambulance and realizes that even though he saved many, he was unable to save himself.

	Molly's Light Professional Animation, CA, [PG] Written by: Molly Steinsapir This film celebrates the memory of Molly Steinsapir, a 12-year-old with a deep and creative spirit, who tragically lost her life in February 2021. Her extended friends and family came together to fund, produce and animate a poem she wrote for a school assignment - "Where I'm From" - as a surprise for her Mother, presented on the 1 year anniversary of Molly's passing. Now the completed film is being used to bring awareness to the Molly Steinsapir Foundation and spread her light far and wide. website

	Red Chili Please Student Short, China, [PG] Written by: Haocheng Zhang During the pandemic, Anna lost everything, including her ability to taste and smell. She had to give up her dream as a food-vlogger, and with her ex-boyfriend back in the town, Anna needed to find a way to rebalance her life.

	A Moment of Humanity Student Short, NC, [PG-13] Written & Directed by: Randall Moser Inspired by true events. On a battlefield in France during World War 1, two enemy soldiers, who find themselves outcasts from their units, meet at the far reaches of the trenches. Neither fit for war but both searched for a purpose. Trailer

	Greg Student Short, MO, [PG] Written by: Anthony Giordano Directed by: Anthony Giordano, Adriana Colina An oddball living in a rundown shed goes to great lengths to try and make a friend.

	Tessellations Student Short, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG-13] Directed by: Eva Mckeon After 12-year-old Liza takes notice of her older sister's drug abuse, she must take action before her sister falls deeper into the cycle of addiction.

	Sweet Disaster Professional Feature, Germany, [PG-13] Written by: Ruth Toma Directed by: Laura Lehmus Produced by: Markus Kaatsch (returning filmmaker), Nina Poschinski, Michael Grudsky, Christian Becker, Oliver Schwabe, Laura Lehmus, Eva Habermann Frida unexpectedly falls pregnant and Felix, the father of her child, breaks up with her to re-unite with his ex. Although some serious health problems caused by the late pregnancy force Frida to rest, she still tries to get Felix back, using methods which are absurd, exaggerated and sometimes hilarious.

Sat., July 30th, 7pm

	Desert Waltz Professional Animation, CA, [PG] Written & Directed by: Alan Rosenfeld Set in the old west, 'Desert Waltz' finds Rusty wishing to impress SAL and win her over. Rusty overcomes his awkwardness and waltzes into her heart.

	The Uncommon Garden Professional Documentary, Chapel Hill, NC, [PG] Written by: Jody Becker Directed by: Olympia Stone Creating a hidden garden was not Dan Krebill's life plan until fate intervened. The result is a lush and layered paradise with hundreds of plants and trees (and even a stone dragon!) a collaboration with artisans that changed both a landscape and a community.

	Sonata Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG] Written, Directed & Lead Animation by: Madison Crisp, Abby Davenport, Fern Singleton & Vic Sosa Story by: Hailey Hudson and Ava Tennis Produced by: Robert Mageau and 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.

	Suga Brown Student Short, Winston-Salem, NC, [PG-13] Written by: Pat LaGue, Clarke Phillips Directed by: Clarke Phillips (*returning filmmaker) 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.

	Underdogs Student Documentary, CA, [PG] Written & Directed by: Alex Astrella At the California Men's Colony in Central California, a special connection forms between dogs and their inmate handlers, as the prisoners lovingly prepare the canines to become fully operational service animals.

	Not To Forget Professional Feature, NV, [PG-13] Written, Directed & Produced by: Valerio Zanoli This drama stars 5 Academy Award winners. Key Cast: Karen Grassle, Louis Gossett Jr (website), Cloris Leachman, Olympia Dukakis, Tatum O'Neal, George Chakiris After a life of little scams, a self-centered millennial is sentenced to take care of his grandmother, who is affected by Alzheimer's. As he realizes the extent of her wealth, the protagonist gets closer to the treasure he's been looking for. Trailer