Real to Reel 2022

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2023 Festival Lineup

aDay Playing

Title

Rating

Runtime

Category

h:mm:ss

Wednesday, August 9 - 7pm-until

Hive

PG-13

9 min 3 sec

Animation

0530: Riding in the Dark

PG-13

28 min 9 sec

Documentary

Case Notes

3 min 51 sec

Animation

Interview with Ian

PG-13

7 min

Short

Intermission

Riverborn

1 hr 4 sec

Documentary

Personalized Futures

9 min 31 sec

Short

Safe

10 min

Short

2 hr 26 sec

Thursday, August 10 - 7pm-until

Wilderness Therapy

PG-13

28 min 12 sec

Documentary

My Sisters in the Stars: The Story of Lee Yong-soo

9 min 55 sec

Animation

Elliott

16 min

Short

Intermission

GO Through the Dark

1 hr 18 min

Documentary

2 hr 27 min

Friday, August 11 - 7pm-until

The Ballad of Liquid Sky

3 min 34 sec

Animation

Black Dragon

14 min 40 sec

Short

A Dreamer's Search

PG-13

29 min 55 sec

Short

Resurgence

19 min

Documentary

Intermission

Shakespere for All Ages

2 min 42 sec

Short

Fred Chappell: I Am One of You Forever

1 hr

Documentary

2 hr 25 min

Saturday Matinee, August 12 - 1pm

Twisting Memories

3 min 32 sec

Documentary

Together

7 min 29 sec

Animation

Linda & Henry

25 min

Documentary

The Girl and the Shadow

14 min 34 sec

Short

Mila & Ingram

8 min 22 sec

Short

A Nice Day to Stay Inside

PG-13

2 min. 58 sec

Short

Intermission

Hive

PG-13

9 min 3 sec

Animation

0530: Riding in the Dark

PG-13

28 min 9 sec

Documentary

Case Notes

3 min 51 sec

Animation

Interview with Ian

PG-13

7 min

Short

Personalized Futures

9 min 31 sec

Short

Safe

10 min

Short

2 hr. 24 min.

Saturday, August 12 - 7pm-until

Grandma's Hats

15 min 28 sec

Short

Red Bird

2 min 42 sec

Animation

True Survivors

45 min 43 sec

Documentary

Intermission

Riverborn

PG-13

1 hr. 4 min.

Documentary

2 hr 22 min

*(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, August 9th
	“Hive” Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC Directed and Written by: Vianelli C. De Leon HIVE is a dark comedy sitcom with strong visual, comedic and narrative inspirations from THE OFFICE and PARKS AND REC.

	“0530 Riding in the Dark” Professional Documentary, NC Directed by: Griffin Hart Davis Produced & Co-Directed by: Wes Salisbury Executive Producer: Keith Vest “The world is dark around us…but everything is as clear as day surrounded by these headlights.” Cyclists all fall in and out of love with their grueling sport many times in pursuit of individual glory. But in the 0530 cycling group, the bonds among riders - both on and off the bike - sustain lasting friendships and offer life-giving support when it's needed most. Take a peek inside 0530 as they navigate the Covid pandemic together and see their founder through the toughest uphill battle of his life.

	“Case Notes” Professional Animation, Portland, OR Directed and Produced by: Sebastian Rogers Labeled at a young age by a system quick to write off people of color, Tony hopes to spare others the unnecessary obstacles he faced. An animated short about the power that narrative holds to oppress or liberate.

	“Interview with Ian” Professional Short, Raleigh, NC Directed by: Janice Baker Produced by: Rob Underhill Celebrity investigative journalist Kelly Merrick interviews Ian McKeene, a reluctant hero who has seen some horrific deaths in his career as a paramedic. As Merrick asks him the difficult questions, probing into his psyche, his fantasy of a hero is stripped away to reveal the disturbing truth about his actions.

	“Riverborn” Professional Documentary, Malibou Lake, CA Directed by: Oden Few Roberts Produced by Jordan Lawhead 1996. After discovering his factory, Ford Glass Plant, is polluting a major Tennessee River, Vic Scoggin, a union auto worker, reports the devastation to local authorities. Unanswered, he takes matters into his own hands. Armed with a camcorder he plans a 696 mile protest swim to document the pollution and save the river, but soon discovers something far worse threatens the river.

	“Personalized Futures” Student Short, Chicago, IL Directed and Written by: Max Delfino In a future in which a personalized algorithm decides which major students have to pick, Kate, an econ major with an artistic calling, is faced with the choice of trusting the system or trying to subvert it from within.

	“Safe” Professional Short, Bóveda, Lugo, Spain Directed and Written by: Josema Roig Somewhere in the US a family hears an unsettling bump in the night

Thursday, August 10th

	“Wilderness Therapy” Student Documentary, NC Directed by: Nate Wiggin Written by: Mariah Manning, Nate Wiggin Venturing into the controversial world of wilderness therapy programs, this documentary explores the delicate balance between the beneficial power of nature and the negative encounters experienced by participants during their time in camp, ultimately questioning the worth of enduring such hardships for the potential benefits nature can provide.

	“My Sisters in the Stars: The Story of Lee Yong-soo” Student Animation, Korea Directed by: Ian Kim Produced by: Harry Kim, Sophie Kim Born in Daegu, Korea in 1928 under Japanese occupation, Lee Yong-soo was taken away from her home at the age of 14 by the Imperial Japanese Army and forced into sexual slavery on the front lines of the Pacific Theater in World War II. She is now one of 11 remaining known “comfort women” survivors in Korea out of a system that claimed more than 200,000 women and girls from Japanese-occupied territories throughout Asia from 1932 to 1945. Lee Yong-soo continues to fight for justice for a crime the Japanese government continues to deny and suppress.

	“Elliott” Professional Short, NC Directed by: Adam Zammiello Produced by: Alisha Hawkins Kramer Elliott believes that he is the last human being in a world of alien impostors—until his encounter with Rose, a mysterious young woman, forces him to question his reality.

	“Go Through the Dark” Student Documentary, China Directed by: Yunhong Pu Produced by: Jean Tsien, Yunhong Pu Guanglin is a blind boy in China who displays great skill at the ancient board game called Go, in which two players place black and white pieces on a grid in an attempt to dominate their opponent. Raised by a single father with limited means, Guanglin faces deep societal prejudice against the blind.

Friday, August 11th

	“The Ballad of Liquid Sky” Student Animation, NC Directed & Written by: Jo Knorpp An original folktale, set to the music performed by a mysterious bard, recounts the story of a lost connection between a sea goddess and a small harbor town.

	“Black Dragon” Professional Short, Los Angeles, CA Directed by: Alexander Thompson Produced by: Sam Froelich, Isaiah Kang, Alexander Thompson Vietnam, 1968. A feared American colonel nicknamed “The Black Dragon '' by Vietnamese locals must face his inner shadow when his platoon presents him with a captured Viet Cong girl who harbors some very unusual powers. A Jungian psychological thriller/parable examining the capacity for monstrous evil lurking within us all, the film is loosely inspired by the My Lai Massacre, one of America’s most pernicious wartime atrocities. Hailing from the producer of “Cabin Fever”, the film stars Matthew Del Negro (Scandal, The Sopranos, West Wing, City on a Hill, Wind River) and Celia Au (Lodge 49, Nora From Queens, Wu Assassins).

	“A Dreamer’s Search” Professional Short, Soldotna, AK Directed by: Eric Downs Produced by: Bradford James Jackson, Eric Downs, John Kendall In 1918, Rockwell Kent leaves New York City with his eight-year-old son and travels to the rugged wilderness of Alaska in search of inspiration. Kent settles on a remote island, isolated and free to do his work. He befriends an old prospector whose stories energize his pursuit. As he struggles with internal turmoil, his son’s innocence and willingness to face failure inspire Kent to dig deep inside himself and begin again. Father and son’s connection blossoms as they embrace the wilderness experience together. Surrounded by the quiet magnificence of Fox Island, Kent creates the drawings and paintings that will catapult his career to national success and turn his dream into reality.

	“Resurgence” Student Documentary, Los Angeles, CA Directed and Written by: Krushan Naik Ryan De Vries, a professional canyoneer, encounters a near-death experience in the canyons of Southern Utah. Post the accident, his friends and family witness a changed person as Ryan battles with himself due to the trauma caused by it—crippling his everyday life. The documentary highlights Ryan's struggles after losing his identity, along with the disparity in his journey of physical recovery, mental healing, and emotional resurgence, and how they affect one another.

	“Shakespeare for all Ages” Professional Short, Tuebingen, Germany Directed and Written by: Hannes Rall Shakespeare's works are timeless - this film proves it!

	“Fred Chappell: I am One of You Forever” Professional Documentary, Greensboro, NC Directed by: Michael Frierson Fred Chappell is one of our most important Southern writers, but no one is really surprised if you have never heard of him. Fred grew up on a farm in the Great Smoky Mountains. His early life was marked by the struggle between the old ways of Appalachia that lingered due to the region’s isolation, and the new ways of modern industry. In his hometown of Canton, North Carolina, a mill town dominated by the Champion Paper and Fiber Company, Fred read pulp magazines as a kid and wrote science fiction as a teenager. Chappell went on to help create one of the nation’s first graduate creative writing programs, and later in his life won the Bollingen Prize for Poetry, an award he shares with Robert Frost, W.H. Auden and e.e.cummings. Fred was among the first Appalachian writers to challenge the hillbilly stereotype and he remains a galvanizing spiritual leader for the region’s writers. But Fred's work is better known among scholars and poets than the general public. As Fred says, "It may be that I write for an audience of one, and have achieved that according to my publishers."

Sat., Aug. 12th, 1pm Matinee

	“Twisting Memories” Student Documentary, Cambridge Springs, PA Directed by: KT Reihner Produced by: Aidan Rauscher Wire bonsai artist Ricardo A. Ramirez details the carefully tangled roots of his craft

	“Together” Student Animation, Winston-Salem, NC Directed and Written by: Destiny DeJames, Jillian Dengate A grieving mother and son race against a raging fire engulfing their village, their forest, and their lives

	“Linda & Henry” Professional Documentary, Brattleboro, VT Directed and Produced by: Rebecca Branson Jones Linda & Henry celebrates the love story of the Mabes, now in their 51st year of marriage and Henry’s 60th year of playing fiddle. Henry and Linda take a ride through the foothills of Stokes County on the border of Virginia and North Carolina pointing out old tobacco fields they once worked which now hold vacation homes with a view. Together they raised a family amidst a declining agrarian society working in factories during the week and traveling hundreds of miles on the weekends to attend fiddle contests. Self-taught, Henry has won nearly every fiddlers convention in Virginia and North Carolina making him a regional legend in the bluegrass community of the Southeast. Recorded over 10 years, Linda and Henry is a biographical documentary that showcases Henry’s brilliant talent and Linda’s steadfast support and also discontent of “festival life.”

	“The Girl and the Shadow” Student Short, NC Directed by: Clara Hirata In a cabin deep in the woods, a girl and her grandmother live a secluded life. Each night, they place treats on their front porch, only to be gone by the morning. One such morning, a mysterious note is left in place of the treat, and the girl imagines what shadow monster must be lurking in her woods. Determined to find the truth, the girl begins to unravel secrets that her grandmother has been hiding.

	“Mila & Imram” Student Short, Germany Directed by: Clara Hirata Produced by: Ava Tennis, Grace Williamson As competition rises between German and Turkish street vendors, they must form an unlikely alliance to help make ends meet.

	“True Survivors” Professional Documentary, Canada Directed by: Rio Mitchell Produced by: Carolyn Whittaker, Niobe Thompson “Why are we so fascinated with the idea of ‘Survival’? From news stories to survival camps to hit TV shows, it’s clear how obsessed we really are. But survival isn’t a game we play alone on a beach - today most of us live in cities, depending on products shipped from all over the world for our clothes, food, shelter, and energy. These huge global systems are incredibly fragile! Life gets so busy, it’s easy to get distracted from the bigger picture…but sometimes the bigger picture is ALL I can think about - after all, I grew up with DAVID SUZUKI as my DAD.” Climate change, ecological breakdown, the end of the world- these were all just normal conversations around the Cullis-Suzuki dinner table. Survival isn’t a game anymore - climate change has made it real. How have humans survived in the past - and do we have what it takes to survive what’s next? A documentary about the science and culture of human survival, at its core ‘True Survivors’ is a succession story from renowned scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki to his daughter, Sarika. Through a journey of scientific and personal discovery, with the pacing and style of an adventure film, Sarika Cullis-Suzuki grapples with her father’s doubts for humanity to address the urgent challenges of climate change, and forges her own unshakable hope for the future. It’s a tale of intergenerational legacy and the enduring hope for humanity- the power to survive literally runs in our blood.

	“A Nice Day to Stay Inside” Student Short, NC Directed by: Jason Leeper When a teenage girl becomes depressed during the fallout of a toxic explosion, her parents attempt to cheer her up with a manipulative musical number.

Sat., August 12th, 7pm

	“Grandma’s Hats” Professional Short, Blythewood, SC Directed by: Anil Dhokai A granddaughter sorts through a hat collection left behind by her recently deceased grandmother. Upon trying them on, she discovers that the hats give her the ability to peer into her grandmother's memories.

	“Red Bird” Student Animation, NC Directed by: Viktor Maverick A woman, waiting anxiously in a cabin in the snow, decides to pass the time by making hot chocolate.

	“True Survivors” Professional Documentary, Canada Directed by: Rio Mitchell Produced by: Carolyn Whittaker, Niobe Thompson “Why are we so fascinated with the idea of ‘Survival’? From news stories to survival camps to hit TV shows, it’s clear how obsessed we really are. But survival isn’t a game we play alone on a beach - today most of us live in cities, depending on products shipped from all over the world for our clothes, food, shelter, and energy. These huge global systems are incredibly fragile! Life gets so busy, it’s easy to get distracted from the bigger picture…but sometimes the bigger picture is ALL I can think about - after all, I grew up with DAVID SUZUKI as my DAD.” Climate change, ecological breakdown, the end of the world- these were all just normal conversations around the Cullis-Suzuki dinner table. Survival isn’t a game anymore - climate change has made it real. How have humans survived in the past - and do we have what it takes to survive what’s next? A documentary about the science and culture of human survival, at its core ‘True Survivors’ is a succession story from renowned scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki to his daughter, Sarika. Through a journey of scientific and personal discovery, with the pacing and style of an adventure film, Sarika Cullis-Suzuki grapples with her father’s doubts for humanity to address the urgent challenges of climate change, and forges her own unshakable hope for the future. It’s a tale of intergenerational legacy and the enduring hope for humanity- the power to survive literally runs in our blood.

	"Riverborn” Professional Documentary, Malibou Lake, CA Directed by: Oden Few Roberts Produced by Jordan Lawhead 1996. After discovering his factory, Ford Glass Plant, is polluting a major Tennessee River, Vic Scoggin, a union auto worker, reports the devastation to local authorities. Unanswered, he takes matters into his own hands. Armed with a camcorder he plans a 696 mile protest swim to document the pollution and save the river, but soon discovers something far worse threatens the river.