Fest Countdown

For the past two years I have had the blessing of being a part of the Carrboro Film Fest crew. I support the team by managing the branding identity that changes each year. It’s a fun and exciting challenge, it’s where I get to really ‘play.’ I also help with jurying the films—it’s been such a rewarding community to be a part of.

16 days until the festival:

I am just cooking through graphics and promotional media for this fest. It feels like the work doesn’t really start until around this time each year, but we’ve been working on putting this together since March. This is my second year participating in the festival. What does that entail? I watch all the films and make recommendations on what goes in; I develop the branding/look and feel each year; I help with other decisions that need to be made as a staff.

Now that we have our lineup and have sent out everything that needs printing, I find myself waking up each day with a little suspicion that something has been forgotten. God, I hope people come. As the day approaches, anticipation and nerves set in.

11 Days until the festival:

As the countdown continues and we hit eleven days out, someone accidentally said the festival was next weekend. My heart started racing, my head swirling with all the things I haven’t started that need to be done. I began thinking about the email I needed to send yesterday but still haven’t gotten to it. But then I got excited about all the things we are going to be doing at the festival, the conversations I haven’t had yet, all the Diet Cokes I am going to drink, and—most of all—seeing films in the new space.

8 Days until the festival:

Moving closer—eight days until the festival—there is still so much to do. I feel like I am forgetting about twenty things, but that’s okay—can always try again next year. Thought about this idea to incorporate a ‘ruckus room’ for folks who want to chat while they’re watching the films. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t want to attend a live commentary film festival?

We’re almost sold out, though! Which is super cool! Hoping I can pull together another post that will sell out our student film block. I know people rarely want to sit through a student film, but this block is honestly super fun.

3 Days until the festival:

What do you mean there’s a snowstorm coming to North Carolina? We never get snow. WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!!

2 Days until the festival:

As a former Michigander, I grew very used to driving to work after digging my car out for an hour. I learned how to drive on ice, on dirt roads, in a truck, fishtailing my whole route to school—well at least until I got to the main roads. So moving to the south shocked me. The way eggs, milk, and bread sell out here so fast—it’s wild. But in the Midwest, we have salt trucks that are pouring those pellets out like a waterfall. At least one of your neighbors or cousins drives a truck with a plow on the front and often there’s at least a layer of snow that sticks enough to make the road a little less treacherous.

The south really has none of that. Plus a lot of the trees in the Durham area have shallow roots so trees are much more prone to falling.

We decided to postpone the festival. People are using the word “crippling” to describe this storm. As a festival that prioritizes community, there’s no way we can ask folks to put themselves in danger to see our films. It’s a tough call, but I think we all feel good about it. See y’all in February.

31 Days until the festival:

With the new date a month away—thirty one days—I just binge-watched The Pitt instead of working on fest graphics. Opps.

30 Days until the new festival date: 

I started this piece with the full intention of wrapping it up with a post-festival update. Explaining the joys of getting to see a year’s worth of hard work on display. I was excited for the conversations I was going to detail, mishaps I was going to laugh about, or flirtatious ramblings I’d share with local actresses. I got my hopes up. But then an ‘ICE-storm’ and an ice storm took hold of our country this weekend.

Instead of panic, instead of trying to force this weekend to happen, our team decided to postpone the festival. Because these stories matter—we happen to be showing a lot of immigrant stories this year, and I think now more than ever these are the voices that need to be heard. It would be a shame if in the middle of the fest we had to cancel and send everyone home. So instead, we moved it to a weekend that hopefully will allow for a full weekend of programming.

I am deeply proud of the community I am part of. Because by delaying the festival we chose community. We chose not to make folks decide between safely getting to the festival and preparing their homes for very cold nights.

The South doesn’t have the infrastructure to support folks when cold, cold weather hits—a lot of things shut down—and for good reason. We don’t have enough salt trucks, or snow plows, not like the brigades I remember from the Midwest. But there’s a warmth here that makes extreme weather feel cozy, and it’s not related to anything meteorological. But when storms come, it’s your neighbors who check in on you. It’s your community that supports you; we look out for each other. I got so many calls this weekend that just filled my heart with joy–people checking to see if I had power, to see if I was doing okay, or just asking about what I did that day. This film fest is full of that kind of warmth that melts ice and fills you with this cozy spirit that shields you from the cold.