Hickory – The 2023 Footcandle Film Festival will be held between September 16th and 24th, marking the ninth year of the festival bringing films from around the world to the area and hosting discussion with the filmmakers that made them.
A complete schedule and list of the films, their descriptions and trailers can be found on the festival website (www.footcandlefilmfestival.com).
On Saturday, September 16th, as a lead-up to the festival, there will be a special, anniversary screening of the film THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, celebrating its production in the nearby region thirty years ago. The screening will take place at the Carolina Theater in downtown Hickory at 7:00pm, and anyone associated with the film – such as any cast or crew members from the production – are invited to attend the screening and take part in a discussion of the film immediately afterwards.
The festival then officially starts with a program on Monday, September 18th titled “Coming Attractions” at 7:00pm at the Drendel Auditorium at the SALT Block in Hickory. This free event will feature short films produced by teams that took part in a 48-hour filmmaking competition the previous weekend, announcement of the winners of the Scriptwriting Competition, and a preview of films that will be shown during the upcoming festival week. There will also be a reception afterwards in the adjoining Hickory Museum of Art.
The following two nights — Tuesday, September 19th and Wednesday, September 20th — will consist of free screenings of films produced by North Carolina-based filmmakers that received support from the Footcandle Film Society in recent years. These screenings will be held at the Carolina Theater in Downtown Hickory, both nights starting at 7:00pm.
The festival then continues with the Youth International Short Film Showcase co-hosted with the Greater Hickory International Council on Thursday, September 21st. This free event will screen several short films from different countries, all with an intended audience of children ages 9 to 14 and their families. This year’s film selections were chosen from over 100 film submissions and represent a variety of countries and cultures through both live-action and animated storytelling. There will be two screening times on
September 21st, showing the program at both 4:30pm and 7:00pm at the Hickory Community Theatre in Downtown Hickory.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the festival will be showing films that were submitted from filmmakers around the world and selected by the festival screening panel. Over 300 films were submitted for consideration for this year’s festival and 30 were selected for this year’s event. The films are a mixture of narrative and documentaries as well as feature-length and short films. All films over the weekend will be shown at in-person screenings at the Hickory Community Theater in Downtown Hickory.
Many of the filmmakers will be joining the festival either in-person or virtually throughout the weekend to discuss their work with attendees in question-and-answer sessions.
At 7:00pm on Sunday night, September 24th, there will be a Closing Awards Ceremony at the Hickory Community Theater where winners from the weekend festival will be announced. There will be ten awards presented at this year’s awards ceremony determined by a combination of panels of judges and audience voting. The event will also announce the recipients of the 2023 Footcandle Filmmaker Grants which are awarded to help fund upcoming North Carolina-based film projects.
Tickets can be purchased for any of the individual films or attendees can purchase a Festival Pass that allow them to attend any of the festival films (with the exception of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS screening). The “Coming Attractions” event, the two nights of Footcandle-sponsored films, the Youth International Short Film Showcase, and the Closing Awards Ceremony are all free and open to the public.
Tickets are now on sale for the general public by visiting www.footcandlefilmfestival.com and clicking the link on the home page to view the schedule, view the selections, and purchase tickets or passes. Tickets can be purchased with credit or debit cards; taxes and credit card charges will apply. Tickets will remain on sale up through the weekend of the film festival.
The Footcandle Film Society has been screening and facilitating discussions on films in Western North Carolina since its inception in 2008. Through monthly film screenings, discussions, partnerships with various international and educational organizations, the film society has built a community of over 600 members that support film efforts in our region.
For any questions about the festival please contact the film society at [email protected] or visit the festival’s web site at www.footcandlefilmfestival.com.
