Dear Cucalorians!

We’ve spent the last four months zooming around all day, writing emergency relief and resilience grants, examining ways that we can do better at undoing racism, reinventing our rural film festivals, and even growing cucumbers to make into pickles. And wearing masks of course. Please wear masks y’all!

Whoooops. What a wild, weird world. As my late friend Bob Brown said, “We are savages in a new civilization.” That phrase seems more relevant now than ever. With that in mind, we have a very special festival in the works for November - the 26th annual Cucalorus Festival. We plan to host more than 50 events over two weeks including online screenings, workshops, performances, and lounges. We’ll compliment online screenings with a week of independent films at our Curbside Cinema in the parking lot at Kenan Auditorium.  

As we lean into the chaos and crisis around us, we are more dedicated than ever to supporting filmmakers and undoing injustices they may face. Every filmmaker with a film screening at this year’s festival will receive financial support - a standard which we feel is long overdue in the festival industry. We’re also pledging at least 50% of the works selected for this year’s festival will be directed by artists of color. We will be transparent about the results of that promise by publishing detailed data in our annual By The Numbers report. 

In addition to film programming, Stage events will share work and practices that are facilitated virtually, but that also engage and reflect our own personal environments. Valuing collective embodiment, they will bridge interpersonal experiences and digital landscapes. Beloved Emcees will still welcome you to each event, bringing living room theatrics to the screen. 

This year’s Connect conference looks at how racism impacts our lives on a daily basis, in our workplaces, at home, and as we try to access the services we need to survive and thrive. We’re engaging key leaders from health care, housing, finance, film, voting rights, theatre, and marine science to galvanize the Cucalorus community around undoing racism. 

There is still time to join us in this brave new adventure. The official deadline for sponsorships is next week. Email Megan to help bring this gathering of creative minds to life: megan@cucalorus.org. 

And if you can’t wait to see some great movies, we have two festivals coming up very soon. Tarheel Shorties Film Festival presents the best NC films of the year on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. And we’ve just announced the full lineup for the 9th annual Surfalorus Film Festival, taking place September 24-27 with an opening night Drive-in at the NC Aquarium at Roanoke Island. 

Stay safe and salty friend!
Dan + the Cucalorus Team