Cucalorus Festival organizers, filmmakers, ready for an exciting weekend in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Lots of people turned out Wednesday evening for the opening night of the 28th annual Cucalorus Film Festival at Thalian Hall.

The festival features films from all over the United States and the world, but the film that opened the festival this year is a product of right here in Wilmington.

Festival organizer Dan Bawley says people are in for in an exciting weekend.

“We’ve sold a lot of tickets so we’re expecting really big crowds throughout the weekend. We have a great lineup [of] international films, independent films, shorts, documentaries, comedies, and thrillers,” Brawley said.

“The Devil’s Stomping Ground” opened the festival on the main stage.

It is a “found footage” film about college film students going to a place called The Devil’s Tramping Ground which is a real place in Chatham County, North Carolina.

“It is unique because it’s essentially a movie inside of a movie and that’s why we didn’t necessarily cast actors, we cast people who knew how to make movies,” Director, screenwriter, and producer of the film Jonathan Landau said.

Director Johnathan Landau screened a film at the very first Cucalorus Festival and is now screening his feature-length film at the 28th annual festival. His team is grateful for the Cucalorus family and the Wilmington film community.

“Cast and crew– wonderfully talented, dedicated, amazing kids,” Producer Marty Landau said.

The pandemic may have made film professionals question the future, but Brawley says this year’s energy gives him more hope for decades to come.

“I think you’ll see that energy over the weekend growing and growing. I think this will be a little bit of a slingshot into the next 28 years.”

There are still tickets available for the festival. You can get tickets and view the lineup by clicking here.