CARRBORO, NC -- Now in its 19th year, Carrboro Film Fest celebrates Southern cinema throughout the weekend, Jan. 24-26, 2025, at the Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St.
Now in its 19th year, the Carrboro Film Fest continues its mission to showcase an entertaining and thought-provoking variety of new Southern films and provide a venue to both celebrate and interrogate Southern culture. This year’s lineup includes four blocks of short films and two features, representing diverse filmmakers from across the South. The full schedule of events can be found at CarrboroFilm.org. Individual tickets to each screening are $8.
Carrboro Film Fest continues its mission to showcase an entertaining and thought-provoking variety of new Southern films and provide a venue to both celebrate and interrogate Southern culture. The festival brings to the big screen a distinct combination of award-winning and Southern films, including many made in North Carolina. This year’s lineup includes four blocks of short films and two features, representing diverse filmmakers from across the South
“This year we’ve tried to focus and enhance the overall festival experience by slightly reducing the number of film blocks we’re showing, while adding a free film workshop and a meet-the-filmmakers dinner,” says new festival director Bryan Reklis. “We’re really excited about the attending filmmakers and the opportunities for audience-filmmaker engagement. That’s always been a great part of Carrboro Film Fest, and we want to keep that going.”
Opening Night Film
Chapel Hill native and UNC alum Erika Arlee will have her debut feature film, A Song for Imogene, screened as the opening night film at Carrboro Film Fest. Arlee grew up in Chapel Hill, graduated from UNC, and has now made a feature film that she says offers “a glimpse into the personal lives and struggles of forgotten people.” A Song for Imogene has won numerous awards at film festivals across the country. In the film, a crestfallen musician (played by Kristi Ray) discovers she is pregnant by her abusive boyfriend and “must decide between freeing herself or remaining a relic of her drive-by Southern town.” A Song for Imogene screens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, with Arlee and Ray attending for a Q&A after the screening.
Closing Night Film
The festival’s closing film, Our Movement Starts Here, is an environmental documentary directed by John Rash and Melanie Dang Ho. The film reveals the true story of the predominantly Black community in Warren County, NC, who, in 1982, mobilized and fought the state’s plan to build a toxic PCB landfill in the county. The community’s efforts brought together civil rights advocates and environmentalists for the first time ever, giving birth to the concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice. Our Movement Starts Here screens at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Rash, along with Rev. William Kearney and others from the film, will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.
Film Highlights and A Free Workshop
More than 30 other films were selected for the four blocks of short films screening at this year’s festival. One such film is “The Queen Vs. Texas,” a documentary in which a drag queen makes sure Texas clearly knows the LGBTQIA+ community isn't going anywhere.
Another documentary, “The Mutual Aid Garage,” reveals the story of a car mechanic with a PhD who opens a mutual aid car repair shop. Some especially notable narrative films include “Benediction,” a drama about an eerie encounter in a Baptist church, and “Flipping the Bird,” a comedy about a man who joins a bird club only to discover it’s not what he expected.
In addition to watching films, anyone can attend the free workshop, “Understanding Cinematography,” at noon on Saturday, Jan. 25.
“The South isn’t just one thing,” Reklis said. “It’s a whole lot of sub-cultures mingling and responding to each other, and our films reflect that dynamic. We have this shared experience of living in the South, but that means different things to different people, and Carrboro Film Fest is all about exploring those different interpretations.”
Carrboro Film Fest is made possible by the Town of Carrboro.
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