Uncertainty over North Carolina's film incentive has become a bit of a political football this election year.
It's not the first time film has been an election issue in North Carolina (see the "bathroom bill" of 2018), as the incentive to attract film business to the state has ebbed and flowed over the years. So, in some ways it's not surprising that North Carolina filmmakers have begun planning for a future in which a robust film industry in the state may or may not continue to exist.
"It's been slowly building for a long time," said Dan Brawley, director of Wilmington's Cucalorus Film Festival, which returns for the 32nd time Nov. 19-22.
Independent film "used to be a byproduct" of the larger film industry, Brawley added. "Now it's a driver."
Wilmington production companies Honey Head Films, Wallaby Film, Lighthouse Films and others are constantly cranking out product, and as if to drive that point home further, at least 10 of the 31 features set to screen at Cucalorus in 2026 were either shot in Wilmington or North Carolina or have a strong local or state connection, Brawley said, a record for the long-running festival.
Also, for the first time this year, Cucalorus' annual "State of the State" film industry panel — set for 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at the GigSalad Lounge at the Coastline Convention Center, where much of this year's festival will be held — will focus on North Carolina's independent film industry.
"The film history of North Carolina is one of fierce independent filmmakers," Brawley said. "Dino De Laurentiis building a studio in Wilmington (in the 1980s) was a (screw) you to Hollywood."
Here's a look at some of this year's features in Cucalorus with strong state or local ties; many of the five dozen short films set to screen at Cucalorus are from Wilmington or North Carolina as well. Film festival passes and tickets went on sale Oct. 16.
'Capsized'
The prime Wilmington-shot feature in the festival, "Capsized," which was written and directed by Lindsey Ryan, shot in the area in 2024 and had its world premiere Aug. 15 at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland.
The movie is about a dysfunctional family that goes on vacation aboard a house boat, only to discover that they're in severe financial straits because of the irresponsible actions of the family patriarch, played by Rhys Ifans ("Notting Hill").
The top-notch cast includes Lily Rabe (TV's "American Horror Story"), Sarah Catherine Hook ("The White Lotus"), Griffin Gluck ("American Vandal") and child actress Ada Bland ("Rabbit, Rabbit").
Also in the cast are current and former Wilmington actors Sean Parker, Jon Stafford, Holli Saperstein, Ron Fallica and Jack Landry.
Screens: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Thalian Hall.
'Henry's Ebb'
Heartbreaking horror thriller "Henry’s Ebb" is writer-director Thomas Mendolia's feature debut. It co-stars Wilmington actor Banks Repeta of "Armageddon Time" and "The Black Phone" as the imaginary best friend of an abused teen played by Kingston Rumi Southwick.
Screens: 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Thalian Hall.
'Nerdcore: Making It Anyway'
A documentary of the nerdcore hip-hop genre, which has been driven by the internet from niche sites into a gaming/anime/music industry worth millions. Produced by Wilmington filmmakers Alex Hoelscher and Patrick Basquill of Wallaby Film.
At 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, in the GigSalad Lounge, "Shaped by Sound: Nerdcore Deconstructed" will take a behind-the-scenes look at the film and the nerdcore genre.
Screens: 6:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at the Coastline Convention Center.
'Romare Bearden: A Life in Collage'
Late North Carolina artist Bearden, who has work in the collection of Wilmington's Cameron Art Museum, is the subject of this documentary from Deborah Riley Draper.
Screens: 10:15 a.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Jengo's Playhouse.
'There Should be Flowers'
This film from co-director Maddie Ragan, a teaching graduate student in the Film Studies program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will make its world premiere at Cucalorus. It's about a grieving teenager desperate to prove her sweetheart's suicide was actually a murder. Yumna Jane co-directs.
Screens: 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Coastline Convention Center.
'White Lightning'
North Carolina filmmaker Mark Anders, who co-founded and sits on the board of the Ocean Fest surf/music festival in Surf City, directs this documentary about Kentucky high-school sprinter King Combest, who's trying to break his father's track record. In the background, challenges including poverty, addiction and jail affect his family.
Screens: 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Coastline Convention Center.
'Riptides'
The actor Alex Karpovsky ("Girls"), a Cucalorus alum, directs this edgy comedy starring Steve Little of Wilmington-shot HBO TV series "Eastbound and Down." Co-executive produced by North Carolina native and filmmaker David Gordon Green and by Danny McBride, who starred in and co-created "Eastbound and Down."
Screens: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Thalian Hall.
'13 Demands'
Directed by Wilmington native Dilsey M. Davis, this documentary is about when Black students seized the main administration building at Duke University in 1969 and issued 13 demands related to racial justice.
Screens: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov, 21, at Coastline Convention Center.
'Papertown'
Documentary from Jeremy Seifert, whose work has appeared at the Sundance Film Festival and on Netflix, centers on the closing of a small-town paper mill in Canton, west of Asheville.
Screens: 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Coastline Convention Center.
'Sisterhoodship, leanne rucker has cancer'
North Carolina filmmaker Christine Rucker directs this highly personal documentary about her younger sister's cancer diagnosis. Shot in the scenic Yadkin River Valley.
Screens: 10:45 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Coastline Convention Center.
'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'
Wilmington-shot 1990 cultural juggernaut "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" screens with a live hip-hop score from DJ 2-Tone Jones of Shaolin Jazz as part of 3 Chambers Fest's "Can I Kick It?" series.
Screens: 4:30 Sunday, Nov. 22, at the Coastline Convention Center.
John Staton is the arts and culture reporter at the StarNews. You can reach him at jstaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Amid uncertainty around NC film industry, independent film ramps up
