• Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Road, hosts the U.S. premiere of Hron: A Country of Ghosts on Saturday, Feb. 29, at 6 p.m. The hourlong film was made by Collectif de Hron, a multilingual, queer film collective in Montreal, and is based on the anarchist utopian book by Asheville author Margaret Killjoy. The project is described as “a heterotopian science fiction feature” and centers on Dydo Horacki, a nonbinary journalist from the Borolian Empire, who “comes to the mountain regions of the Cerracs to report news from the front. As the Empire expects to quietly expand its borders, they will be surprised by resistance on land that was assumed to be uninhabited.” Free to attend. firestorm.coop
• The monthly Silent Sundays series continues at Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., on March 1, at 7 p.m., with a quartet of short films. The selections are Charlie Chaplin’s “A Dog’s Life” and Charley Chase’s “Married to Order,” plus two early hand-painted films, “The Talion Punishment” (1906, directed by Gaston Velle) and “Kiriki: Japanese Acrobats” (1907, directed by Segundo de Chomon). Film historian Frank Thompson will introduce the selections and participate in a post-screening Q&A. Local stride pianist Andrew J. Fletcher will provide a live, improvised piano score for each film. Tickets are $12 and available online or at the Grail box office. grailmoviehouse.com
• The McDowell Arts Council Association is currently accepting submissions for the 2020 Micropolitan Film Festival. The mission of the event is to showcase the work of filmmakers in Western North Carolina and beyond who live in Micropolitan areas (populations between 10,000 and 50,000) and are producing projects that don’t easily fit into niche genres, categories or competitions. Films may not exceed 15 minutes in length and should focus on small-town life experiences or draw inspiration from filmmakers’ small-town roots. Submissions are being accepted through June 1, and the festival takes place Aug. 14-15 in Marion at the McDowell Arts Council. filmfreeway.com/mff
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