• The Blue Ridge Electric Vehicle Club and UNC Asheville, 1 University Heights, present a screening of EVOLVE: Driving a Clean Future in Coal Country. The event takes place in the campus’ Rhoades/Robinson Hall, Room 125, on Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. The documentary chronicles the grassroots efforts of Kentucky’s electric vehicle group, EVolve KY, to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles as a viable form of clean, personal transportation and the initiatives to create a sustainable energy future throughout Appalachia. A discussion and vegan snacks will follow the film. Free. unca.edu
• Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., 675 Merrimon Ave., celebrates Comedy Month each Wednesday at 7 p.m. throughout April with a classic funny film each week. The schedule consists of Animal House (April 4); National Lampoon’s Vacation (April 11); Coming to America (April 18); and The Big Lebowski (April 25). The brewery will also create a new beer for each movie. Tickets are $3 and available online and at the brewpub’s main bar. ashevillebrewing.com
• The Cat Fly Indie Film Festival returns for its second year with three days of screenings at a trio of local venues. A red carpet opening reception Friday, April 6, at 7 p.m. at the Asheville Masonic Temple, 80 Broadway, is followed by a screening of regionally produced short films. The Mothlight, 701 Haywood Road, plays host to Community Night on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m., featuring experimental short works. The festival concludes Sunday, April 8, at 7 p.m. at Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., with a slate of adventure films and documentaries set in extraordinary locations.
Cat Fly also offers a pair of workshops, starting with a filmmaker-composer collaboration panel April 7, noon-1:30 p.m., at THE BLOCK off biltmore, 39 S. Market St. The panel is hosted by filmmaker Kira Bursky and composer Robert Gowan and includes other local creatives. Then, on April 8, 2-3 p.m., at Asheville School of Film, 45 S. French Broad Ave., filmmaker MJ Slide will discuss embracing failure in art, centering on the experience of making her first feature film, Sightlines.
The festival was created in 2017 by Asheville-based filmmakers Madeleine Richardson, Catherine Wityk and Brittany Jackson. The festival’s submissions for 2018 were nearly double that of last year’s total and the selected films champion diversity.
“Stories that highlight women, people of color and gender minorities are particularly important to us at Cat Fly, because those stories deserve to be told and will only create a greater sense of empathy and connection when they are shared,” Richardson says. Single-day tickets and weekend passes are available online. Workshops are free with a suggested donation of $5. catflyfilmfest.com
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.