Screen scene: Local film news

TICK TOCK: A still from "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow," which won Best Film in the 2015 Asheville 48 Hour Film Project. Area teams will compete in the 2018 edition June 15-17. Photo courtesy of Asheville 48 Hour Film Project

• The Asheville 48 Hour Film Project takes place Friday, June 15-Sunday, June 17. Filmmakers from across Western North Carolina will compete to see who can make the best short film in two days. All completed works will be screened over the course of two programs on Tuesday, June 19, and Wednesday, June 20, at 7 and 10 each night at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., 675 Merrimon Ave. The winning short, chosen by a panel of Asheville-based film critics, will compete against city winners from around the world at Filmapalooza 2019 for a chance at the grand prize and an opportunity to screen at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 Short Film Corner. Teams may register through June 15 for $188. 48hourfilm.com/asheville

• The Musical Matinees weekly summer film series continues at the Columbus Public Library, 1289 W. Mills St., Columbus, on Friday, June 15, at 1 p.m. with Chicago. Free. polklibrary.org


• Marc McClure presents his documentary Dr. Dennis Branch: An African American Physician in the Jim Crow South, 1914-1964 on Saturday, June 16, 2-3:30 p.m. at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center, 1 Campus View Road. Dr. Branch practiced medicine in Newport, Tenn., for 50 years, primarily serving white patients during a time when segregation laws forbade interracial intimacy. Dr. Branch came to national prominence when Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely included him in their 1957 book, Neither White Nor Black.

The 60-minute film includes interviews with Dr. Branch’s former patients, neighbors and graduates of the historically black Tanner School. The event begins with an introduction by Jim Stokely, son of Dykeman and Stokely, who grew up in Newport. Admission by $5 donation. Free for members of the Western North Carolina Historical Association, which is sponsoring the program. wnchistory.org

The Burger Bar, 1 Craven St., kicks off its Sunday Night Slaughterhouse Sinema film series on June 17 at 8 p.m. with The Evil Dead (1981) and Re-Animator. The series continues each week through Oct. 22. Free for members. facebook.com/burgerbar.asheville

• On Wednesday, June 20, 7-9 p.m., Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., and Asheville GreenWorks present a benefit screening of The Guardians to raise funds for Bee City USA Asheville. The documentary explores how monarch butterflies and an indigenous Mexican community each depend on the same at-risk ancient forest for their survival. Tickets are $10 and available online and at the Grail box office. grailmoviehouse.com

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About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

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