Screen scene: Local film news

Western Carolina University students prepare to shoot a scene from the senior project film "Too Much To Ask,” one of the productions featured at the university’s annual Controlled Chaos Film Festival. Photo courtesy of WCU

• Hair Today Gone Tomorrow by the Artivational team won best film of 2015 for Asheville’s 48 Hour Film Project. A comic tale of a delusional amateur hairdresser who seeks to renovate a vacant space with the help of crowdsourcing, it will represent Asheville against city winners from around the world at Filmapalooza 2016 in Hollywood.

Second place went to Get Lost by Alone In A Crowd Productions, which also took home best directing, best editing and best sound design. Other films receiving multiple awards were Green Leaf ArtsBad Investment (best musical score; best use of genre), Krusty JugglersBlood Smoke II: Wrath of the Kongfather (best actor for Spencer Bolin; best choreography) and Team Long Shot’s Mother’s Hunters (best ensemble acting; best use of prop).

Emily Shaules (A-B Tech DME Program) took home best actress honors for American Values, Flowersfilm’s Go To Hell 3D won best special effects, Team UNCA’s Fates was awarded best costumes and Three Hopes Cross ProductionsLast Looks earned best use of line. The Asheville 48 Hour Film Project producer was Bruce Sales, and the judges were local film critics (including this writer). avl.mx/1cb

Flat Rock Playhouse’s Studio 52 welcomes faith-based filmmaker David Nixon during the last week of July. The director of Letters to God and assistant director and producer of Facing the Giants and Fireproof will give a presentation called “How to Change the World through Movies” on Sunday, July 26, at 7 p.m., at Hendersonville’s Mud Creek Baptist Church. The event is free and open to the public. The following week, Nixon will lead students in classes during Studio 52’s Faith Friendly Week. avl.mx/1ca

• On Friday, July 31, from 6 to 8 p.m., local film historian Chip Kaufmann kicks off a new silent film series at the Leicester Public Library. The night’s program includes 1921’s The Kid (70 minutes), starring Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan, and Mabel’s Strange Predicament with Mabel Normand, a 12-minute short from 1914. Admission is free and popcorn will be provided. The series continues the last Friday in September and October. avl.mx/1c9

• The best of Western Carolina University’s student films from its Film and Television Production Program’s annual Controlled Chaos Film Festival will be screened Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center in Highlands. The event opens with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a 90-minute screening, at 7 p.m., that includes comedies, dramas, documentaries, animated films and promotional pieces. The festival rating is PG-13 for adult language.

Admission is $75 and benefits students making senior project films — which often cost more than $5,000 to create — and helps the program purchase necessary equipment. Tickets may be purchased at the Highlands Area Chamber of Commerce, the Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce and the Highlands Performing Arts Center, or by calling the WCU College of Fine and Performing Arts at 227-7028. avl.mx/1c8

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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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