Cucalorus Blog

Man oh man what can I say about cucalorus this year other than it was freaking awesome. Since working in Visions I have began attending festivals as a director. The first thing I noticed about this year was the marketing techniques they used. This being Cucalorus's 21st year they played a lot with the we are legal. They had the reusable solo look-a-like cups that you see at a lot of 21 year olds college party. Even the bumper seemed to go along with the idea of the monsters turning 21 and waking up kinda drunk. When it comes to programming I greatly enjoyed Cucalorus way more than I enjoyed Virginia. I did not realize how many Shorts blocks Cucalorus programmed until this year. I love the respect they pay to shorts from all different genres. From animation to doc to narrative every form is represented. The first shorts block I attended was the Trinidad Scorpion Shorts which was a part of convulsions this year so it was a later screening 9:45-11:45. Here they showcased the grittier more young adult oriented films from horror and gore, to comedy and even post apocalyptic life this block reached out to touch the hearts of millennials deeply. I also enjoyed a works in progress that same evening and I love the idea of at some point us being able to do that type of thing if not this year maybe at a later time. The next shorts block I went to was friday morning The Scotch Bonnet shorts. Here I saw a block that was pg to pg-13 that most moms could bring their children to with no regrets. Here they showcased docs, narratives, and experimental film all of which were very youth friendly so much so Hoggard High School attended the block. I went to many more screenings but I think I have laid enough framework. The biggest thing I noticed about Cucalorus's programming this year was how well they organized the blocks and the types of films they programmed. The selection was so diverse and really made it impossible not to come across a film from every genre and I love it. They had directors of all shades and types and sizes and I would love to see the same thing with Visions. Cucalorus is not just a "film person" thing. It is truly a community, regional, and international festival all in one. I love the welcoming environment and how the filmmakers and actors are so easy to network with it seems everyone is so open. That also could be due to all the comped alcohol but hey whatever greases those gears right. But the biggest thing I found out actually Big Rob and I found out is that you may end up making a contact that seems to good to be true and most of the time that is the case. But I will give that story in person.