When a radicalized, home school teen becomes convinced that a girl he met at a homeless shelter is marked for human trafficking to liberal elites for a satanic ritual, he mounts a misguided quest to save her. [FILMED IN ASHEVILLE]

Seeking Connection Film Block, Aug. 16 2:30 pm

Two siblings with big dreams and divergent paths reconnect after the death of their father. [MADE IN NC]

That Hits Different Film Block, Aug. 16, 2:30 pm

When The River Rose is a documentary that tells the stories of those affected by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. This isn’t just the story of a storm, it’s a portrait of towns forever changed and of the human spirit rising even higher than the river did.

Opening Day Matinee, Aug. 15, 3:30 pm

10 year-old Shelly helps her father run his French creperie, drawing in her sketchbook to while away the time. When a menacing stranger unexpectedly arrives at the cafe, Shelly takes it upon herself to handle the situation in this surreal fish out of water tale.

Opening Night Film Block, Aug. 15, 7:00 pm

“Elderflower” is a short documentary about the devastating effects from Hurricane Helene on the Elderflower Homestead Camp in Fairview, North Carolina, and its staff’s unwavering efforts to rebuild and reopen their doors to serve elders across the region.

That Hits Different Film Block, Aug. 16, 1:15 pm

This locally-made documentary examines how we educate our youth in the United States today and explores a POD school here in Asheville where students thrive in a different learning model.

Feature Screening, Aug. 16, 11:55 am

Director’s Statement: “Despite years of racing on national television, I've often felt invisible in my sport. In 2016, I wrote a blog called “The Problem” that went viral, and got me reprimanded by NASCAR leadership. It also proved that my story—and those like mine—weren't going to be told from the broadcast booth.”

This short film made by a professtional race car driver captures not just what happens inside the racecar, but the weight and consequences of the business decisions happening off the track.

First Day Matinee, Aug. 15, 3:30 pm

This John Hughes-esque coming of age short follows Rosa as she finds herself in a whirlwind of emotions navigating an unexpected love triangle between her two co-workers at a fast food joint. [STUDENT FILM]

Director’s statement: “Through Rosa's Dilemma, I aim to create a story that is not only fun but a love letter to all the hopeless romantic Black girls who yearn to see themselves on screen.”

Seeking Connection Film Block, Aug. 16 2:30 pm

A 21st century trip set in the birthplace of the 60's, this slice of Americana stars Tony Award winner John Glover as an easy-riding and sharp-tongued guide to two young travelers looking for Ken Kesey's cabin deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Examining ideas of autonomy, cultural literacy, and unexpected connection, the film was shot by National Geographic's Emmy winning director of photography Ben Mullin and directed by Northern California filmmaker Jason Ward.

Opening Night, Aug. 15, 7:00 pm

When a poor man discovers he is rapidly going blind, he sets off on a desperate search for gold in an effort to secure his fortune before time runs out.

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15 9:30 pm

A single father wrestles with his responsibilities, past trauma, and being a present figure in his son's life.

Seeking Connection Film Block, Aug. 16, 2:30 pm

A heartfelt Southern documentary tracing the legacy of a 1930 Model A Ford and the Asheville man who grew up behind its wheel. [FILMED IN ASHEVILLE]

Feature Screening: Aug. 15, 5:00 pm

Tiny Movements is a documentary about Jen Green, a professional modern dancer and mother of two who escaped an abusive husband. This moving short follows her self-created way to heal from abuse through dancing in her kitchen. [FILMED IN ASHEVILLE]

Mountain Healing Film Block, Aug. 17, 12:00 pm

A Cherokee woman fights to protect her niece from an unlawful adoption by her white grandparents as she reckons with feeling distant from her own culture.

Opening Night, Aug. 15, 7:00 pm

Meet Perlia Bell, her granddaughter Asianique Savage and the continued justice fight for Tyz’juan James, gunned down by a murderer still on the loose. [DOCUMENTARY]

Love Through Darkness Film Block, Aug. 17, 10:30 am

In the 1950s North Georgia mountains, Vera, a country girl, confesses her love for a traveling farmhand on the night he has to leave town.

Seeking Connection Film Block, Aug. 16, 2:30 pm

When faced with a life-altering brain injury, a tiny garden gives hope, purpose, and a second chance to a filmmaker.

Mountain Healing Film Block, Aug. 17, 12:00 pm

An aging Private Investigator gets tangled up with a mysterious woman in this timeless neo-noir thriller.

That Hits Different Film Block, Aug. 16, 2:30 pm

When Sarah's dreams drive her to revisit her family home, she is stalked by the ghosts of her past and forced to relive her most traumatic night.

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15, 9:30 pm

In a remote southern honky-tonk, an up-and-coming country artist attempts to win over his hero only to discover the local country legend has a darker side.

That Hits Different Film Block, Aug. 16, 1:15 pm

A Refuge of Scouting is a documentary film about the reshaping of a traditional American identity through the lens of an all-refugee scouting troop. Based in Aurora, Colorado, this unique troop is a rarity of scouting and provides a safe space for some of the most vulnerable populations - refugees.

Nature’s Medicine Film Block, Aug. 16, 4:15 pm

With a nod to the graphic style of the legendary Saul Bass, this tone poem embraces the thinness of the veil and our capacity to occasionally see right through it.

Sound Design by Academy Award® Nominee F. Hudson Miller. Vocal Performance by Ovation Award Winner Pamela Forrest.

Mountain Healing Film Block, Aug. 17, 12:00 pm

Set in a surreal dystopian urbanscape, A House For My Family examines the increasingly anxious interactions of an unemployed artist with the world around him.

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15, 9:30 pm

“Siren of the Wood” is a Native American pre-contact period sci-fi/thriller short film based on an original story about deer woman.
-shown entirely in CHEROKEE LANGUAGE (with subtitles)

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15, 9:30 pm

This documentary discusses the stigma attached to black cats and how a cat rescue in Asheville has worked to reverse that negative perception by saving them and sharing their magic with the world.

Opening Night Film Block, Aug. 15. 6:30 pm

This experimental/arthouse short is “an introspective meeting with puppet Pierrot motivates a sleeping girl", according to first-time filmmaker, Astra Silver Burke. [STUDENT FILM]

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15, 9:30 pm

This documentary discussing water conservation was made by local Marshall film maker and her students while she was in New Mexico last year. [STUDENT FILM]

Nature’s Medicine Film Block, Aug. 16, 4:15 pm

“The Sisters of Roots Salon” is a short documentary about twin sisters Janine O’Neil and Jasmine O’Neil Lyte, fifth generation residents of Old Fort, North Carolina, and the destruction of their beloved hair salon due to Hurricane Helene.

Mountain Healing Film Block, Aug. 17, 12:00 pm

Chip (Joshua Burge) is depressed. His girlfriend insists he get treatment, but when a therapist prescribes a wonder drug that leaves him impotent, she breaks up with him. Now even more depressed, Chip joins a support group where he meets others suffering the effects of the drug. Among them are Vollmann (Matthew Jarzyna), an awkward virgin who's struggling to concoct a home remedy, and Loretta (Chloë Levine), who has a more aggressive scheme in mind.

Feral Friday Film Block, Aug. 15, 9:30 pm

An intimate portrait of a hiphop/ jazz performer following his journey from Cincinnati's famed Beat Box Studios to the famous Parisian jazz club, New Morning.

Love Thru Darkness Screening, Aug. 17, 10:30 am

Former cross-country champion and current physics PhD candidate, Leah, is visited by the apparition of a young girl who forces her to unlock a mystery.

That Hits Different Film Block, Aug. 16, 1:15 pm

A short documentary focusing on Plastic Ocean Project’s mission to combat plastic pollution, following their microplastic research in the North Atlantic Gyre. Set against the backdrop of Bermuda’s beautiful yet contaminated beaches, the film reveals the hidden impact of microplastics and the scientific efforts to protect our oceans. [STUDENT FILM]

Opening Day Matinee, Aug. 15, 3:30 pm

A coming-of-age thriller following an anxiety-ridden teenager going to a high school house party to try and find connection, but an unexpected connection finds him instead.

Seeking Connection Film Block, Aug. 16, 2:30 pm

This short documentary is about herbalist and author Asia Suler’s return to her beloved One Willow Apothecaries in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and her reflections on the path ahead.

Opening Night, Aug. 15, 6:00 pm

A brief overview of the theory, equipment, and methods of lighting films for meaning, mood and emotion. Learn tricks and techniques used by top cinematographers and gaffers that can be adapted to low budget indie filmmaking.

Brad has 25+ years teaching filmmaking and making films. For the last 10 years, he has run the Asheville School of Film.

Workshop: Aug. 16, 10:30 am