In its 27th year on the heels of the pandemic, Cucalorus Film Festival is back, with a refocused emphasis on film.   The multi-day festival launches Wednesday and will last through Sunday, with a selection of 126 films.  “This festival might even feel like a bit of a throwback. It’s the Cucalorus Film Festival ...

By all accounts, it’s boom times for film production in North Carolina and especially in the Wilmington area.   Guy Gaster, director of the N.C. Film Office, confirms that project spending in the state during 2021 is projected to reach at least $410 million, but it could likely be more.   “It’s a really banner year for the state,” Gast ...

Film production in the Wilmington area, as well as across the state, will benefit from an initiative proposed by the city of Wilmington. On Monday, city officials announced a new workforce development program involving a $400,000 grant to the newly formed Film Partnership of North Carolina to launch a new film, television and entertainment industry training program ...

State film spending estimates are climbing and on track to hit a high this year, Gov. Roy Cooper announced in a press release Thursday. Also on Thursday, the governor stopped by EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. According to the press release, the statewide film spending total has reached about $409 million from productions this year.  Of that statewide ...

A charter school in Wilmington has drawn attention and dollars from a showbiz giant. The Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW), North Carolina’s only single-gender public charter school, is partnering with Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to develop a media technology curriculum and studio on GLOW’s campus, accordin ...

PBS's START UP has released a trailer featuring several Wilmington companies for the show's upcoming season. START UP, an Emmy Award-nominated television docuseries highlighting the struggles and victories of entrepreneurs across the United States, released the trailer earlier this week. The show, in its ninth season, stopped in several Southeastern U.S. co ...

State and regional film leaders have a goal to help develop North Carolina’s workforce in the industry. The topic was among the discussions Wednesday during a meeting of the Governor's Advisory Council on Film, Television and Digital Streaming. Workforce development has been a focus for many in the industry as more opportunities arise in the future for prod ...

This year will likely be one of the region’s biggest film spending years, said Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission. “So far we're easily in the neighborhood of $250 million in spending,” Griffin said Friday. “And it would not surprise me, based on what we’re dealing with right now, that we approach, ...

Cucalorus Film Festival has launched a Kickstarter campaign aimed at bringing the annual film festival back in person this year. The campaign has the goal of reaching $27,000 in donations, having received more than $5,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. According to the Kickstarter post, the pandemic has taken a big toll on the organization. Dan Brawley, head of the fe ...

The Wilson Center was recently awarded a $10,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Arts, according to a news release. The Grants for Arts Projects funds will support a production and community dance residency of the Invertigo Dance Theatre during the 2022-23 season, officials said in the release. Another local group, the Cucalorus Film Foundation, was ...