It was lucky 13 for the N.C. Black Film Festival, which took place in Wilmington on March 13-16. The 13th annual event displayed growth in attendance, sponsorships and number of films screened, organizers said.
Attendance jumped for the four-day festival by more than 40 percent, from previous attendance totals of 500-600 to 832 festivalgoers this year, festival director Charlon Turner said. Those attendees had 30 films to choose among, an increase from 21 films at the 2013 festival.
Turner, now in her second year as festival director, said she was pleased at the number of sponsorships.
“Our major sponsors were the same as in the past, but some smaller ones were new,” she said. “We were more aggressive in soliciting sponsorships this year, and we revamped our sponsorship package, and I think it really paid off.”
The festival’s presenting sponsor (a contribution of $2,500 and above) was The Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County. The CineMixer Sponsor ($2,000 and above) was Ken Weeden & Associates.
There were six Festival Sponsors, with contributions between $1,500 and $2,000: Cameron Art Museum, Community Arts Center/Jengo’s Playhouse, Cumulus Media, Photography by Kish, Turner Solutions and Sewfli Inc.
At the Friends of NCBFF level of $400-$500 were seven sponsors: Working Films, Wilmington Camera–Joe Dunton, EUE/Screen Gems Studios, Coca-Cola, Catch Restaurant, S&J Concierge and State Farm Insurance–Crystal Fray.
The Fashion & Film sponsor ($300 level) was the NAACP of New Hanover County. Also at the $300 level was concessions sponsor Cape Fear Retina.
The Scoop Ice Cream Shop and Canteen Services were Film Fan sponsors at the $100-plus level.
Seven of the 30 screened films garnered awards. In the shorts category, first prize went to Free Lunch, with Crazy Beats Strong Every Time in second place and JUMP in third.
Among the documentaries, Lessons of Hayti won first place, The Piano Entertainer: Stomping Grenoldo Frazier won second and MOVE came in third.
Turner said that not enough feature films were accepted for that category to award a cash prize, but Knockaround Kids, the only feature submission to be accepted, was of very high quality. It was given an honorable mention award.
“Overall, [this year’s] was a spectacular festival, from opening night on,” Turner said. “We had great support from the community, and we were bustling all day, with three screening rooms going at all times.
“Sunday we had a huge finale with Fashion and Film and African drummers,” she added. “We strive every year to make [the festival] bigger and better.”
