Wilmington’s startup scene will be in the Cucalorus spotlight this year, thanks to a new project announced this week by the film festival.

Dubbed 10x10, the project will pair ten filmmakers with 10 entrepreneurs. Each pair will spend four days together making a short video – less than five minutes long – to highlight some aspect of the startup venture.

The 10x10 program, according to Cucalorus officials, is intended to introduce creatives in the film world to creatives in the world of emerging business and to showcase the growing community of entrepreneurs working in the Cape Fear region. The project is made possible through a partnership between the film festival, Castle Branch Corp.’s tekMountain incubator and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at University of North Carolina Wilmington.

“We’ve had a great response,” Cucalorus artistic director Dan Brawley said Tuesday. “About 15 entrepreneurs have asked for information. We may still have a couple of slots open, but space is limited and anyone interested should contact me right away.”

Filmmakers and entrepreneurs selected to participate in the project will be invited to a session at tekMountain on Nov. 11 to meet their collaborators and begin developing their projects.

The idea for this 10x10 initiative came from a couple of directions, Brawley said.

Several years ago, Chapel Hill filmmaker, musician and artist Norwood Cheek spurred Cucalorus’ first 10x10, which was a matchup of filmmakers and bands, creating a short music video for screening during the festival. Since then, Brawley said, he’s been approached to do something to highlight the entrepreneurial spirit in Wilmington.

After spending time with Castle Branch CEO Brett Martin, local entrepreneur Tobin Geatz and CIE executive director Jim Roberts, Brawley said he wanted to find a way to embrace the people in the entrepreneurial community and attract them to the festival.

“Cucalorus is more than a party and a lot of movies showing. It’s an opportunity for the business community to meet young creatives,” he said, adding that with the move to online marketing and communications, businesses need “content creators.”

“All those people are at Cucalorus. Think of it as a marketplace where businesses can identify and hire new staff members,” he said. “I think that is one of the things that will result from 10x10.”