The First Annual Carrboro Film Festival was a huge success, with hundreds of film lovers gathering in Century Hall, packed to the gills, to view the 22 films that made the final cut.
"This is the best award I've ever gotten" said Oscar winner Barbara Trent, who, along with David Kasper, made the documentary Soldiers Speak Out, winning in the emerging filmmaker category.
All's Fair In Love and Police Actions, the animated film by Alex Wilson that played after Soldiers Speak Out, was a natural to follow the brutally frank narratives of former military personnel who expressed distress at being involved with what they feel is an immoral war.
"I loved it," said Trent of the animated feature that followed her somber reality check. "I'd like to add it to our DVD."
The Winners Are:
K - 12:
Stalker, Stalker Filmmakers Kelly Katzenmeyer, Rebecca Kirsh, and Melissa Lozoff of Movie Makers
College: The Laugher Film Festival organizer Nic Beery and filmmaker William Earnhardt
Emerging: Soldiers Speak Out
Granddaughter of Kay Kyser, Amanda Bryan, with filmmaker Barbara Trent
Audience: Gemini World Filmmaker Erika Simon
We want to thank the filmmakers, whose thousands of hours of work provided us with a magical, film filled day, highlighting our friends and neighbors who have honed their filmmaking skills into an art.
Our gratitude goes out to those who helped make this possible through their contributions, donations, time and effort, and who shared our vision for an original film event that encompassed all of Orange County, North Carolina and beyond.
ArtsCenter Encore - The additional showing of the award winners was at the ArtsCenter on December 3, 2006. We screened an hour of movies with Q & A segment and a wine and cheese reception following the movies. There was also a surprise award for Nic Beery created and presented by Mike Roig.
Click here for a slideshow.
The awards are made entirely from recycled materials, primarily from right here in Carrboro. When the Trading Post recently started renovations, Mike found the main material for the pieces, diamond plate metal, used for metal grates. Each piece is a little different.
A recent sculpture of Mike's, Glimpses of the Promised Land, was dedicated on September 16, 2006 at Chavis Park in Raleigh. (Click here for the N&O article.) Mike also received "Best in Show" at this year's UNC Botanical Garden Show, announced October 8th.
As a bandleader in the '40s, Kay Kyser starred in seven feature films and led the Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Kyser attended UNC and raised his family in walking distance of where we sat when we presented his awards. His granddaughter, Amanda Bryan, was a member of the Carrboro Art Committee when we were brainstorming for a local film connection to dedicate the awards to, and told us about her grandfather. It clicked with the committee and the Kay Kyser Awards were born. Click here for more info on Kay Kyser.
We had three categories: K-12, college, and emerging, with the competition open to anyone who lives, works, studies or plays in Orange County.
Shown at left, committee chair Nic Beery appeared on Cable Channel 24's Second Cinema in an interview about the Carrboro Film Festival.
This event was planned by the Carrboro Film Festival Committee, a wonderful, committed, energetic bunch of folks who deserve their own applause, with support from the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department and the Carrboro Art Committee.
The First Annual Carrboro Film Festival was a huge success, with hundreds of film lovers gathering in Century Hall, packed to the gills, to view the 22 films that made the final cut.
As a bandleader in the '40s, Kay Kyser starred in seven feature films and led the Kollege of Musical Knowledge. Kyser attended UNC and raised his family in walking distance of where we sat when we presented his awards. His granddaughter, Amanda Bryan, was a member of the Carrboro Art Committee when we were brainstorming for a local film connection to dedicate the awards to, and told us about her grandfather. It clicked with the committee and the Kay Kyser Awards were born. 