Festival not short of new talent

For one local filmmaker, the movie “Deliverance” is significant for more than its “squeal like a pig” line.

Emily Marroquin, a Durham lawyer, was inspired to make an environmental short film after she saw the Burt Reynolds’ classic.

Marroquin showcased “One Less Car,” a 3-minute film about the effect of automobiles on the Triangle’s landscape, in the Flicker film festival at Cat’s Cradle on Monday.

Images of polluted creeks and packed parking lots clicked across the screen as “Dueling Banjos,” a song played in the 1972 movie, played in the background.

Flicker is a bi-monthly film festival based in Carrboro that showcases short films from almost anyone who submits one.

The festival, now in its 11th year, only has two requirements: Films must be 15 minutes or shorter and they must be shot on film.

Ten Flicker film festivals are held throughout America and Europe.

The most recent local festival featured eight films, among them a montage of a couple’s vacation to Nova Scotia and an interview with North Carolina actor Dave Hager, which played along with his family photos and shots of the state.

About 50 people saw the show, longtime attendees standing beside newcomers from far-off locales.

Durham residents Judith and Sammy Winston said that they’ve been coming to the festival for years and that they can recall when it was held at the Local 506.

“We’ve been attending for eight or nine years simply because we enjoy this kind of offbeat entertainment,” Sammy Winston said.

Festivals such as Flicker help give smaller films exposure, said Misty Sweet, a Master of Visual Arts student at Hollins University.

“I think that it would benefit because you’re introduced to films from other places that you’re not going to see, even at the art house theater,” Sweet said.

The Flicker showcase doesn’t feature awards. Nicole Triche, the show’s organizer, said the event is a way to get films to the community.

“The whole thing with Flicker is we want to show films that were shot on film,” Triche said. “We also want to encourage people to make films.”

The next Flicker film festival will be held Oct. 24 at Cat’s Cradle.

 

Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.