Filmmakers from around the world gathered in Carrboro last week to showcase their craft.
The Carrboro ArtsCenter hosted the 13th annual Carrboro Film Festival on Nov. 17 and 18, which featured over 70 films. Nic Beery is the festival’s longtime organizer and founder. Beery, himself a filmmaker, started the festival with a friend 13 years ago.
Beery said that though the festival aims to showcase many different types of films, it occasionally takes on certain themes by virtue of the things the worldwide filmmaking community is primarily portraying. He noticed one theme in particular that became especially prominent in this year’s festival.
“This year we do have a lot of protest films because the world is in turmoil,” Beery said. “A lot of filmmakers are making films about protesting.”
Aby Rao is the director, writer and producer of “Parallel Parking,” a film in the festival about the experiences of immigrants in the United States. Rao said that for immigrants to see their experiences represented in film can be a powerful experience.
“It’s very emotional for a lot of people, including me, even though I worked on the film for several months — it’s emotional,” Rao said.
“Parallel Parking” made its debut at the Carrboro Film Festival. Rao is trying to get the film as much exposure as possible and has applied to have it shown at roughly 20 other festivals.
Rodrigo Dorfman is the director and producer of “This Taco Truck Kills Fascists,” a film in the festival about the challenges posed by “parenting children in the age of Trump.”
“The whole film has been interrupted by this transmission, this pirate’s transmission, from a character named Obi Juan Kenobi, who is this sort of taco truck avenger,” Dorfman said. “It’s funny, it’s insolent, it’s irreverent, it’s funky.”
