Praxis Festival begins Friday
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 4, 2016 1:46 PM
The sixth annual Praxis Film Festival will be held this weekend, at two locations and with more feature-length films, organizers say.
The event, which originated at Wayne Community College and sponsored by the WCC Foundation, changes it up each year. Last year's season, for example, there were many short films.
For the Feb. 5 and 6 lineup, there are a lot of student films as well as the full-length options. Four of them are award-winning movies.
"Land and Shade" won a cinematography award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. "Ixcanul" won the Silver Bear Award at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival and is Guatemala's entry into the Oscars.
"The Prophet" was honored as an official selection of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
And the 2016 Praxis opening night film, "The Lunchbox," won an audience award at Cannes.
The mission of the local film festival is to bring quality movies from around the world to Goldsboro.
The latest selections come from the United Kingdom, India, the Netherlands, Colombia, Guatemala, Israel, Sweden, France and of course, the United States.
The film festival takes place Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5 and 6.
The Friday schedule will have screenings from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in Moffatt Auditorium at WCC. The evening feature film, at 8 p.m., will be shown at the Paramount Theatre.
Then there will be a full day of movies at the Paramount on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. and concluding around 10 p.m.
Organizers have chosen an array of genres and themes.
For example, there are a few humorous short films on the schedule. "Rest Stop" has a bit of fun with the idea of youthful trust and guardian angels. The French submission, "La Tete-de-l'emploi," turns the tables on the uncomfortable situation of unemployment. And "Mousse" is a comic tragedy.
Narrative short films depict what it means to be family. "Keepsake, a short film made in Chapel Hill, is about two sisters who must go through their hoarding mother's things to clean out her house, stumbling upon a secret.
"Cracked" captures the discomfort a family can sometimes feel around each other.
And then there is "Iris," a thriller that is both eerie and suspenseful.
In addition to filmmakers around the globe, the latest line-up is represented by many student films -- from the N.Y. School of the Visual Arts and the N.C. School of the Arts.
Filmmakers have been invited to the event, with several expected to attend. There will also be a Q&A after each block of movies.
Patrons are also invited to vote on their favorites, with audience awards handed out at the conclusion of the festival. Categories include narrative short, narrative feature, student film and animation short.
To watch trailers in advance, visit www.waynecc.edu/filmfestival or praxisfilmfestival.com.