sick chick flicks

Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival Recap

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I just finished my weekend at Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival in Cary, North Carolina where “The Gaze” screened. This was my third year with a film in the festival but my first time attending. I’m glad I finally got to experience it. Overall, I had a nice time. There were only a handful of filmmakers in attendance, so while not watching films, I mostly experienced a quiet weekend exploring what turned out to be a really cute town.

As for the fest itself, you can tell it’s run by filmmakers because the picture and sound projection of all films were excellent. It’s also held in a beautiful venue, The Cary Theater. The festival is not as well attended as it should be. The festival staff seems to do a good job promoting it. But I think it hasn’t gotten the word of mouth it needs just yet. My screening had 35 people, and it was the most attended block as a whole. What’s nice, though, is that all but 5 people in the audience seemed to be locals not affiliated with the festival, so the films definitely reached people they probably wouldn’t otherwise. I hope that as the fest grows (it’s only in its 4th year) locals will come out to see the films.

My block had 11 shorts in it and I really appreciated that my film and the one other with filmmakers in attendance were programmed at the end so that they were fresh in the attendees’ minds for the Q&A. The Q&A itself was very brief, unfortunately, but I did get cool compliments one-on-one after. My favorite moment was 2 girls, one in high school and another in middle school, coming over after to tell me how much they enjoyed my movie and that they’re both aspiring filmmakers. It was also cool being reunited with Dycee Wildman & Jennifer Bonier in the same block with their short “Coming Alive.” Their previous film “Inside The House” was one of my favorites in 2017, which I saw at Ax Wound 2 years ago.

Other highlights:

  • getting to see festival director Christine Parker again, who I worked with at my old job I Was There Film Workshops

  • making new filmmaker friends, like Trinity Vélez-Justo, who gave a great presentation on the significance of sound & music in horror

  • watching 4 compelling pitches all by women in horror where the fest awarded one $400 from the festival’s ticket sales

  • and finally getting to meet & spend time with Megan Peterson, who drove from Wilmington to see my short and my Crowdfunding presentation. I helped launch her crowdfunding campaign for her feature Drought back in 2017, and she’s now joining my education team at Seed&Spark.

-Christina

Local Vegan Treat:

  • I didn’t really find anything great but they at least had food options that weren’t just chains!

Catch the film next at: