Cucalorus

I will be honest and say that I completed none of my actions steps I set for myself. I wanted to just sit back and watch some films at the end of the week, and essentially, that’s exactly what I did. Overall, I would say that Cucalorus was quite the experience. The film blocks I went to were very interesting to say the least, but for the most part, I did enjoy the majority of them. I was rather surprised that not a lot of filmmakers were there for their films. I mean, I understand that you can’t attend every festival, but for all four blocks I attended, I maybe saw 2 filmmakers per block.

Jackfruit Shorts

This was the first block I attended ever at Cucalorus and I will say it was a wild ride. Starting off, Georg Koszulinski offered me candy from a damp brown paper bag which honestly was the highlight of the entire night. “It’s not weird.” He’s silly. The films shown were intriguing, starting with butter being spread on a couch and ending with reptilian creatures. One of the filmmakers had a mini meltdown in front of everyone and popped the talking mime’s balloon… awkward. I can honestly say I will remember that incident for years to come.

Lords of Chaos

I attended this feature because a friend of mine had a short film before it and because I dig Satan. Not really, but sort of. It was basically a biopic about the satanic Norwegian death metal band Mayhem and all the chaos they caused during their run as a band. This event started with Chloe’s film followed by a man in a mask stating, “HEIL SATAN!” and ended in metal music. Honestly, I think this was my favorite event. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

I dunno how much this counts because she's a friend, but I did technically meet and take a picture with a filmmaker! As well as Austin and Daniel! Chloe Pacheco screened her experimental titled Outta My Head. 

Paw Paw Shorts

This was my driving force behind my attendance at Cucalorus (minus the fact that it was also a grade 😉) The creator of my favorite childhood show, John R. Dilworth, had a short playing here and I have never anticipated something more in my entire life. The fact that I got to see this film made my entire semester and I couldn’t be happier.

Fiddlehead Shorts

This kiddie movies had me scratching my head a little. Some of them seemed a little suggestive to be put in a kid’s block, but hey, not my festival. Not to be biased, but Shoot the Duck was probably my favorite in this block. I basically grew up in a skating rink so seeing all of the typical skating rink getup was very nostalgic for me. It was nice to see that on screen, and to know that at least in this film, kids still go skating!

When I think “film festival”, I think of this mad house, proper, red carpet like event, and this is honestly what I expected Cucalorus to be like. I had never been before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I will say I was VERY surprised at how laid back everything was, like completely blown away. Overall, I did enjoy this event and I am glad I went. If I am in Wilmington this time next year, I may have to buy a pass and come back down.