HICKORY, N.C. - The 2024 Footcandle Film Festival will be held between September 20 and 29, marking the tenth year of the festival bringing films from around the world to the Hickory and Catawba County area and hosting discussion with the filmmakers that made them.

A complete schedule and list of the films, their descriptions and trailers can be found on the festival website (www.footcandlefilmfestival.com).

On Saturday, September 21, there will be a special outdoor concert and film screening at the Hum in downtown Hickory serving as a kick-off to the festival week.  A local band of musicians will perform classic hits from the 1950s and 1960s, followed by an outdoor screening of the film AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

The festival proper then starts with an opening night program titled “Coming Attractions” on Wednesday, September 25 at 7 p.m. at the Drendel Auditorium at the SALT Block in Hickory.  This free event will feature short films produced by teams that took part in a weekend-long filmmaking competition the previous weekend, announcement of the winners of a scriptwriting competition, and a preview of films that will be shown during the upcoming festival weekend.  There will also be a reception afterwards in the adjoining Hickory Museum of Art.

The following evening, Thursday, September 26, there will be a free screening of a film produced by North Carolina-based filmmakers that received grant support from the Footcandle Film Society.  The film, A SONG FOR IMOGENE, will be shown at the Hickory Community Theatre in downtown Hickory at 7 p.m. with some of the filmmakers in attendance to discuss their film afterwards.

Another special event of the festival is the Youth International Short Film Showcase co-hosted with the Greater Hickory International Council.  This free event will screen several short films from different countries, all with an intended audience of children ages 9 to 14 and their families.  This year’s film selections were chosen from over 300 film submissions and represent a variety of countries and cultures through both live-action and animated storytelling.  There will be two screening times for this program:  Thursday, September 25, 4:30 p.m. at the Hickory Community Theatre, and Saturday, September 28, 10 a.m. at the Carolina Theater in Downtown Hickory.  Both sessions are free and open to the public with no ticket needed in advance.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 27-29, the festival will be showing films that were submitted from filmmakers around the world and selected by the festival screening committee.  Over 300 films were submitted for consideration for this year’s festival and 30 were selected to be shown during this year’s event.  The films are a mixture of narrative and documentaries as well as feature-length and short films.  All films over the weekend will be shown at in-person screenings at the Hickory Community Theater in Downtown Hickory.

Many of the filmmakers will be joining the festival either in-person or virtually throughout the weekend to discuss their work with attendees in question-and-answer sessions.

At 7 p.m. on Sunday night, September 29, there will be a Closing Awards Ceremony and Celebration at the Hickory Community Theater where winners from the festival will be announced.  There will be ten awards presented at this year’s awards ceremony determined by a combination of panels of judges and audience voting.  The event will announce the recipients of the 2024 Footcandle Filmmaker Grants which are awarded to help fund upcoming North Carolina-based film projects.  The event will also serve as a celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Footcandle Film Festival.

Tickets can be purchased for any of the individual films or attendees can purchase a Festival Pass that allow them to attend any of the festival.  The “Coming Attractions” event, the screening of the Footcandle-sponsored film, the Youth International Short Film Showcase, and the Closing Awards Ceremony are all free and open to the public.

Tickets are now on sale for the general public by visiting www.footcandlefilmfestival.com and clicking the link on the home page to view the schedule, view the selections, and purchase tickets or passes.  Tickets can be purchased with credit or debit cards; taxes and credit card charges will apply.  Tickets will remain on sale up through the weekend of the film festival.

The Footcandle Film Society has been screening and facilitating discussions on films in Western North Carolina since its inception in 2008.  Through monthly film screenings, discussions, partnerships with various international and educational organizations, the film society has built a community of over 600 members that support film efforts in our region.

For any questions about the festival please contact the film society at info@footcandle.org or visit the festival’s web site at www.footcandlefilmfestival.com.