Bored with Netflix? A Charlotte film festival is going virtual during COVID-19.
Cancer doesn’t stop for COVID-19. This year, the Joedance Film Festival will go virtual with 24 films from Aug. 6-8 to raise money to support pediatric cancer clinical trials and research.
The Joedance Film Festival is celebrating its 11th anniversary by adding Georgia and Tennessee to the eligibility list and adding a student film category to Saturday afternoon.
Joedance will stream live from 7:30-10:30 p.m., and student films will stream Saturday afternoon from 1-2:30 p.m. Tickets start at $10 for student screenings. Individual event screenings are $20 each and include access to that evening’s virtual reception, virtual screening and Q&A with the filmmakers. For $70, you can get an all-access pass, which includes access to all virtual screenings and events and can be purchased here.
To date, Joedance has donated more than $205,000 to Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital over the past 10 years.
THE HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL
The Joedance Film Festival honors the memory of Joe Restaino, who died of osteosarcoma in 2010 at the young age of 20. Restaino was an honors student and varsity swimmer in high school before moving to the University of Pennsylvania. He was first treated for the cancer in 2006, and by 2007, he’d established the Bone Cancer Awareness Walk at The McCallie School, his hometown high school in Tennessee, to raise money for pediatric cancer research.
After Restaino’s passing, his family established the Joedance Film Festival to support research and clinical trials for rare pediatric cancer at Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital. The family chose to honor him with a film festival because of his love of movies.
THE FILMS
This year’s Joedance Film Festival selections consist of submissions from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. At the beginning of the filming, there will be a brief Q&A session with the filmmakers from the previously-screened film. All events are suitable for mature audiences only.
Here’s the lineup of films:
Thursday, Aug. 6:
8 p.m.: Opening Remarks
Film 1, 8:15 p.m.: Penny Press (4:55) (Director Anil Dhokai, Blythewood, S.C.)
Film 2, 8:23 p.m.: Gunpowder & Paperboy (9:18) (Director Todd Tinkham, Durham)
Film 3, 8:35 p.m.: Karma’s Shadow (25:34) (Director Rob Underhill, Morrisville)
Film 4, 9:03 p.m.: Ella (15:00) (Director Kerry Everett, Charlotte)
Film 5, 9:21 p.m.: #Slut (11:37) (Director Jenna Kanel, Canton, Ga.)
Film 6, 9:35 p.m.: The Mountains We Climb (3:44) (Director Jeremy Camp, Pasadena, Calif.)
9:45 p.m.: end of film program
Friday, Aug. 7:
8 p.m.: Opening Remarks
Film 1, 8:15 p.m.: Robots Don’t Have Feelings (8:14) (Director Marcus Kyle, Charlotte)
Film 2, 8:27 p.m.: Left Behind (18:00) (Director Ky Dickens, Burbank, Calif)
Film 3, 8:48 p.m.: Disconnect (17:35) (Director Trey Riley, Rock Hill, S.C.)
Film 4, 9:10 p.m.: Mike (32:45) (Director Kent Smith, Charlotte)
Film 5, 9:45 p.m.: Portrait of a Woman at Dawn (15:58) (Director Cullen Douglas, Los Angeles)
10:05 p.m.: end of film program
Saturday, Aug. 8:
Student films
1 p.m.: Opening Remarks
Film 1, 1:10 p.m.: Do You Remember (2:21) (Director Christi Neptune, Winston-Salem)
Film 2, 1:16 p.m.: Painted Love (15:14) (Director Michelle DeGrace, Winston-Salem)
Film 3, 1:35 p.m.: Rank: eight more seconds (7:45) (Director Jay Capers, Asheboro)
Film 4, 1:46 p.m.: Logged On (11:31) (Director Cameron McCormack, Winston-Salem)
Film 5, 2:00 p.m.: Folding Fur (3:34) (Director Keaton Sapp, Winston-Salem)
Film 6, 2:06 p.m.: Shelter (7:00) (Director Jo Hatcher, Winston-Salem)
Film 7: 2:16 p.m.: Blue & Hue (6:02) (Director Jordan McLaughlin, Austin, Texas)
2:30 p.m.: end of film program
Main event
8 p.m.: Opening Remarks
Film 1: 8:15 p.m.: Righteous (5:15) (Director William C. Simmons, Charlotte)
Film 2: 8:23 p.m.: Yard Sale (17:38) (Directors Andrew Huggins & Donna Whitmore-Sexton, Monroe)
Film 3: 8:44 p.m.: Walter’s Walk (8:21) (Director Stephen Bydal, Durham)
Film 4: 8:55 p.m.: Overnight (14:32) (Director Thomas Mendolia, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Film 5: 9:13 p.m.: Cherry (12:00) (Director Stacey Davis, Homewood, Ala.)
Film 6: 9:30 p.m.: Here There Be Tygers (10:27) (Director Polly Schattel, Asheville)
9:45 p.m.: end of film program
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 11:49 AM.
