At the beginning of August, in the middle of North Carolina, there is Asheboro, and we literally mean in the middle, often referred to as the “bullseye of the state” from it’s titanesque tower of power, and native to the area, Ty Brueilly. We then zoom into the lobby of the historic and charming Sunset Theatre where nearly a hundred of people gather to discuss the most recent block of independent films that were just shown as part of the third annual Mightier Than The Sword Awards at Sunset Film Festival.
“When I saw that many people clustered up talking about the films that they just saw, I was ecstatic. That’s what this is all about, showcasing art that usually isn’t available anywhere else, and making sure I do all I can to have these artists, actors and directors travel to Asheboro and represent their films. Most of the times these filmmakers are looking for distribution, funding, casting and the like, so I strive to provide an event and an atmosphere that will respect their valuable time and have them all in one place so that maybe they can start finding what they need for their next step. I then go the extra mile and offer the opportunity for them to speak to the crowd in an intimate on stage, sit down conversation.” Brueilly said.
“There is a lot of power in that method, because the audience can immediately get to know the team that created the film. It makes it that much easier to approach each other once you hear how relatable that they are to the rest of us. We are all humans and sometimes we forget that. While backstage, one of our on the spot moderators, Tonya Marie admitted that one of the artists seemed “a little more scary at first” before she was introduced to him, yet she began to quickly understand that was just the way they perform their art and not really them.” Brueilly continued.
The three day festival was jammed with solid programming from 11:30am on Friday August 7th until 11:30pm on Sunday August 9th. Over 70 titles were shown, live performances from musicians and comedians filled opening night. Two brand new blocks were added this year, with a viral content creator block and a Festival Pro Tips and Pitch Hour.
“Those two new engagements were really risky to put together. It was a heavy handed dice roll. I had no idea how it would go, and neither did the participants. I sacrificed two full hours of showing films to offer this, so both days I was second guessing the decision, because nobody was used to the ideas, nor did I have a really solid foundation to base it off of, so I had to create one. Thankfully the content creators, Ben Jones, Todd “Nappy Buffalo” Norman, Major Keysss and BJ Owens really took some ownership of the block and it went off better than I could have imagined.
Same as the Festival pro tips and pitch hour. I was seconds away from just showing another film instead because there wasn’t much engagement or sign ups at first. Rigarrao productions and Tremayne Goff said, let’s do it, there’s at least one pitcher in here now. Then we did it and several came up, a few filmmakers said it was the most beneficial part of the festival for them, and a reminder to keep tight to the schedule and trust the process.” Brueily said.