From May 9 - 12, the Underexposed Film Festival yc, presented by Morton & Gettys, welcomed filmmakers and movie lovers to Dina’s Place in the DiGiorgio Campus Center at Winthrop University in Old Town Rock Hill, SC. This year’s festival showcased the best in independent filmmaking from around the world, allowing audiences to take a trip around the world without leaving their seat! Films screened from all 7 continents that were as diverse in storytelling as they were in origin.

The 2018 UFFyc included films that have been nominated for Academy Awards, films that are eligible to be nominated for Academy Awards in 2019, and films that have been collecting accolades far and wide. Garden Party was nominated for Short Film (Animated) at the 90th Annual Academy Awards in 2018. The Suitcase was an Oscar-qualifying film for the 2018 Academy Awards. Thus far, four films screened at the 2018 UFFyc are Oscar-qualifying films, eligible to be nominated for Academy Awards in 2019: The Driver is Red, Gaze, Hybrids, and I am the Doorway.

The jurors for the 2018 UFFyc were Avery Carpenter (UFFyc Everyman, Student), Candy Clapp (Scriptwriter), Michael Cusack (Animation Filmmaker), Joanna Davidovich (Animation Filmmaker) Martha (Marty) Elcan (Director, DGA), Richard Feury (Assistant Director, DGA), Carol Green (American Horror Story), Joanne Hock (Purple Dreams, The Ultimate Legacy), Nick Hough (critic, Assistant Director DGA/Writer), Gabrielle Lansner (Director, Choreographer), Ng’endo Mukii (Director), Michael Rivers (Everyman, business owner), Terry Roueche (filmmaker, writer, photographer), Dr. Karen Stock (Winthrop University College of Visual & Performing Arts - Professor), and Dr. David Wohl [Winthrop University College of Visual & Performing Arts - Dean (retired), Director, Actor].

Reflecting on the films screened at the 2018 festival, Karen Collins, Festival Director, notes that as society evolves, so does filmmaking. Films are no longer strictly carbon copies of previous works created with a proven formula. Instead, men and women get behind their camera and dare to push aside the question, “Is this commercially viable?” They now concentrate on making the film that at first was a faint murmur but became a pounding in their chest that burst forth onto the screen. Often taking risks, filmmakers are now staying true to themselves, and in doing so, have helped change the way the audience consumes film.

Ten awards were presented to Official Selections in 2018 - the Grand Jury Prize; the best of each category: animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative; Cinema Carolina - awarded to the best independent film made in North or South Carolina regardless of category, content, or subject; Woman to Watch (best female director); Best Student Film | Collegiate; Best Student Film | High School; and the Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award.

Grand Jury Award | $750

Compartments

Animation | 2017 | 15 min. 00 sec.

Country | Germany, Israel

Language | English

Producer | Eitan Shefer

Directors | Daniella Koffler, Uli Seis

Writer | Daniella Koffler

Cast | Shirly Lev, Micah Lewensohn, Matthias Wagner, Philipp Oehme, Alice von Gwinner

Netta, a young Israeli woman wishes to immigrate to Berlin. Her father, the son of Holocaust survivors, is horrified by her decision to live in the land that killed her ancestors. He refuses to speak to her again if she leaves.

Based on Daniella Koffler’s personal story, Compartments is the first German-Israeli animation co-production that wishes to explore collective memories of the Holocaust in the third generation, and how they shape both sides in ways we cannot predict. | more info

Best Animated Film | $200

Hybrids

Animation | 2017 | 6 min. 22 sec.
Country | France

Language | Silent Film

Producer | MOPA

Directors | Florian Brauch, Matthieu Pujol, Kim Tailhades, Yohan Thireau, Romain Thirion

When marine wildlife has to adapt to the pollution surrounding it, the rules of survival change... | more info

Best Documentary Film | $200

Daddy

Documentary | 2017 | 30 min. 06 sec.
Country | United States

Language | English

Directors | John Gallen, Alex Faoro

Cast | Curtis Malone, DerMarr Johnson, Nolan Smith

Daddy tells the story of beloved youth basketball coach and duplicitous drug trafficker Curtis Malone. In examining Curtis’s life from his childhood to his arrest, the film challenges audiences to decide if he is a calculating criminal or caring mentor. | more info

Best Experimental Film | $200

New World

Experimental | 2017 | 10 min. 00 sec.
Country | Switzerland

Language | Silent Film

Executive Producer | Filippo Bonacci

Director | Laura Kaehr

Editors | Kirstin Reppas, Daniel Casparis

Cast | Jasmin Sisti, Alessandro Torresin, Luka Ostrez

When Anna runs away from her tribe, she meets an entire new world.

A dystopian love story set in a far future, where love, once more, breaks thought boundaries and limitations. | more info

Best Narrative Film | $200, Cinema Carolina | $200,

and Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award | $100

Crab Trap

Narrative | 2017 | 24 min. 48 sec.
Country | United States

Language | English

Producers | Vanna White, Chip White, Jason McRae Smith

Director | Shea Sizemore

Writer | Shea Sizemore

Cast | Danny Vinson, Rebecca Koon, Grant Goodeve, John Voldstad, Dave Blamy

Crawling back from the edge of society, Thirsty tries to prove he’s a “changed man” to his sister in order to gain access to his daughter once again. | more info

Woman to Watch (Best Female Director) | $200

Of the 47 films screened at the 2018 UFFyc, 40% of the films were directed by women. If the festival were to consider co-ed directing teams, the number increases to 46%. In 2017, women represented only 8% of directors working in television and film.(1) The Woman to Watch Award was established in 2013.

Lorette Bayle

Lorette Bayle is an award-winning filmmaker who first produced and edited documentaries and PBS programs before directing short films. She studied Broadcast Journalism at Brigham Young University and Film Directing at the California Institute of The Arts (CalArts). She has worked for the Sundance Institute and has assisted the producers at American Zoetrope. After CalArts, she worked for FIND on Project/Involve and then for Kodak Motion Picture Film, first running their education programs then working with independent feature filmmakers. As Kodak’s Studio Features Account Manager, Lorette worked directly with production executives at the major studios including Universal, Sony, Disney, MGM, DreamWorks, Lionsgate and LucasFilm.

Bayle just completed Scarlett-Angelina, as part of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women where she was one of eight women directors chosen for this workshop in 2017. Her last short, The Bake Shop Ghost, starring two-time Emmy winner Kathryn Joosten and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, screened all over the world, winning over a dozen awards for best short film. It premiered in the opening night showcase of the Seattle International Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Audience Choice Award. The Bake Shop Ghost was also honored with the Best of the Fest Audience Award at Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films.

The Bake Shop Ghost

Narrative | 2009 | 16 min. 48 sec.

Country | United States

Language | English

Producer | Lorette Bayle, Nic Emiliani, Brian Udovich

Director | Lorette Bayle

Writer | Bob Gibbons

Editor | Shilpa Sahi

Cast | Katheryn Joosten and Marianne Jean-Baptiste

In a haunted bake shop, a determined young woman struggles to find the perfect recipe to satisfy a hungry spirit. Based on a best-selling children's book, this film provides enchantment for all ages. | more info

Best Student Film | Collegiate | $100

Garden Party

Animation | 2016 | 6 min. 50 sec.
Country | France

Language | No Language

Directors | Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro

In a deserted rich house, a couple of amphibians explore their surroundings and follow their primal instinct. | more info

Best Student Film | High School | $100

In memory of Amy Lynn Rector

Daydreamer

Animation | 2017 | 4 min. 29 sec.

Country | United States

Language | English

Producer | Kathryne Garrido

Director | Kathryne Garrido

Writer | Kathryne Garrido

Daydreamer features a student who, while falling asleep in class, is awoken by the teacher and is told to do a problem on the board that he doesn’t know how to solve. Embarrassed, the student daydreams of entering a cloud kingdom, where he learns to overcome challenges before waking up. | more info

The Underexposed Film Festival yc is presented by Morton & Gettys, and is made possible by partnerships with Carolina Fresh Farms; Dr. Susan Collins; Concerts at the Courtroom; Comporium Communications; Country Inn and Suites; Founders Federal Credit Union; Friendly Billiards; Hilton Garden Inn; McHale’s Irish Pub; Melton Insurance; Millstone Pizza + Taphouse; Old Town Association; Teresa & David Rector; Sharp Business Systems; Winthrop University; Wells Fargo; White Horse Restaurant; Winthrop University College of Visual and Performing Arts; WRHI AM/FM, Interstate 107, and 104.1 The Bridge.

(1) “Facts to Know About Women in Hollywood,” Women and Hollywood, https://womenandhollywood.com/resources/statistics/, Web, 14 May 2018.

The Underexposed Film Festival yc announced the jury prizes on Saturday, March 4, 2017. The awards were presented at a ceremony immediately following the final block of films screened at the Winthrop University's Plowden Auditorium at the Withers Building. The 2017 program included 35 Official Selections, and 9 Director’s Choice films, curated by Festival Director Karen Collins. Not included in the original program, Writer's Block, starring Jane Lynch, was a late addition. Writer's Block is a comedy about a veteran songwriter past her prime who is afflicted with a severe case of writer's block. Unexpectedly, she finds new inspiration in a bird that takes up residence outside her home.

The Official Selections included films that have been nominated for Academy Awards, are eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award in 2018, and that have been collecting accolades far and wide. La Femme et le TGV was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 89th Annual Academy Awards in 2017. Thus far, two films screened at the 2017 UFFyc are Oscar-qualifying films – A Love Story, "THE TALK" True Stories About the Birds and the Bees. The films After All, Bonsai, Closet, I Love New York, and The Ningyo made their WORLD PREMIERE at the 2017 UFFyc.

The jurors for the 2017 UFFyc were Ellen Barnard (Counter Histories: Rock Hill), Joanna Davidovich (Monkey Rag), Carol Green (American Horror Story), Joanne Hock (GreyHawk Films), Nick Hough (critic, actor), Sharon Liese (The Gnomist), Tess Martin (The Lost Mariner), Michael Rivers, Terry Roueche (filmmaker, writer, photograher), Jim de Sève (Tying the Knot), Dr. Karen Stock, and Dr. David Wohl.

The Underexposed Film Festival yc presented nine awards to Official Selections in 2017 - the Grand Jury Prize; the best of each category – animation, documentary, experimental, and narrative; Cinema Carolina - awarded to the best independent film made in North or South Carolina, regardless of category, content, or subject; Woman to Watch (best female director); Best Student Film; and the Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award. An honorary award, the Cotton Alley Award, sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union, was awarded to Joanne Hock. This award recognizes a filmmaker’s outstanding contributions and commitment to the world of independent filmmaking.

COTTON ALLEY AWARD

Sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union

Joanne Hock

The Underexposed Film Festival yc has named Joanne Hock as the recipient of the 2017 Cotton Alley Award. First presented in 2015, the Cotton Alley Award is an honorary award that recognizes outstanding contributions and commitment to the world of independent filmmaking.

Joanne is passionate and prolific storyteller. She has written and directed feature films and documentaries, lensed and directed countless television commercials and directed national and international television shows. With more than 30 years in this ever-changing industry – and among a small population of women to break the glass ceiling in directing and cinematography, Joanne’s career continues to expand and grow.

Hock has spearheaded film projects for Fortune 500 companies and has been recognized by the prestigious New York International Film Festival with the Gold Medal Award for direction as well as the coveted Grand Prize Award.

Joanne’s latest feature film directorial work, The Ultimate Legacy can be currently seen on the Hallmark Movie Channel. Her other features include Trinity Goodheart for Aspire TV and Redneck Roots on Amazon. Joanne is in rewrites and early pre-production for her fourth feature film.

Two documentaries that Joanne directed, Purple Dreams and Martin Hill: Cameraman are just starting out on the festival circuit. Her documentary, From Poverty to Power, The James B. Duke Story is currently airing as a co-production of UNC-Public TV.

Joanne also worked as Director of Photography on several feature length documentaries including, In the Footsteps of Ellie Wiesel, narrated by Richard Gere, and served as Director of Photography on three PBS and APT feature length documentaries including Laugh at Us, The Spirit of Sacagawea and most recently, The Newport Effect. In 2014 Joanne lensed 13 episodes of Dr. Maya Angelou’s television series, The Spirit Table. Per Joanne, the experience of working side by side with Dr. Angelou was life changing.| more info

In her acceptance speech, Hock urged filmmakers and artists to continue creating, acknowledging that in a time when funding of the arts lies on uncertain ground, those in the creative field must persevere.

Grand Jury Award | $500

La Femme et le TGV