Durham Hosts 4th Strange Beauty Film Festival

Durham is home to several film festivals each year. The biggest and most well-known is the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, but there are others like the 10-day long NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and even on about LEGOs.

There is also the Strange Beauty Film Festival.

IT celebrates something imaginative and odd. In its fourth year, the festival is held at Durham's Manbites Dog Theater Jan 24-26, 2013.

The festival shows dazzling and arresting short films from all over the place--this year's crop includes work from Estonia, Portugal, Argentina, Israel, England, and a heaping helping of local folks, including Jim Kellough, Bill Brown, Shambhavi Kaul, and Josh Gibson.

Special events this year include a brand new show from Tom Whiteside's Durham Cinematheque called CIRCLE SPIRAL SLOW. Whiteside describes it as archival explorations by him, with live music by Durham instrumental band Arrows Out.

There will also be another edition of the popular Strange Beauty Aural Fixation, an audio-only listening block curated by Jennifer Deer.

Tickets are $40 for the whole festival, or $12 for an individual screening block. Tickets are available from Manbites Dog. Watch the festival website for the complete schedule and teaser videos.

Learn more about all the film festivals held in Durham online.

February is for Film Festivals

Durham, NC is a great location for movie lovers. Whether it’s visiting the sites of favorite movies, or attending film festivals, Durham has something unique to offer and that’s evident with the three very different film festivals held in Durham later this month.

Running from February 17-19, the Strange Beauty Film Festival features “adventurous and striking short films from around the world that are strangely beautiful and/or beautifully strange.”  Held at Manbites Dog Theater, this film festival is in its second year and is Durham’s newest. Weekend passes are sold out so view the schedule online and purchase tickets at the same time.

Celebrating its 17th year, the Hayti Heritage Film Festival will run from February 17-20. The Hayti Heritage Film Festival “embodies the richness of Black culture while recognizing universal themes and the similarities that exist among all cultures.”  The festival will kick off with a community film day discussion with questions and answer time that is free to the public. For schedule and ticket information, visit http://www.haytifilmfest.org/.

If a weekend of horror and Gothic films sounds appealing, check out the Nevermore Horror and Gothic Film Festival at The Carolina Theatre. Created in 1999, Nevermore is “dedicated to screening brand new horror features from around the world.”  In its 12th year, this festival is not for the faint of heart. Schedule and ticket information can be found on the festival’s website.

Also stay tuned for information about two more Durham film festivals later in 2011: Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, April 14-17 and the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, August 11-14.