GREENVILLE, S.C. – A record 1,400 people checked in to watch one of the 10 film sessions at the 2023 Piedmont Natural Gas Presents Reedy Reels: The Greenville Festival this past weekend.
As part of the three-day film showcase at the South Carolina Children’s Theatre in down Greenville, nine films were honored for excellence as part of the showcase.
Best Student Film: Curtain Call by Prosser Heroman: Musical Theatre in High School can be pretty crazy! When resident it-girl Lea loses the lead role in her school’s senior year musical, she is overcome with jealousy and sparks a plot to win back her role, whatever it takes
Best Documentary Film: Unspoken by Stephanie Calabrese: Unspoken is a documentary feature film that traces the journey of resident Stephanie Calabrese who picks up an iPhone camera to uncover buried truths and explore how the community has been impacted by its racial divide through the lens of her own whiteness. Stephanie’s foray into filmmaking offers an insider’s intimate look at the impact of the 1946 quadruple lynching, segregation and integration through today in Monroe, Georgia, and shatters a code of silence that has distanced neighbor from neighbor for generations.
Best Short Film: Birthday Butterfly by Collins Abbott White and Corey Mahey: Michael’s childhood friend is the black sheep of the group with good reason. When he shows up unannounced to the birthday party of Michael’s 10-year-old daughter, everything that could go wrong does go wrong in this hilarious adult comedy.
Best Comedy Film: No Chance by Taryn Grace: The Big Ball Lottery drawings always turn out the same for Jerry and Sherry, until tonight. Now their lives will never be the same.
Best Intermediate Film: The Sound of Your Voice by Mitch D. Field: Does surviving adversity strengthen a bond? Derek and Sydney navigate her teen pregnancy, but when she leaves their hometown for college in the city, they must reconcile the past with their respective futures.
Best South Carolina Film: Owe Joe by Caleb Eells Philip is helping his friend Andie get out of a sticky money situation, but when things go wrong, he is stuck between her, a small-time crime boss, an ex-boyfriend, a cashier, and a cowboy.
Best Feature Film: Gospel of Ted by Alex Wroten: Ferrari Thunderbird Taylor is getting ready to leave South Carolina behind forever and start a new life in the Queen City – until her deadbeat husband exchanges all their hard-earned money for cryptocurrency at the behest of a shadowy cult figure, known only as Ted. Before her new life can begin, Ferra must dismantle Ted’s legion of Apocalypse-preppers, restore her husband’s sanity, and salvage what’s left of her good name.
People's Choice: Malignant by Ben Hess and Jared A. Drane: The son of a murdered research scientist risks it all to obtain the cure for cancer to give to the people. Rick Sharpe, the son of late cancer researcher Martin Sharpe, in an effort to keep his father’s work alive, breaks into Sharpe Labs to steal his father’s recent cure for cancer. But when his Uncle, Victor Sharpe, stops Rick in his tracks, he must use his resources to take the cure and escape, giving the cure to the people like his father wanted.
Best Patriotic Film: They Won't Die Twice by Florent Emilien Plana: A documentary telling the harrowing stories of three heroes of D-Day who would make the ultimate sacrifice during the summer of 1944. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings at Normandy, the catalyst for freedom in western Europe during WWII, sadly the veterans who participated and French civilians who witnessed this pivotal moment in world history will soon be gone. Through interviews with loved ones and historians chronicling the stories of these three brave men, the legacies of all will endure.
About The Reedy Reels Film Festival: The Greenville Film Festival:
Piedmont Natural Gas Presents Reedy Reels: The Greenville Festival is an independent film festival promoting the appreciation of the art of film-making while generating support for independent filmmakers in the Upstate. The Reedy Reels Film Festival is a non-profit organization that supports the education and appreciation of filmmaking. Learn more at www.reedyreels.com.