Cary Film Festival Kicks Off October 7th

Cary, NC — Cary’s Film Festival, “BEYOND,” returns to The Cary Theater from October 7-10 this year.

The 4-day film festival will feature 35 independently produced short films as well as workshops, a screenwriting masterclass and table read.

BEYOND 2021

Produced by the Cary Theater, BEYOND is a welcoming small-town North Carolina film festival that’s known for its hospitality and convenient walkability.

The name BEYOND pays homage to the theater’s slogan “Beyond Ordinary” which originates from the Town’s name from the late 1700s as “Bradford’s Ordinary.” It also represents a mission of going above and beyond in providing a unique setting to experience affordable art-house cinema in downtown Cary.

35 Films Chosen for Competition

The theater received a record number of entries this year, inviting 35 unique films for the festival competition. Each will screen in-theater with several workshops, filmmaker Q&As, and a table read planned throughout the 4-day film festival.

The films will be split into four blocks with multiple viewing opportunities throughout the festival. Here are the showtimes and the featured shorts. For more information and plot summaries, see the festival films page.

Film Block 1

  • Spotlight
  • Wear
  • All Shook Up
  • Otava
  • Un Cafecito
  • Pre-Existing Freedom
  • …And Then the Darkness
  • The Scavenger
  • Her Skin
  • Sea Salt Wind

See showtimes & tickets

Film Block 2

  • Prose
  • Good Boy Cerberus
  • The Best You Got
  • Our Side
  • The Secret Gift
  • New Mexico Deathwish Diatribe
  • Almost a Jingle
  • Death Returns
  • Nutcracker
  • Sea Salt Wind

See showtimes & tickets

Film Block 3

  • A Moment of Humanity
  • Little Girl Grace
  • EL OTOÑO DE TUS LABIOS
  • Bandwidth
  • Becoming Black Lawyers
  • MLK JR BLVD. Male
  • Yard Sale
  • Grief
  • Deepwater Sponger

See showtimes & tickets

Film Block 4

  • 3:35 to Boston
  • Mixed Head
  • Otonashi
  • Alien Guy Tim
  • Le Varou
  • Free Order
  • Shadowboxing
  • Moments

See showtimes & tickets

Q&As, Workshops & a Table Read

Beyond Film Festival 2018 hit the downtown fountain area for an outdoor film viewing.

Friday, October 8

  • 1 PM – Workshop: Impactful Publicity Packs
  • 3 PM – Workshop: Business of Film Composition

Saturday, October 9

  • 10 AM – Workshop: Screenwriting Master Class
  • 10 AM – Workshop: Camera Operations
  • 2 PM – Winning Screenplay Table Read
  • 9:30 PM – Marquee Party

Sunday, October 10

  • 11 AM – Filmmakers Brunch
  • 2 PM – Best of BEYOND

 For more details, registration links and film block tickets, visit The Cary Theater website.


Story by Ashley Kairis. Photos courtesy of Hal Goodtree & The Cary Theater.

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