Hickory – The 2018 Footcandle Film Festival is coming to the Drendel Auditorium at the SALT Block the weekend of September 28 to 30. This is the fourth year of the film festival and will bring thirty-seven films for attendees to view and meet some of the filmmakers throughout the weekend. A complete list of the films, their descriptions and trailers can be found on the festival web site (www.footcandlefilmfestival.com).

The festival starts on Friday, September 28 at 11am with three film selections including both documentary and narrative selections.

That evening the festival will hold its Opening Night event where many of the “Short Film” selections are screened, followed by an opening night reception with food and drink in the SALT Block facility. Later that evening, for the more “adventurous” viewers there will be a second late-night screening of edgier shorts that’s being referred to as the “Night Gallery” following the reception.

On Saturday, September 29 and running all day and evening, the festival will be screening a mixture of narrative and documentary feature films in the Drendel Auditorium on the SALT Block. On the final day of the festival, Sunday, September 30 until mid-afternoon, the festival will screen four additional films also in the Drendel Auditorium on the SALT Block.

At 7pm on Sunday there will be an awards ceremony at Moretz Mills where festival winners will be announced and a full dinner will be served to attendees. There will be six awards presented at this year’s awards ceremony determined by a combination of panels of judges and audience voting.

Several of the filmmakers will be in attendance throughout the weekend to attend screenings of their films and discuss their work with attendees in question-and-answer sessions.

Tickets can be purchased for each of the individual films and for the two special events. For attendees that want more flexibility with their festival weekend schedule, they can purchase a “weekend pass” that allow them to attend any of the films and the Friday night Short Film event. The closing ceremony and dinner is not included in the weekend pass and must be purchased separately.

Tickets are now on sale for the general public by visiting www.footcandlefilmfestival.com and clicking the link on the home page to “Buy Tickets Online”. Tickets can be purchased with credit or debit cards; taxes and credit card charges will apply. Tickets will remain on sale up until the weekend of the film festival for any events that are not sold out.

The Footcandle Film Society has been screening and facilitating discussions on films in Western North Carolina since its inception in 2008. Through monthly film screenings, discussions, partnerships with various international and educational organizations, the film society has built a community of over 600 members that support film efforts in our region.

For any questions about the festival please contact the film society at [email protected] or visit the festival’s web site at www.footcandlefilmfestival.com.