By DeVonne Goode
This year’s Charlotte Film Festival, which took place Sept. 22-27 at The Independent Picture House, was my first taste of the Queen City’s offering to independent film lovers. The experience didn’t disappoint, featuring an appropriately eclectic roundup of films spanning documentaries, narrative features and shorts.
To supplement the film-watching, the festival offered a plethora of “Daily Talks,” where attendees gathered to hear artistic discourse, film insights and feedback from creatives.
The mission of the festival is to “Discover Different.” As a filmgoer who’s always game for on-screen adventures, I can say I definitely have a new go-to source of discovery in the city.
I spent my entire Saturday engulfed in all things Charlotte Film Festival, entering the doors of IPH sometime before noon and not leaving until nearly midnight. Did I plan it that way? Not exactly. But I guess that’s what happens when you go in open to whatever the independent-film fairies bring you. And boy, did they bring me a popcorn-infused, thought-provoking, side-splitting, head-spinning (and -scratching) cinematic delight.
Here are my thoughts on what I saw:
NARRATIVE SHORTS #4: FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY
These short films told stories about community, friends, chosen family and the all-around complexities of humanity. They did a great job of touching on life experiences that anyone can either relate to or sympathize with. They were a great mix of funny, sad, nostalgic and inspiring, with great filmmaking and acting on display.
Following nearly every block of screenings were Q&As with filmmakers whose work was shown. I was moved by all of the directors’ inspirations — particularly those of Jayme Coveliers, who talked about working with his own real-life mother and infusing her actual battle with chronic pain into his narrative.
Standouts: UNLIMITED, FOREVER AND EVER, NO MATTER WHAT (Director Jayme Coveliers) and RARE BIRDS (Director Lily Weisberg)
NARRATIVE SHORTS #5: HARD & SOFT
These short films focused on the hard and harsher parts of life, from impossible choices to unwanted consequences, and finding the strength to live with them. It was a hard-hitting group of films. Each one offered an appropriately earnest look at topics that are tough to face. While these weren’t necessarily films I would call 100% enjoyable, they were bold.
Some of the visual and metaphorical choices in these films were strikingly creative as well. The post-screening Q&A opened my eyes to interesting perspectives on how difficult subjects are processed — particularly what director Brian Leahy had to say about glitter representing both loss and relief. That will definitely stick with me.
Standouts: THE HOUR (Director Paige Henderson) and GLITTERBOMB (Director Brian Leahy)
The premise: Days before a solo performance at Carnegie Hall, world-renowned pianist Mia Nox suffers a spine-shattering accident. Unable to press the pedals and in the care of her increasingly duplicitous boyfriend, Mia finds her wounds creeping more than skin-deep as she is forced to endure a waking nightmare — one in which she must learn to embrace her shadow to press the pedals again.
This was an enjoyable palate cleanser between blocks of short films. Kristina Klebe directs and stars in a story based on her own experience. During the Q&A after the screening, she admitted to taking some artistic liberties with the details, but most of the thematic and structural beats are true. She had to return from a broken back that immobilized her and caused her to doubt herself.
I liked how the film touched on the artistic process, self-doubt, determination and ageism, among other topics. I also picked up on some ROSEMARY’S BABY vibes at one point (not sure if that was intended, but it was fun).
NARRATIVE SHORTS #8: FRENETIC FABLES
The final block of shorts I saw tackled rough-and-tumble social commentary by way of the perfect genre vehicles: sci-fi, horror and comedy. This was probably the most “entertaining” group of films of the day. It was like going to a nice buffet, or an ice cream shop with top-tier flavors. I’m a genre fan, so I was eating these films up. What made this experience better was watching and reacting along with a crowd.
From a tight alien-abduction comedy to a hilarious zombie bottle film to a lo-fi rubber-chicken slasher, these were really fun watches.
Standouts: UN-DEAD (Director Bo Webb) and SURPRISE (Director Kendall Goldberg)
By the way, if you’re interested in seeing which films earned accolades at the 2026 festival, here are the Audience Award winners and the Jury Award winners.
It’s not too late to catch some festival favorites — HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, THE INCOMER, YOU HAD TO BE THERE, THE STUNT DRIVER — showing at IPH now!