York County’s ‘Underexposed Film Festival’ Announces This Year’s Featured Films

Over four days in March, the Underexposed Film Festival yc showcases the best in independent filmmaking from around the world. Running March 25 – 28, the 9th annual Underexposed Film Festival yc, presented by Morton & Gettys, welcomes filmmakers and movie lovers to Dina’s Place in the DiGiorgio Campus Center on the campus of Winthrop University, to York County Library’s Moore Room, and to the Gettys Art Center in Old Town Rock Hill, SC.

Established in 2012, the Underexposed Film Festival yc focuses on strength in storytelling, screening films that break down the fourth wall and envelop the audience in the story. Filmmakers often share their experiences during question and answer sessions that follow the screenings, giving festivalgoers a glimpse into their vision and process.

From the plight of Judas camels to the celebration of diversity, the slate of films screening in the 2020 festival tackles a variety of subjects through unconventional storytelling. History turned upside down by puppets, a rescued monkey telling his own story, and conception explained through dance are examples of the risks these talented women and men have taken to convey their stories this season.

An ancient artform, puppetry has been used in filmmaking since the early days of film, with large-scale puppets that were used in films like The Witch (1906) by director Georges Melies. It wasn’t until the 1930s that audiences saw the rise of puppetry through short film. George Pal, a notable pioneer in stop motion puppetry on film, used groundbreaking techniques that lead to the creation of a series of films known as Puppetoons. These short films became popular in the U.S. and Europe, however puppetry wouldn’t hit the big time until the late 1970s and 1980s when Jim Henson brought The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and movies featuring The Muppets to the silver screen. Today, multiple generations flock to theaters and gather around televisions to experience the fantastical world of puppetry, and a new generation of puppeteers and filmmakers continues to push the genre forward. The UFFyc has supported puppetry films since its inception. Season 9 marks our first year with a Best Puppetry Film category.

2020 UFFyc screening times and event locations:

Winthrop University | Dina’s Place at the DiGiorgio Campus Center

2020 Alumni Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29733

Block A | Wednesday, March 25, 2020 | 7 – 9 PM

There will be a question and answer session immediately following Block A.

Block B | Thursday, March 26, 2020 | 7 – 9 PM

Block C | Friday, March 25, 2020 | 3 – 5 PM

There will be a question and answer session immediately following Block C.

Block F | Friday, March 25, 2020 | 7 – 9 PM

There will be a question and answer session immediately following Block F.

Block G | Saturday, March 28, 2020 | 2 – 4 PM

There will be a question and answer session immediately following Block G.

Block H + Awards Ceremony | Saturday, March 28, 2019 | 7 – 9:30 PM

York County Public Library, Main Branch | Moore Room

138 E. Black St. | Rock Hill, SC 29730

Block D | Friday, March 27, 2020 | 3 – 4:30 PM

Block E | Friday, March 27, 2020 | 7 – 8:30 PM

There will be a question and answer session immediately following Block E.

Workshop | YA FILMS: Teen Book Trailers | Saturday, March 28, 2020 | 2 – 4 PM

Gettys Art Center Courtroom

201 E. Main St. | Rock Hill, SC 29730

Puppetry Workshop with Sam Koji Hale | Yamasong: Working with Paperclay

Saturday, March 28, 2020 | 10 AM – 12 PM

Presented in partnership with IBEX Puppetry

Wrap Party | Slow Play Brewing

Saturday, March 28, 2020 | 9:30 – 12 AM

Awards will be announced immediately following Block H on Saturday, March 28, 2020. The 2020 awards include: Grand Jury Award; Best Animated Film; Best Documentary Film; Best Experimental Film; Best Narrative Film; Best Puppetry Film; Woman to Watch; Cinema Carolina; Best Student Film | Collegiate; and the Terry Roueche Audience Choice Award. 2020 awards partners include: Cinematiq, and Toon Boom.

BLOCK A | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 | 7 – 9 PM

THEME | Delightfully Different

3 Reflections on Bad Art

Narrative | 2019 | 4 min. 52 sec.

Suggested Rating | PG

Language | English

Director | David Hensley

Cast | David Hensley, Katie Bearden

“3 Reflections On Bad Art” is a collection of short films that explore how we define “art.” 

Miracle, science and luck all play a part in this vibrant and fantastic imagining of how life begins.

Enter the surreal and nautical world of Seamour. A lonely old man with a passion for training seahorses. Desperate to have his most prized seahorse perform the highly ambitious “Triple Back Flip,” the final day of training has come and it’s up to his knowledge, preparation and the seahorse’s determination to see the trick come to life. But when the hourglass turns, Seamour realizes it is even harder than he thought and he must overcome his troubled past before the magic fades or the trick will never be achieved.

A chapter in the life of Grigori Rasputin through puppets.

A government enforced dating app malfunctions sending an unexpected user through a series of splash portals determined to seal his fate. 

A film about a guy (Bud Greenfield), who’s friend (Blue) has to move to Colorado for cancer treatment. Who sends back a magic seed that grows into something special.

A mother goat tries to help her children who has been eaten by a wolf, but one is missing!

“Eat the Rainbow” is a musical fable about an odd yet kind man named Bayani who moves into a conservative suburban neighborhood and disrupts the otherwise comfortable homogeny. He doesn’t look or act like anyone else which causes fear and panic and eventually a demand for him to leave the neighborhood. Cousin Wonderlette befriends Bayani and together they take on the opposition led by manipulative and unscrupulous realtor Lobelia Gerber.

Deep into a forest, a gathering of wild animals start a nocturnal opera, conducted by a squirrel.

In outback Australia a wild camel is captured and fitted with a tracking device known as a Judas Collar. Based on a real-life practice, Judas Collar is a scripted, no-dialogue, live action short that explores the story of a camel used to betray her kind. 

A one sighted pirate captain keeps going on a journey to get a treasure, every time with a new crew of pirates as one sighted as he is.

Despite being close to nonverbal my brother is funny, charming and perceptive. I discuss with my parents what it was like raising a child with Down syndrome. Our speculations about his inner life reveal as much about our own subjectivity as they do his.  There is a critical under representation of the ordinary and diverse lives of people with Down syndrome. As prenatal testing advances, I feel an urgency to provide insight for people making a life changing decision regarding whether or not to raise a child with Down syndrome.

A poor agricultural laborer leads a double life in the village’s last remaining corn field, but the harvest is approaching… 

ᓇᓄᕐᓗᒃ / Giant Bear | A timeless Inuit legend about a solitary man, a giant bear and their daunting foes: each other.  Centered on a confrontation between the last monster bear and an Inuit hunter, Giant Bear is a chilling short that brings an ancient story out of the North. In Giant Bear, we follow a hunter in the depths of starvation. The snow is thick, his dogs are mysteriously dying, and food is nowhere to be found. A quest for answers leads him straight to a nanurluk, an iceberg-sized polar bear, setting up a “kill or be killed” battle that pits one man’s wits against a fearsome foe. 

A creative writing instructor (Jennifer Morrison, “Once Upon a Time”) at a juvenile detention center finds common ground with a troubled student (Madison Wolfe, “I Kill Giants”) yet quickly finds herself in great danger when she decides to help her.

Based on a real event, in Austria 2015, and in Ireland 2019…

A group of refugees tries to reach a safe country in search of a better life. They pay a smuggler to convey them across the boarders in a fridge truck. However, the freezing temperature of the truck turns their hopes for a better future into a fierce struggle for survival.

This is the first documentary-film in the world in which a baby monkey tells its own story addressing the human being.  A Congo’s Journey, is a non-profit documentary-film that has been created by Marco G. Lerin for the Jaguar Rescue Center, located in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica, in order to give a voice to the animals and motivate the human beings towards the protection of the natural environment in which they live.

After a young woman is responsible for a hit and run, strange and spooky things start to happen… A small thriller about people that are not always the best at making decisions.

Exploring gender through the lens of the superhero myth, BALLOON questions how we raise boys when our concept of masculinity has become narrow.  For fourteen-year-old Sam, surviving junior high means staying below radar. But that becomes impossible after he becomes the target of the school’s next viral video. He’s pressured to “hit back,” but Sam isn’t so sure—even if he does have superpowers. 

At a local high school, three seniors attend a job fair through a career-readiness program. This documentary was produced for the University of Alabama’s Documenting Justice course by Seth Farmer and Reagan Wells.

Why does Little Red Riding Hood give Jamie nightmares? It’s been 15 years, and the girl in the hallway haunts him still. This is a testament to locked doors. A lullaby sung by wolves with duct tape and Polaroids. Not all children make it out of the forest. Some stories children shouldn’t hear.

Through living ritual and stop motion animation, The Water Will Carry Us Home reveals the story of stolen Africans being thrown off the slave ship whilst sailing through the Middle Passage. Upon crashing in the waves, the unimaginable happens when mermaids dwelling in the waters save these spirits. 

“Riveted, Structures, Lands” pieces together digital video and stop motion animation to explore loss and memory. Blueprints pilfered from Union Pacific Railroad by my great-grandfather alongside fragments of quilt pieces sewn by my great-grandmother weave together a new personal understanding of family memories. Through interviewing my grandmother who suffers from dementia, I was able to create a broader story and appreciation of her two parents and their own modest creative expressions within a larger history. 

Scholar Gloria Orenstein’s life is forever changed through her wild journey into friendships with the women artists of Surrealism. As she witnesses the visionary art and personal struggles of Leonora Carrington, Jane Graverol, Leonor Fini and Meret Oppenheim, she discovers her personal calling as a pioneer scholar of Surrealism and ecofeminism. “Gloria’s Call” takes viewers from the cafes of Paris to the mountaintops of Samiland through richly layered art, animation and personal storytelling. This film delightfully reveals an often-unseen history of women in the arts.

This documentary is about the loss of identity and its systemic impact on black males. By exploring the complexities of mental slavery, Sankofa calls its audience to free themselves from the system in which they were born.

Deep into a forest, a gathering of wild animals start a nocturnal opera, conducted by a squirrel.

A film about a T-rex, who is starving in the desert and looking for food. It is a film about his adventure with meeting with other wild animals.

Nivi has always known that her names were special, but she does not know where they came from. So, one cold afternoon, Nivi decides to ask her mom. The stories of the people Nivi is named after lead her to an understanding of traditional Inuit kinship naming practices, tuqlurausiit, and knowledge of what those practices mean to Inuit. Through her names, Nivi is a little girl, a grandfather, a grandmother, and a well-respected elder. Nivi’s names connect her to the personality and character of those who have passed and make her family so much bigger than she thought before.

The Paper People Play (Paper Dolls) cast performs in a play inspired by the Aesop’s Fable play, The Fox and The Grapes. FOX tries to eat grapes from a vine but cannot reach them. Rather than admit defeat, she states they are undesirable and almost gives up until her Goody Tissues friends helps her reach her goal.

A toy car and a puppet grew up with a girl together. Nowadays, she doesn’t play with them anymore because she is addicted to play video games too much. The toy car and the puppet feel so sad about it, they run away from home.

Nalvana feels like all of her friends have some type of superpower. She has friends with super speed, friends who can jump so far, she thinks they can fly, and friends who are better than her at a million other things. As Nalvana tries out each of her friends’ superpowers with no success, she wonders if she might be the only kid in town without a special talent. But then her mom shows Nalvana that she is unique and special—and that her superpower was right in front of her all along.

Deep into a forest, a gathering of wild animals start a nocturnal opera, conducted by a squirrel.

From executive producer Heather Henson, daughter of the celebrated puppeteer Jim Henson and performer/director Pam Severns, recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Grant and graduate of The Second City, comes this charming and absurd girl-meets-bunny tale and tribute to classic silent comedies. Winner of the 2019 Reel Puppetry Film Festival in Minneapolis.

A young stubborn teen is not interested in finishing a scavenger hunt from her mother’s past, until a tragic event in her own circle of friends causes her to rethink the idea.

An animated short exploring group dynamics. How do we define ourselves when we are all equal?

Tyler Tyson is a collector and designer of elongated coins, a.k.a pressed pennies. He owns and operates his own penny press machines. In this short documentary, he discusses what drew him to the craft and how he does it.

On a remote island in the future, people are training for an important mission. Take a look at the mechanics of this training facility and the creatures within.

On the day of Mia’s twelfth birthday party, her family is excitedly preparing for another family-fun celebration with presents, cake, and most importantly, a hand-made piñata. However, when Mia’s two school friends join the party, they don’t think the piñata is cool, and they refuse to hit it. Mia finds herself stuck between pleasing her friends or her parents, while still trying to figure out how to please herself.

From executive producer Heather Henson, daughter of the celebrated puppeteer Jim Henson and performer/director Pam Severns, recipient of a Jim Henson Foundation Grant and graduate of The Second City, comes this charming and absurd girl-meets-bunny tale and tribute to classic silent comedies. Winner of the 2019 Reel Puppetry Film Festival in Minneapolis.

At the age of 14, Megalie, daughter of an immigrant family from Senegal but born and brought up in Italy, is faced with the difficult task of finding a place for herself in the world she is living in. When she is denied the opportunity of taking part in a school trip abroad, a perfect occasion for the girl to reveal her feelings to her classmate Marco, that place in the world will seem unattainable to her. But will it really be so?

Set in a surreal world of giant TV’s, talking flowers and dancing Ravens, two mannequins discuss the controversial race between Mr. Tortoise and Ms. Rabbit after allegations surface that the race was rigged by the Ravens. 

This is a story about the other side of the world. A daughter grows up without her father, who was a photographer. However, she and her mother only have one photo of him at home. She sees how much her mother misses him and goes on a social media app called “ROBIN” to find special gifts from all over the world.

Kirsten Vangsness (CBS, “Criminal Minds” actor and writer) makes her directorial debut in this animated short adapted from her own personal essay about a feral cat who stars on a network procedural drama, takes ballroom dance lessons, and has an encounter with a predatory tow truck driver. It explores the idea of vulnerability as a source of power and the emotional “curtains” we lay over our essential selves.

A gifted young photographer, grappling with his mother’s alcoholism, sets out to capture something he loves.

Filmmaker and artist Sam Koji Hale introduces workshop participants to Paperclay, his choice in puppet-making material. Using puppets from his award-winning film Yamasong and others, Sam will teach participants how to sculpt puppet heads for characters approx 18-20″ tall. He will also show how to combine Paperclay with other materials, like papier-mache. Sam will also present behind-the-scenes footage and a slideshow on how he created Yamasong.

Produced in partnership with IBEX Puppetry.

In a World… where teens make book trailers!  Do you love books and want others to love them too?  Do you love movie previews? Join these two together and you have book trailers!  We will learn how to make and create different types of book trailers. Ages 11-17. Register online or call (803) 504-3763, starting March 17. Limit 12. This event is produced and hosted by the York County Library.

“Meanwhile, at the Abandoned Factory…” celebrates the heyday of cliff-hanger TV serials. Can our intrepid reporter find her way out of this classic dilemma?

A man living in the Deep South must confront his prejudices when a young boy moves into the neighborhood and tries to befriend him.

With the nine-year reign of the Custer Wolf finally coming to an end, an old storyteller reflects back on the tragic, yet incredible true story of the World’s Greatest Criminal Outlaw.

Three hopefuls run for the office of Homeowners’ Association President, in an attempt to overthrow the current nincompoop. 

Tarra Riggs (“The Help,” Oscar nominated “DeKalb Elementary,” Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Ballast”) stars as Mae, a woman who thinks she has it all: her dream job, a beautiful home, and all the Jimmy Choos her closet can hold.  But when her sister (Regina Williams, Independent Spirit Award Nominee for “Life & Nothing More”) falls ill and the medical bills take every penny she has, she has to reevaluate what is really important to her.

Tyler Tyson is a collector and designer of elongated coins, a.k.a pressed pennies. He owns and operates his own penny press machines. In this short documentary, he discusses what drew him to the craft and how he does it.

A brain cancer diagnosis gives Alex Klose 18 months to live. Then he brings his high school swim relay team back together after 20 years to prepare for his biggest race yet.

An artist experiences Night Terrors after the disappearance of her husband, an amateur UFO hunter. Lonely and depressed, her dreams intrude on reality until the veil between the dream world and reality is stretched to the breaking point. 

This documentary explores the urban decay of municipal swimming pools in the Southern United States, due to their closure and abandonment by white officials after desegregation was instituted in America.

A teenage girl involves in the process of delivering a pack of cocaine to its client, and she got stuck in a weird cycle of occurrences.

In this handcrafted epic puppet film set in a world of demons and ghosts, a lone samurai and his odd companion, a cursed severed head, seek vengeance in a haunted world.

Recently, Louis, painter, and his wife Michelle are experiencing strange events. Their world seems to be mutating. Slowly, furniture, objects, people lose their realism. They are destructuring, sometimes disintegrating… 

A reporter interviews the manager of the Boston Red Sox in an attempt to uncover secrets from his past.

In a hospital room, the Daughter recalls a childhood moment when as a little girl she tried to share her experience with an injured bird with her Father. A moment of misunderstanding and a lost embrace has stretched into many years all the way to this hospital room, until the moment when a window pane breaks under the impact of a little bird.

Hannah and Jess meet up at a tiki bar, seeing each other for the first time since Hannah’s romantic Mexico trip. Hannah has a lot to say about it, except what really happened.

Two unlucky guys meet in the drunk tank and hatch a plan.

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