Cucalorus 2014

This year was my first time attending Cucalorus Film Festival and it was also the first time I had a film play at a festival. Cucalorus 2014 came the week after I attended Virginia Film Festival so I was still on a festival high from the previous weekend. Since the film I produced, Love & Affection, was premiering at the festival, I received a complementary Pegasorus pass that got me into unlimited screenings and events. My Cucalorus experience started on Friday with Evolution of a Criminal in the morning and Daylight Come in the evening, followed by the Midnight Brunch. I enjoyed both documentaries and was impressed with the Q&A after Daylight Come because several of the key crew were in attendance. The Midnight Brunch was packed and I got to meet one of the filmmakers that had his film premier in the short animated block. The energy of the event stayed high into the early hours of the morning and a very peculiar guy asked me to sign his ukulele because I was a filmmaker (highlight of the night). On Saturday I went to see The Hip Hop Fellow because I opted out to see it at Virginia Film Festival and I LOVED IT! Later that day my mom and her friend drove down from Raleigh to attend the premier of Love & Affection in the Orloff shorts block at City Stage. To start, I loved the venue and had no idea that Level 5 had a theater in it. I was blown away by the programming of this block and was genuinely intrigued by every film. Cucalorus did a much better job of creating a cohesive shorts block than Virginia Film Festival. My only complaints were that the moderator did a poor job of making sure that filmmakers talked into the mic and failed to restate the audience questions. The Q&A portion of this block was easily the weakest that I attended. On Sunday, I attended the 10x10 block and really enjoyed the concept and the energy of the filmmakers and entrepreneurs. Ally Gold was one of the filmmakers and I enjoyed her video and her entrepreneurs new venture as well as the way she hijacked the Q&A (like a boss). The last block I attended was Force Majeure and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed the subdued humor, the performances, and the cinematography but, parts of the plot were underwhelming for me and the film seemed to drag out longer than I would like. Overall, I would say that my first experience at Cucalorus was great and I would love to attend next year and get more involved with the community aspect that it is so famous for.

Interview Questions and Producer's Tasks

Although Rick Rogge will be the main subject of our group's documentary, we think that interviewing prominent people in Rick's life will help emphasize the importance of community and the influence Rick has had on others. The people who are closest to Rick may be willing to reveal more about his character than Rick himself would be comfortable doing, so through these additional interviews we hope get multiple perspectives on Rick and his legacy.

Family/friends

What is your relationship with Rick?
How do you know/how did you meet Rick?
How long have you known Rick?
How would you describe Rick?
How important do you think the Carolina Beach community is to Rick?
From what you have observed, what characteristic in Rick do you value the most?
What about Rick makes him prepared for this new chapter in his life?
What are your concerns for this new chapter in Rick's life?
What are your wishes for Rick once he begins his missionary work?
How do you plan to keep in touch with Rick once his mission has begun?

Realty Co-worker

How long have you known Rick/ how long have you worked together?
What is it like to work with Rick?
How would you describe Rick?
How do you think Rick's involvement in the community benefited him as realtor?
What about Rick's work style stands out to you the most?
What qualities have you seen in Rick in the workplace that you believe will benefit his mission work?
What do you believe Rick loves/loved about being a realtor?
How did you react when your were made aware of Ricks retirement?
How prepared do you think Rick is for his missionary work?
What are your wishes for him as he begins his missionary work?

As the producer for this documentary I am currently working on getting location permits for an upcoming event during the last weekend of September as well as working to schedule shoot dates and request equipment. This week I will be working to solidify my groups availability and Rick's availability for interviews and work on the budget for the film. Our group currently has weekly production meetings to decide what needs to be done for the following week and making sure that we are all on the same page as far as our expectations for the film and of each other.

The Search For Legacy Begins!

For our documentary we will explore the concept of legacy through a man named Rick Rogge. To start, Audra found out about Rick through her aunt and involvement at Port City Church. He recently announced that him and his wife were going to become medical missionaries and retire from their old jobs and old way of life to help others. While researching Rick, we found that his dedication to serving others is something that he has lived out most of his life but this new chapter in his life would just be another way to do so. Rick Rogge is a realtor and a very involved citizen of Carolina Beach. He has served on several committees including The Island Cottage (food pantry), The Harbor Commission, Freeman Park, The Help Center, and Hurricane Response team. Rick is also involved with an organization called the Parrot Heads of Pleasure Island which is a Jimmy Buffet inspired no-profit (not a cover band) that creates community clean-up events. The Parrot Heads are having a beach sweep event on the last weekend of September and our group hopes to attend.