MARCH 6–7, 2026
PRESENTED BY WAKE FOREST RENAISSANCE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS
2026 WAKE FOREST FILM FESTIVAL
WELCOME
The Wake Forest Film Festival was created from the dreams of three like-minded women with a passion to evoke social change in their community: Cathy Gouge, Wake Forest Renaissance Center for the Arts Manager (2015–2019), Gauri Singh, filmmaker and resident, and Kimberly Soden, Cultural Arts Board member (2018–2020). These women discovered they shared the desire to bring awareness to the fast growing, diverse community of Wake Forest by creating a film festival that would attract independent film artists from across the globe.
After numerous meetings and conversations, festival founders Gouge, Singh, and Soden were joined by other community volunteers, and a committee was formed to launch the first Wake Forest Film Festival in 2019. That first festival featured films from across the globe and attracted filmmakers and industry professionals.
The year 2026 marks the seventh year of the Wake Forest Film Festival. The two-day festival features 21 films selected from four categories: student, documentary, feature, and short. Wake Forest welcomes filmmakers and industry professionals from across the United States and beyond to share their art of storytelling through the medium of film.
The festival would not be possible without the support of the Town of Wake Forest, our elected officials, the Renaissance Centre staff, the Town’s Communications team, and numerous volunteers. Thank you all for your contributions and dedication to the arts in our community. We hope our festival will bring light to your world and that you leave the Renaissance Centre enriched, enlightened, and entertained. Enjoy the festival.
Isaac Duque Wake Forest Film Festival Director
2026 FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
6:00 – 7:30 pm BLOCK 1
Storyboard: The Musical Hole Stage Frightened The Tennessee Circle Drill Country Punk Black
7:45 – 9:15 pm SPECIAL SCREENING Humble in the Jungle
9:15 – 9:45 pm LIVE PODCAST Humble in the Jungle
10:00 – 11:00 pm VIP EXPERIENCE $ (Ticket required) Click here to purchase ticket.
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
12:00 – 1:10 pm BLOCK 2 On Guard Tandem In Search of Happiness
1:25 – 2:45 pm BLOCK 3 I Remember Everything
3:00 – 4:40 pm
BLOCK 4
The Last Fry Scared Stiff Life Support Holy Mother For Isaiah Moments Lost Another Good Day My Sister Got Shingled
5:30 – 9:00 pm
BLOCK 5 | AWARD WINNERS
This is Pike County Standby Adrift: Forgiving the Flood One Stupid Thing
9:00 – 10:00 pm MIX & MINGLE
STORYBOARD: THE MUSICAL SHORT FILM
Director & Producer Jordan Gibbs
Writer Ally Gibbs
After hearing about a local film competition, Everly Easton, fresh out of high school, takes a leap of faith and makes her first animated short film with the help of her friends.
STAGE FRIGHTENED STUDENT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Patrick McHugh
Producer Ben Hosler
A timid high school boy pursues his dream to perform in musical theater but is haunted by a mysterious cloaked figure that does all it can to stop him.
COUNTRY PUNK BLACK
STUDENT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Christopher C. Fisher
Director, Producer & Writer Janeen “NEEN” Talbott
Country Punk Black chronicles the musical journey of Twurt Chamberlain, a genre-bending singer-songwriter from Lexington, Mississippi, to uncover how his lived experiences have influenced his evolving sound. Backed by a soundtrack of Twurt’s unique blend of hip-hop, blues, and rock and roll, the film also delves into his aspirations and inspirations.
HOLE SHORT FILM
Director & Writer Carson Lane
Producer Gabrielle Burton
Producer Tyler Langford
A man regales a stranger with how he believes a single painting ruined his life…only to be met with a devastating revelation.
THE TENNESSEE CIRCLE DRILL DOCUMENTARY
Director & Producer Seth Reynolds
Executive Producer Nick Geidner
Consulting Producer Ahmad Hayat
It’s one of Tennessee’s deepest-rooted traditions during football season: The Circle Drill. Follow the Pride of the Southland Band on a journey to perfect the drill.
2026 SPECIAL SCREENING
HUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE
DOCUMENTARY
Director, Producer & Writer Rick Kelly
Co-Producer Mike Galinsky
Co-Producer & Senior Editor Suki Hawley
Executive Producer Kool DJ Red Alert
Co-Producer Cherie Kelly
Editor Landon T. Bost
Advisor Robeson Taj Frazier
In 2005 Mike G., a member of the legendary hip-hop group, The Jungle Brothers, moved from New York City to North Carolina, where he became a licensed plumber and met the film’s director, Ricky Kelly, who is also a plumber. They became great friends and decided to make a film exploring what it means to be a black tradesman, artist, and fathers in America during the age of racial reckoning around the death of George Floyd and the COVID 19 pandemic. The film evolves to document both Mike G. and Ricky’s lives.
VIP EXPERIENCE
Where VIP access meets exceptional cinema. Filmmakers and industry professionals will come together to network, talk about films, and build connections over cocktails and hors ‘devours. March 6 after the final film at Broadsides & Brews, 223 S. White St. Ticket required, $25. Click here to purchase ticket.
2026 WAKE FOREST FILM FESTIVAL
LIVE PODCAST
Audiences will have the opportunity to experience an authentic conversation with the 2026 Wake Forest Film Festival filmmakers during a live podcast led by Festival Director Isaac Duque. He will speak with filmmaker Rick Kelly and the creators of Humble in the Jungle, a documentary featuring Mike G of the legendary hip-hop group The Jungle Brothers.
After relocating from New York City to North Carolina, Mike G became a licensed plumber and crossed paths with the film’s director—an encounter that sparked this compelling story.
This year’s special screening captures the spirit of the festival through moving narratives that enrich, enlighten, and entertain. Join us for this exclusive live podcast experience.
FILMMAKER
Rick Kelly Award winning filmmaker and plumber
MUSICIAN
Mike G
Founding member of the Jungle Brothers and the Native Tongue Collective as well as a licensed plumber.
BLOCK 2
ON GUARD
STUDENT FILM
Director & Writer Will Calkins
Producer Claire Cohen
An unstable fencer challenges her biggest competition to an after hours duel.
TANDEM
SHORT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Darryl Jones
Producer Blake Kinsey
Producer Rudi Petry
When two strangers cross paths biking through Raleigh, NC, their chance encounter sparks a romance that changes them both forever.
IN SEARCH OF HAPPINESS
DOCUMENTARY
Dir ecto r, Producer & Writer Kendra Slagter
Director Kinley Wangdi
Producer Samantha Plavins
Filmmaker Kendra Slagter and expedition partner, Sam Plavins set out to tackle the Bhutan’s legendary Snowman Trek. In Search of Happiness follows their journey through breathtaking landscapes, unpredictable weather, and moments of raw vulnerability—ultimately revealing a new definition of happiness.
I REMEMBER EVERYTHING FEATURE FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Brandon LaSan Director Benjamin Fargen
I Remember Everything follows a Mobile Crisis Unit social worker embedded with a rural Northern California sheriff’s department. After enduring a traumatic call on duty and learning of a close friend’s sudden death, she impulsively joins her two misfit childhood friends on a road trip to clear out his home—fixated on rescuing his missing cat. What begins as a chaotic cleanup turns into an unexpected journey through grief, friendship, and the absurdity of healing.
YOU’RE INVITED
MIX & MINGLE
Please join us for an opportunity to Mix and Mingle with the filmmakers and industry professionals.
Saturday, March 7 | 9:00 pm –10:00 pm
Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts
Heavy Hors d’oeuvres | Everyone is invited! Please come.
BLOCK 4
THE LAST FRY SHORT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Sam Zarrin
Writer Gerard Howard
Producer Enrico Natale
Producer Mel Rodriguez
Bruce, recently diagnosed with cancer, is looking to create one final happy memory with his family, but the universe seems to refuse to let that happen.
LIFE SUPPORT SHORT FILM
Director & Writer Jamon Tolbert
Writer Andrew Chu
Producer Bonnie Kim
Inspired by true stories, an emergency doctor struggling under the weight of life and death decisions must confront his own hidden traumas as he teaches a young medical student what it truly means to save a life.
FOR ISAIAH STUDENT FILM
Director & Writer Jack Fauser
Producer Kylee Kinsman
After a tragic accident, an amateur MMA fighter continues his brother’s legacy both in and out of the cage.
ANOTHER GOOD DAY
SHORT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Chrissy Hogue Bartels
Director & Producer Rob Underhill
Producer Jen Hogue
Two estranged sisters reunite in their historic river town to navigate their father’s Alzheimer’s, confronting old wounds, shared memories, and the quiet beauty of letting go.
SCARED STIFF
SHORT FILM
Director & Producer Matthew Ramsaur
Writer Stephanie Klingler
Writer Samuel F. Brantley
Producer Anna Ramsaur
Jacob, a father with a rare stiffening condition, faces an unexpected crisis on a vacation with friends into a race against time before his condition worsens.
HOLY MOTHER
STUDENT FILM
Director & Writer David Diouf
Producer Lily Kim
Producer Marina Shirky
A headstrong grandmother, and avoidant grandson must reconcile their differences as they prepare for the worst day of their lives.
BLOCK 4
MOMENTS LOST
STUDENT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Dog˘u Artun Özorhan
Producer Sophia Parry
Albert, a patient in a psychiatric facility, is determined to convince his psychiatrist, Ms. Eliot, to let him out for a single day to celebrate his newborn daughter’s birthday. As he struggles with memory loss and confusion, Albert’s sessions with Ms. Eliot reveal his desperation to reconnect with his family. The story follows his emotional journey as he confronts the boundaries of his reality and the painful truths that surface during his quest to be with his daughter on her special day.
MY SISTER GOT SHINGLED SHORT FILM
Director & Writer Silas J Rowland
Director & Writer Donna Whitmore-Sexton
Producer John R Sexton
Sometimes sibling rivalry and love comes at a premium.
BLOCK 5 | 2026 AWARD WINNERS
THIS IS PIKE COUNTY
DOCUMENTARY
Director & Producer Laura Paglin
Producer Thomas Lennon
Mounting pressures – including an unsolved family murder –test a close-knit rural community. Between the temptation to give up and the urge to hold on, the film lingers on what it means to come of age in a place left behind. “Haunting, quietly searing, hard to forget.” – Arlie Hochschild, Author, Strangers in Their Own Land.
ADRIFT: FORGIVING THE FLOOD
STUDENT FILM
Filmmaker Aayas Joshi
Blair Belt-Clark always dreamt of raising her twins in the “earth magic” of Appalachia. When Hurricane Helene hurled the Cane River over its banks that run through her backyard in Burnsville, N.C., it swept away her hand-built tiny house, and with it, the future she’d imagined for her family. This documentary film explores Blair’s journey of healing and forgiving the water she once trusted as home.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2026 VOLUNTEER
Hashem Aliakbari
Jamial Black
Dr. Chester Branch, MFA, MA
Jason Buel
April Cannon
Claudia Davis
Ella Dowtin
Isaac Duque
Mj Golzari
Angela Harvey
Debra Horton
Pete Hurdle
Jeffrey Kare
Andrew Kaveler
FILM JUDGES
Wallis Liu
Olga Naroditskaya
Joanna Siaw
Gauri Singh
Debbi Winogracki
Evelyn Wright
Mengyao Mia Zhang
BLOCK 5 | 2026 AWARD WINNERS
STANDBY
SHORT FILM
Director, Producer & Writer Robert Gomes
Producer D. Shroff
A disheartened, but dedicated middle-aged gay actor, living and working in NYC as a standby for an off-Broadway show, has his love for his art reawakened — with a jolt — in this valentine to the Theater.
ONE STUPID THING
FEATURE FILM
Director & Writer Linda Yellen,
Writer Michael Leeds
Producer Todd Traina
Winter on Nantucket Island. Three teenage best friends drink champagne on a rooftop. Everything’s chill until a harmless game takes a fatal turn, and the course of their lives changes forever. They keep what they did a secret until the following winter break when they meet a girl with her own dark past who helps them uncover what really happened that night. In this psychological drama/murder mystery, their relationship is tested amidst their guilt and shame.
ABOUT THE AWARD SCULPTURE
The 2024 Wake Forest Film Festival awards were created by artist Jordan Parah. The awards are miniature replicas of the sculpture, “Dancing in the Moonlight,” that currently lives outside the Renaissance Centre welcoming all who visit. The nine-foot sculpture is created from painted stainless steel and was on display in Roanoke, Virginia and Pitt County, NC, before finding its permanent home in Wake Forest. “Dancing in the Moonlight” was purchased in 2022 by the Public Art Commission of Wake Forest with funds donated from the Friends of the Wake Forest Library.
