When the curtain opens on the 14th annual Cucalorus Film Festival, more than one independent film will have local ties, but none so much as the six minute, 47 second short comedy produced by the students and parents of Wrightsville Beach School’s
performance club. “Where’s Wilmywood” will be showcased at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Thalian Hall as part of Kids Fest. Little Red Cap Shorts will showcase a trio of family-friendly films created by and for younger audiences.
Shot on location at the school last spring, its
Lumina News file photo
LJ Woodard, center, leads her kindergarten through fifth-grade Performance Club members during filming of the opening shot for their “Wilmywood” movie at WBS on May 6. |
script, developed by the students under the direction of performance club director LJ Woodard, follows a Hollywood reporter who uncovers the film industry’s best kept secret in the southeast: Wilmywood — and therein lies the Zen moment, when the filmmakers become the filmed.
The ensemble, cast from kindergarten through fifth-graders, play starlets, stuntmen, comedians, agents and even animal trainers, each one dishing up campy cameo performances with a few Cecil B. DeMille group shots.
The film had a dual purpose: to promote Wilmington as a film destination and to offer the performance club members a genuine learning experience. Woodard said she gave everyone a chance to shine.
“We learned about shots, making your mark, looking at the camera at different angles, how to project for film. It was really more a glorified teaching lesson than anything,” she said.
Directed, produced, crewed, edited and funded by Wrightsville Beach parent volunteers, including professional grip Julie Wright and Scott Relan, film editor, “Where’s Wilmywood” was taped over a four-hour period with no budget. Completed in June with a red carpet premiere at King Neptune, the film can now be screened online on YouTube, though it won’t hold a candle to the magic of a big screen debut.
Taking the film process one step further, Woodard submitted the finished product to the Cucalorus Foundation for consideration for its festival and is looking forward to rubbing elbows herself with other filmmakers this weekend.
“I don’t have to go anywhere. I don’t have to go to L.A. I don’t have to go to New York. I’ve got it all here.”
The kids, she said, also think they’ve arrived. “One for the resume,” Woodard said.
“They made it.”
For more, visit www.performanceclubkids.com.
