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Cat Fly Film Fest returns to Asheville for its 5th annual festival August 26-29, making a toast to the end of summer. The four-day event will include more than 25 short films, one feature film spotlight as well as educational components, social mixers and multimedia collaborations by local and regional filmmakers and performers of the southeast.<\/p>\n
Returning from last year\u2019s pivot to livestream format, the festival will take place in many physical locations across Asheville including Fleetwoods Chapel, the Orange Peel, Grail Moviehouse the Asheville School of Film and a surprise venue TBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to expand the festival as we enter into our 5th year of Cat Fly; it\u2019s a huge milestone for us,\u201d says Madeleine Richardson, creative director and co-founder. This will be the first year Cat Fly spans across four days, exceeding it\u2019s typical weekend-only format. \u201cWe absolutely could not do this without the incredible arts community here in Asheville supporting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another new element is the inclusion of a BYOF (bring your own film) event at Fleetwoods Chapel. Much like an open mic, this allows anyone with a thumb drive to walk up and screen at the festival. BYOF opens the festival up beyond the curated film lineup to increase participation within the community. This event will be first come, first serve and films must be seven minutes or less.<\/p>\n
\u201cCat Fly has grown so much since we first started,\u201d says Brittany Jackson, programming director and co-founder. \u201cOver the last five years, it\u2019s been incredible to see the professional connections made at Cat Fly events bloom into collaborative projects and foster a greater sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n