Hickory’s Footcandle holds 10th annual film festival. Movie buffs started society in 2008.

“If I’m ever having a rough day or something, I can always watch ‘The Big Lewbowski’ and it makes me laugh,” Frye said. “There’s a character in there played by John Goodman, Walter, and he just makes me laugh, the way he acts, the ways he says things. It’s just so over the top.”

Jackson had to look at a list of his favorites before thinking of two movies that stood out.

“There’s ‘Anchorman,’ that’s one of my favorite comedies ever,” Jackson said. “And I do like the original ‘Ghostbusters.’”

The Footcandle Film Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. For Frye and Jackson, it is about celebrating what began as two guys talking about movies in theater parking lots in the early 2000s.

“Right after we started the (Footcandle) film society, probably two or three years after that, people started saying, ‘Hey, we want a film festival,’” Frye said. “I was like, ‘We just got this society going, give us a year or two.’ In 2015, we said we’ll give it a shot.”

The 10th festival received more than 300 entries. A committee of 10 people watched the submitted films. Jackson and Frye compiled scores from movies watched by at least three committee members.

“I tell the committee to watch as many as they can, because it’s a lot,” Frye said.

Frye watched all 300 submissions.

Of the 300 submissions, 10 feature-length films (five documentaries and five narrative films) and 20 short films were chosen for the festival.

Frye said one of his favorites is “All You Hear is Noise.”

“It follows three Special Olympians through their process of trying to practice, getting to go to the World Special Olympics and then, most importantly, what happens after they come home,” Frye said.

The festival kicked off Saturday night with an event at The Hum. Wednesday will feature a screenwriting competition award and the FilmLAB Short Film Showcase at 7 p.m. at Drendel Auditorium.

Thursday will feature the Youth International Film Showcase at 4 p.m. followed by the Hickory premier of “A Song for Imogene.” Writer and director Erika Arlee received a grant in 2021 from the Footcandle Film Society to help make the North Carolina based film.

“It’s about a lady who’s in a small town, and she’s in kind of a bad relationship,” Frye said. “She doesn’t see any way she can move out of her circumstances. The film is about her struggle to figure out, ‘How am I going to get out of this?’”

Screenings of feature length and short films eligible for awards from the festival will happen Friday through Sunday. The festival will conclude with awards from judges and audiences at a ceremony Sunday night.

“It being our 10th anniversary, we’re trying to make it a little more of a party this year, like a birthday party,” Jackson said. “We’ll have cake and balloons and champagne-ish stuff.”

Jackson said about eight filmmakers will be in attendance at film screenings and available after to answer questions.

“Watching movies is awesome, but watching movies with that added component really means a lot to Alan and I, and it means a lot to our attendees of the festival,” Frye said.

Most Thursday through Sunday events will take place at the Hickory Community Theatre.

To see the entire schedule for the film festival, visit footcandlefilmfestival.com.

Origin of Footcandle Film Society

The Footcandle Film Society began in 2008, but Jackson and Frye trace their love of movies back to their youth. 

Jackson and Frye met in 1996 after Frye started working at Jackson’s business, Jackson Creative. 

“We would go see movies, and then stand around in the parking lot and talk about it,” Frye said. “One time we went to see one in November, and it was really cold, and we were standing around in the parking lot talking and thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way to do this.’”

“We started (the society) in a conference room … and then we decided to open it up and make it an organization people can join,” Jackson said.

The society shows popular, independent films monthly that would otherwise not make it to theaters in the area. Jackson and Frye said films are chosen based on availability and what  is popular in other communities like Hickory.

Jackson said the society started small, with less than 50 people attending monthly film screenings.

The society now has close to 600 members. Jackson said about half come out to monthly events.

Frye said the most popular films from this year’s film society screenings were “Thelma,” “We Grown Now,” and “Ghostlight.”

Jackson said following each screening, the audience can discuss the film with Frye or Jackson.

“Most of the time, we have not seen the film until we actually watch it with the audience, which is kind of nice,” Jackson said. “We’re discussing it and reacting to it with the audience and getting their thoughts.”