Every now and then, ok…pretty often, something really cool happens in our current city of operations, Charlotte, North Carolina.

We’ve got a wide variety of geeks in the area and today we are focusing on the two who have started something we are pretty excited about. They graciously agreed to answer a few questions about their project. Take a look.

 

CC~ Could you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

I am Mia Davis. I have been living in Charlotte for 21 years and love taking advantage of all the entertainment it has to offer. In the past few years, I’ve been more focused on bringing like-minded people together and strengthening friendships and community, which lead to starting my podcast channel, Femmes Faisant – Women Doing. Queen City Cinephiles is an extension of my personal interest in film, having grown up on HBO.

I am David Cunningham, and I’m involved in conventions and various geeky meetup groups. I like bringing interesting people together to do positive things.

 

CC~ Would you tell us what QCCinephiles is and how it came to be?

QCCinephiles is a shortened version of Queen City Cinephiles. ‘Queen City’, being the Charlotte locality; ‘Cinephiles’ being the specific interest of the group. It is a film group that you can think of as a film festival with more of a film appreciation and studies point of view than a filmmaker competition.
David and I were looking for community-oriented group to partner with. We made some attempts to work with others, but those didn’t work for us. Then, we met someone that was renovating a screening space and looking for a group to screen films. That sparked an inspiration for the two of us to create our own group. We were aggressive with social media promotions right away and are very excited from the interest and response.
Our social media pages are linked below:
Facebook.com/QCCinephiles
Twitter.com/QCCinephiles
Patreon.com/QCCinephiles

 

CC: Do you remember the first independent film you saw?

Mia: Wow. That’s a tough question. I was watching movies before my memory had even developed! I know with certainty, the first independent film I saw that escalated my enthusiasm is The Shining. I then wanted to be a cinematographer when I grew up, and I would watch more Kubrick work, as well as De Palma’s work, with a critical eye.

David: I don’t recall the first indie film I saw, but I’ve always been a sucker for a good story. A lot of what we see from Hollywood proper has a lot of flash and money behind the productions, but the stories I find disappointing for the most part, due to too much input from various parties for the sake of making lots of money. While independent films might not have the same big budget of Hollywood, the stories come from a truer place, and the filmmakers are able to experiment with storytelling and take risks that big business tends to discourage.

 

CC: What are your top 5?

Mia: The Shining is still in my top 5. Then, I’d say… Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Princess and the Warrior, the Before Sunrise series, and Wyrmwood… off the top of my head.

David: I love Turbo Kid, What We Do In The Shadows, Chase Avenue season 1(created by personal friends from Charlotte), Einstein Rosen, and City of God. Just five is hard to do!

 

CC: Where would one begin on their journey into independent film?

I’ll give you four recommendations.
1. Think of your favorite movie. Find out who the director is. Look at that director’s filmography, especially early in his/her career. Pick some earlier titles that are most likely independent releases. That’ll probably lead you down a rabbit hole for more content from other filmmakers, or similar stories told in a different way, or a particular actor’s career as well.
2. Look online for past Independent Spirit Award nominees and winners. Their website, https://www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/ has info about the most recent one, and you can use Wikipedia to look at years past. Find titles that interest you from there and find them to rent or digitally stream on your home platforms.
3. Go to your local film festivals! There will be a wealth of material and networking. You’ll probably see a couple great features and a lot of shorts you like, and go home with a list of others you want to see based on conversations you’ve had while attending.
4. On our QCCredits list, you’ll find VisArt Video. Their staff is very helpful and they can guide you to a section of Independent films to rent.

 

CC: What is next for QCCinephiles?

Our premiere screening is almost here! We will be at Petra’s next Thursday at 7pm. We have subsequent screenings on our calendar for the rest of the year. As our Patreon support grows, so will the number of events!

If you are local or live within a decent drivable distance and want to attend the first screening, follow the information here…

https://www.facebook.com/events/1363311670443678/?acontext=%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22

 

*Huge thanks to Mia and David for taking the time to let us share what they have created with all of you! WeGeekGirls hope that your first screening is a HUGE success!!!