Film Guide:
Competition Films
A competition film is a movie selected by our festival's programming committee and entered into the official competition section to compete for awards.
Hold Onto Me
Directed by Myrsini Aristidou
Saturday, September 19th 2:30pm - 4:15pm
It’s summer, and 11-year-old Iris is running wild through the streets with her older friend Danae when she learns her estranged father, Aris, is back in town for his own father’s funeral. Determined to get to know him, Iris tracks Aris down to a dilapidated shipyard where he has been keeping to himself. What begins as a stubborn attempt to reconnect develops into a complex yet powerful bond.
Winner of the 2026 Sundance Audience Award for World Cinema Dramatic
Honeyjoon
Directed and produced by Lilian T. Mehrel
A surprisingly sexy, darkly funny emotional rollercoaster. In this layered dark comedy, June and her Persian-British mom Lela travel to the romantic Azores islands for a grief anniversary, with contrasting ways of coping. A hot philosophical surfer takes them on a tour as we surf the waves of life, loss, flirting… an unforgettable ride. In her award-winning debut feature, director Lilian T. Mehrel brilliantly transforms grief, desire, and human connection into something electric, introducing a visionary new voice.
Thursday, September 17th 11:00am - 12:30pm
Tribeca Festival Official Selection 2025
If These Walls Could Rock
Directed by Tyler Measom and Craig Williams
Thursday, September 17th 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Featuring a lineup including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bob Thornton, Ringo Starr, Slash, Cyndi Lauper, Morrissey, Dave Grohl and many others, IF THESE WALLS COULD ROCK is the untold story of the Sunset Marquis—the legendary West Hollywood hideaway where rock stars checked in, passed out, and made history.
Doc NYC Official Selection 2025
Mallory’s Ghost
Directed by Arabella Oz
Thursday, September 17th 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Mallory, plagued by fears of being unremarkable, joins her playwright boyfriend Sam on a retreat to coastal Maine. When she learns he once brought his glamorous ex, Louise, there, she’s struck with an obsessive curiosity about his past. As her jealousy takes hold, Mallory becomes convinced she’s being haunted by the ghost of Louise herself... Pulled into a journey that slips between past and present, rivalry and affection, melancholy and creativity, Mallory drifts further from her old life and toward something essential. "Mallory’s Ghost" is a psychological and playful exploration of envy, and the strange path it can lead back to the Self.
SXSW Nominee, Maine International Film Festival Best Feature
NATCHEZ
Directed and produced by Suzannah Herbert
Saturday, September 19th 12:45pm - 2:15pm
NATCHEZ captures an unsettling clash between history and memory in a small Mississippi town; a layered mosaic of people contending with the weight of the past in a place where it is always present. Equal parts amusing and disturbing, we journey through an antebellum tourist destination at a crossroads as it grapples with a deeply troubled history that is so thoroughly ingrained in its present, we’re left to wonder if it’s actually past at all.
Tribeca Festival Best Documentary 2025
The Oldest Person in the World
Directed by Sam Green
Thursday, September 17th 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Filmed over ten years, his luminous film spans countries and cultures as he meets current record-holders for the oldest person alive. With gentle encouragement, Green asks what this stage of life is like and tries to elicit their answers to existential questions around mortality. What defines a life well-lived? What matters most in the end? Sensitive narration and poignant connections link a series of unexpected encounters. Throughout the journey, Green weaves in his own introspections, reflecting on fatherhood, illness, loss, and love. Every person on the planet is born, and every person will die; The Oldest Person in the World explores the vast range of living that comes in between.
Sundance Official Selection 2026, Academy Award Nominated Filmmaker Sam Green
Papertown
Directed by Jeremy Seifert and Benjamin James Roberts
Friday, September 18th 4:30pm - 6:00pm
A feature documentary following the closure of the Canton paper mill and what it means for the people of Haywood County and Western North Carolina. When the paper mill that sustained a small Appalachian town for over a century shuts down, its people face not only economic collapse, but a deeper question — who are they without it? Grammy-winning musician Dave Matthews is on the film as an Executive Producer.
Executive Produced by Grammy-award winning musician Dave Matthews
Susan
Directed and produced by Russ Kirkpatrick
Friday, September 18th 2:45pm - 4:15pm
Set against the backdrop of Oklahoma’s glowing sunsets, a lush ribbon of river in southwest Missouri, and the sugary sands of Panama City Beach, Florida, follow the story of a family’s fascinating history and how the past plays into current-day dynamics that have to exist because of their matriarch’s involuntary life journey, and unorthodox life planning. The subject of Susan, Susan Suchan, was initially misdiagnosed with early onset Alzheimers, then later with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) disorder, the same as actor Bruce Willis. When Willis’ diagnosis went public, it brought a new level of awareness to FTD and PPA. Filmed over the course of several years, Susan will continue to bring awareness to FTD and PPA. In dramatic fashion, Susan puts a face to FTD, turning on its head the idea that someone with a diagnosis like this doesn’t have a voice. Susan Suchan also advocated tirelessly for others.
Official Selection for Top Indie Film Awards
Special Screenings
Special Screenings are selected to be shown outside the official competition; they are not competing for an award. Each special screening will include a panel or Q&A following the film.
The Last Class
Directed by Elliot Kirschner
Thursday, September 17th 3:15pm - 5:15pm
Robert Reich’s "The Last Class" is a documentary film directed by Elliot Kirschner that chronicles the final semester of former U.S. Secretary of Labor and political economist Robert Reich teaching his famous "Wealth and Poverty" course at UC Berkeley. The film serves as both a reflection on his 42-year academic career—having taught over 40,000 students—and a deep dive into the dual realities of his own aging and the future his students will inherit. During his final lecture, 1,000 students filled the largest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus.
Followed by a conversation with the film’s distributor.
Path of the Panther
Directed by Eric Bendick
Friday, September 18th 12:15pm - 2:30pm
Emmy Award-winning for Outstanding Nature Documentary, Official Selection of Doc NYC 2022. As the last big cat surviving in the eastern US, and the state animal of Florida, the panther is an icon of Florida’s last wild places. Now the panther’s many advocates — including a wildlife photographer, veterinarians, ranchers, conservationists, and indigenous people — find themselves on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse.
The screening will be followed by a panel exploring the importance of wildlife corridors and their role in connecting habitats and protecting Florida’s wildlife.
Patriots Day
Directed by Peter Berg, Screenwriter Matt Cook
Friday, September 18th 6:45pm - 9:00pm
Starring Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Bacon. Patriots Day is a 2016 American action thriller film based on the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 and the subsequent terrorist manhunt. On April 14, 2013, Boston Police Department Sergeant Tommy Saunders captures a suspect and fails to convince Commissioner Ed Davis to let him off from a punishment duty the next day, working the Boston Marathon. During the marathon, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonate two bombs, causing widespread panic in Boston and around the world.
Followed by a conversation with the screenwriter, Matt Cook (local to Brevard).
Short Films
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Palisades
Directed by Marian Mathias · USA · 8 min
A short documentary about falling in love.
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Canary
Directed by Charles Vuolo · USA · 15 min
Canary is a high concept horror film; a surreal ghost story tinged with music and tragedy. The story follows Petra, a young immigrant surviving off the land, moving by foot through the rugged terrain of the US southern border.
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Under the Wave Off Little Dragon
Directed by Luo Jian · UK · 14 min
A Chinese girl growing up in a Welsh fishing village rejects her mother's folklore, until one magical encounter changes her mind.
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Abel
Directed by Isabel Castro · USA · 14 min
Abel Ortiz was brought to Los Angeles as an infant and lived there for 38 years, building a life and a hair salon in Highland Park. When he decides to leave for Mexico, the filmmakers follow his last week in the city he called home.
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Candy Bar
Directed by Nash Edgerton · Australia · 6 min
A young girl thinks the man ahead of her in the candy bar line looks like her dad. Their sweet exchange leaves him longing for fatherhood, and then the evening takes a turn.
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Crisis Actor
Directed by Lily Platt · USA · 13 min
After losing her day job, an impulsive actress inserts herself into a support group she doesn't belong in, setting off a night fueled by performance and a craving for chaos.
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Festival Passes + Tickets
You can purchase tickets online or call the PAC Box Office at (828) 526 9047.
Rush tickets may also be available 15 minutes prior to each film screening if seating permits. Rush tickets will be sold at the PAC Box Office on a first-come, first-served basis.
Single Film + SeminarsTickets
Access to one individual screening for select films. $20 + fees.
Film Festival Society
Includes access to all screenings and seminars, the Black and White Masquerade, reserved seating, and more.
Festival VIP Pass
Access to all films and seminars throughout the festival. $150 + fees
Festival Pass
Access to film screenings only throughout the festival. $75 + fees
Join the Film Festival Society!
The Film Festival Society is the best way to experience the festival and support what makes it possible. Enjoy all of the perks: exclusive events, special access, a VIP weekend pass and a closer connection to the festival.
$750 per person / $1,500 per couple
Perks:
Exclusive access to the Black and White Masquerade (for Society members and sponsors only)
Access to the Horror Deconstructed seminar (for Society members, sponsors only, and VIP pass only)
VIP Festival Pass (includes all films + events)
Reserved seating at all films + events
Special lanyard and festival badge
Free popcorn throughout the Festival in limited edition popcorn tub
Contact Charlotte for more information at cmuir@highlandsperformingarts.com.
Artistic Direction
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Artistic Direction 〰️
The Highlands–Cashiers region is a natural destination for arts, culture, and community. The festival’s greatest strength is its setting — intimate, scenic, and rooted in mountain identity. To grow intentionally and sustainably, the 2026 festival will shift toward a curated, boutique model inspired by Telluride, early Sundance, and other high-touch mountain gatherings.
This approach emphasizes experience over volume and transforms HCFF into a festival that people return to annually for a sense of connection, discovery, and place. HCFF becomes a signature cultural gathering in the mountains—creating an unforgettable weekend where film, community, and nature converge to support the Performing Arts Center, with various kinds of shared, in-person experiences no screen at home can replicate.
What Defines the 2026 Experience
Thoughtfully curated film slate focusing on experiences people can’t have at home
High-touch signature events that elevate donor experience
Deep integration with the Highlands–Cashiers community
A sense of retreat, reflection, and connection