Regional Film Showcase set May 3-5 at Cinema Art Theater

The Rehoboth Beach Film Society will present its 2024 Regional Film Showcase from Friday to Sunday, May 3 to 5, at the Cinema Art Theater near Lewes.

This year’s event will feature seven films from three states, an assortment that demonstrates the diversity and vibrancy of the independent film community in the Mid-Atlantic region. 

One filmmaker will win the Fierberg Film Prize, which includes funding to enable them to continue to develop their craft.

A jury prize will also go to one winner. 

“Independent filmmakers are constantly looking for funding to produce a film project. With the advent of technology and specifically smartphones, it’s certainly less cost prohibitive. Dollars secured help with marketing, hiring actors and other hardware devices required in post-production. For those reasons, we remain invested in our cinema artists,” said Helen Chamberlain, film society executive director.

The slate of films consists primarily of shorts with one full-length feature, “Friends & Neighbors,” to be screened at 4 p.m., Saturday, May 4. When filmmaker Benjamin Wagner was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome, he suddenly saw trauma and its impact all around: in rising incidences of gun violence and hate crime, the increase in adolescent suicide rates, growth of antidepressant use, binge drinking, and a mental health crisis so urgent that it prompted a national hotline. And so, he decided, as the subject of his 2012 PBS documentary, Fred Rogers, always encouraged him, to look for the helpers who are healing the deeply anxious and uncertain communities around them.

Shorts screenings are set for 7 p.m., Friday, and 1 p.m., Sunday. 

Patrons are encouraged to participate in post-film panel discussion immediately following with the filmmakers to gain insights on their process.

Selections and filmmakers are “It’s Still Not About Me,” Debbie Camper; “The World According to Pussy Noir,” Amy Olden; “3:MI in Orbit: Received,” Riley Heath; “Friends & Neighbors,” Benjamin Wagner; “Looking Inward - Black History & the Arts,” Justinian Dispenza; “Let Her Sing,” Siamak Dehghanpour; and “The Metamorph,” Maximillian Remmier.

Sunday’s program will close with the announcement of showcase winners. 

Tickets are $5 per screening. For all showtimes and complete descriptions, go to rehobothfilm.com.