Festivals

2023 Summer and Fall Film Festivals in West Virginia 

Lurch Fest  
Set for Friday, Aug. 4 and Saturday, Aug. 5, the Barbour County Historical Museum, 13 Museum St., Philippi, WV., celebrates the life of the late, great TV and film star, Ted Cassidy (best known for playing Lurch on the Addams Family). The third annual Lurch Fest will include Ted Cassidy trivia on Friday, and from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, the fest will continue with more than 30 vendors selling “Lurch Merch,” food and art, live music, craft beer (including a HIgh Ground Brewing “You Rang” beer), ax throwing, and a costume contest with two categories—best Ted Cassidy and best Addams Family. Special guest will be Sean Cassidy (Ted’s son) who will undergo a Son of Lurch transformation on Friday completed by Ted’s biographer and makeup artist, Christofer Cook. Step into the museum to see his Bixby Studios’ life-sized statue of Cassidy as well as displays dedicated to one of the most famous actors from NCWV. Contact the Historical Museum for more info, 

Appalachian Film Fest 
Set for Friday through Sunday, Aug. 18-20. At the Foundry Theater (the Jean Carlo Stephenson Auditorium) at Huntington City Hall, 800 Fifth Ave., in Huntington. The original Appalachian Film Festival ran from 2003-2013. It is coming back after a decade of dormancy. Showcasing films in four categories (student, music video, shorts and feature length) that reflect and celebrate the Appalachian region. Friday, music videos will be screened at The Loud, 741 6th Ave., the music venue that has hosted everyone from Avett Brothers and Jason Isbell to Clutch and helped launch Tyler Childers. Saturday, the main festival takes place at the Foundry. The Saturday evening featured film is the award-winning “King Coal.” There will be a Q&A with filmmaker Elaine Sheldon after the film, with Huntington native and two-time Tony Award winning star of stage and screen (‘Fringe,” “Mindhunter,” “Ant Man,” “The Gilded Age,”) Michael Cerveris.The winner of “Best in Fest” will receive a $500 cash prize, as well as a Blenko Glass Appy. On Sunday, Tri-State native and Hollywood screenwriter Mickey Fisher, creator and writer of such TV series as “Extant,” “Reverie,” and “Mars,” will be doing a screenwriting brunch at Bahnhof WVrsthaus and Biergarten. Go online at  https://filmfreeway.com/AppalachianFilmFestival and check out the AFF on Facebook. Email directors Rachael Allinder and Emily Conzett at info@foundrytheater.org

House of Clouds Premiere
Set for 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, The West Virginia International Film Festival presents the AmpMediaProject documentary ‘HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS: The Artistic Life of Robert Singleton,’ in a world premiere on The Clay Center main stage. The documentary traces the eventful life and times, some of them traumatic and tragic, of a notable American artist, now 85, who has lived and worked on a remote West Virginia hilltop since 1978, in a house he designed and built.  Call 304-561-3570 or visit: https://secure.theclaycenter.org/9971 for tickets. Go online at houseintheclouds.movie and contact the director Doug Imbrogno at douglaseye@gmail.com.

The documentary premieres at 7 p.m., following a 6 p.m. reception in the Clay Center art gallery, where one of Singleton’s paintings will be featured. A Q-and-A with the artist follows the screening on stage.

Mothman Festival 
Set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept., 16-17 in downtown Point Pleasant, WV. Organized by The Mothman Museum, 400 Main St., Point Pleasant,commemorates the 1966 Point Pleasant, West Virginia Mothman sighting, which gave birth to the infamous red-eyed winged legend.  People from all over the world gather to celebrate their favorite cryptid which was the subject of the 2002 film, “Mothman Prophecies,” starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney. Watch the latest cryptid films, hear paranormal speakers, meet special guests from TV shows, and explore streets full of paranormal, cryptid vendors. There’s also tours of the TNT area (where Mothman was sighted) and much more. Go online at https://www.mothmanfestival.com/

Mtn Craft Film Festival 
Set for Friday, Sept. 29 and Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center, 444 W Pike St. in Clarksburg. Curated by the Clarksburg-based production company, Mtn Craft, the film fest will feature four WV films. On Friday, “Brawlers,” by Curren Sheldon and “King Coal,” by Elaine McMillion Sheldon. On Saturday, “Impossible Town,” by Meg Griffiths and Scott Faris and “O’Pioneer,” by Jonathan Locoque and Clara Lehmann. Each of these films will be followed by a Q&A panel with the filmmakers. There will also be an art gallery, VR film experience, and many hours of short film content across a broad range of genres and styles.

Passes for the Mtn Craft Film Festival can be purchased online or by calling: The Robinson Grand Ticketing Center at (855)-773-6283. Full Festival (2-Day) Pass – $40; Single Day Pass – $25. Go online at https://tickets.therobinsongrand.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=191 to get tickets.

Appalachian Queer Film Festival 
Set for Friday through Sunday, Oct. 6-8 at the Foundry Theater (above Huntington City Hall), 800 5th Ave., Huntington. The AQFF was founded in 2014 to bring Queer and Trans film from around the world to Appalachia and to promote LGBTQ+ filmmakers within the region. Started by Jon Mattews and Tim Mann. Their vision is to to show the world how incredible our LGBTQ+ community is here in Appalachia and to introduce Appalachians to Queer cinema around the world. Featured films include “Kokomo City,” which premiered at SXSW 23. The festival will feature special guests, Q&As, awards, panels and an after party. Email festival organizers at aqffwv@gmail.com 

Get festival passes and tickets at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/026eff75-acef-4a82-9d23-85ec41c2f521