ON THE HUNT: Find captive documentaries at Cucalorus 31
- Stephen Rosenberg
- Nov 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 11
It’s November in ILM, which means another Cucalorus. The annual film festival takes a week each year to celebrate indie filmmakers from all over the world, in a variety of genres. From November 19-23, a plethora of shorts, narrative features, artistic performances, and more will show at different places throughout the city, including Thalian Hall, Jengo’s Playhouse, and Hi-Wire Brewing. One of the most informative and groundbreaking segments of the Cucalorus Film Festival always comes with its variety of documentary features.
The category has brought a great combination of both serious and fun films in the past, including “Wuhan Wuhan,” which was a look at the 2020 pandemic in the center of Wuhan city, and “The Power of the Glove,” a nostalgic peek back at the obsession with Nintendo’s Power Glove in the 1980s.
Cucalorus 31 is no different, boasting several interesting documentaries: “Natchez” explores the historic tensions of a small town in Mississippi; “Suburban Fury” recounts the life of Sara Jane Moore, an ex-FBI informant who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford; and for the film lovers, “The Sound Design of David Lynch” details the musical movie scores of one of the most unique American directors of all time, including “Blue Velvet,” which was filmed right here in Wilmington.
An extremely engaging documentary feature for this year is Xander Robin’s “The Python Hunt” showing at Thalian Hall on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:15 p.m. The feature documents a 10-day annual event in the Florida Everglades where hunters from all over the country travel to Florida to catch Burmese pythons, an invasive species that has proven detrimental to the ecosystem of the swamplands and the national park. Not only does the film follow strange out-of-towners who simply have a bloodlust for killing snakes, but it also follows locals who love the animals and take part in the event in order to catch the species and have them put down humanely.
From a focus on the Florida state government making it more difficult to relocate the snakes in the North, and the nightly bonding and forming relationships between snake hunters as their stories unfold, to rival events created by those who care more about the environment, “The Python Hunt” is so much more than just a glimpse at snake hunting.
Those who have a squeamish stomach, especially when it comes to animal cruelty, may want to skip this one, as the film shows some of the more brutal pastimes during the competitions: snakeskin tug-of-war, and the extraction and decimation of eggs, all in the name of “protecting the country against foreign invasion.” The film raises the question of whether the meager 209 snakes that the hunters slaughter and the animal cruelty involved are frivolous when the estimated remaining snakes could be somewhere around 500,000.
Spooky season may be over, but don’t let that stop you from checking out “Blood & Guts.” This documentary from directors Carlye Rubin and Katie Green follows Toby Poser, John Adams, and their two children, Zelda and Lulu, a family who make indie horror movies together in their small town of Roscoe, New York. Most notably, their 2021 film "Hellbender" garnered a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and was screened at the 2021 Cucalorus Film Festival.
The family routinely collaborates with their neighbors and friends and has created more than 10 feature films, with the documentary covering their work on a period-piece horror film about murderous sideshow performers titled "Where the Devil Roams." The film was released in 2023 and received a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it their most complete movie yet.
Not only does "Blood & Guts" cover the family’s unique approach to low-budget, but effective horror filmmaking, but it also showcases how the family uses their own personal trials and tribulations in their movies. Things like cancer, financial issues, and the growth and moving away of their kids set the backdrops for their horror stories, resonating with their audience on an emotional level.
One of the documentary’s biggest focuses is on Toby and John’s transition away from casting their daughters in their films after their kids go off to college and start their own lives in the movie business, and finding new sparks in their relationship and creativity as a couple again. Together, the duo created the film "Hell Hole," a sci-fi body horror monster movie in 2024 that didn’t star either of their daughters.
The experience of filming that movie showed the difficulties of studio interference, shooting out of the country, and other issues the family wasn’t used to dealing with when keeping production in-house and in the family. Screen "Blood & Guts" at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Thalian Hall.
Cucalorus is a fantastic way to experience documentary films that may not otherwise get a major release or don’t end up on a streaming service. They’re often privately made or have low distribution, and the festival is not only a great avenue for the films to get in front of people, but it’s often a chance for the filmmakers to interact with the audience, as many of the events offer Q&A segments after the showings.
Cucalorus 31 will have 12 full-feature documentaries showing throughout the week. View the full schedule here.
DETAILS:
November 19-23, 2025
Various Locations
Tickets: $20
