Winston-Salem Film Update: Festival Frenzy and Crew Connections
Winston-Salem video production teams have plenty to track between Oct 1 and Oct 15. From an LGBTQ festival that pulls press from across the state to hyper-local shorts nights and hands-on mixers, the city’s calendar doubles as a live talent board and location scout.
Festival Spotlight: OUT at the Movies
Now in its twelfth year, OUT at the Movies International Film Festival unspools 40 features, docs and shorts across UNCSA’s ACE Theatre Complex Oct 2–5, supplemented by eight educational talk-backs that turn screenings into skill-shares. Organizers keep tickets accessible—most under $12—which widens community turnout and gives crews a low-cost way to probe audience reactions before test-marketing their own LGBTQ projects. Because the festival partners with local nonprofits, location managers can scout historic Wake Forest and downtown venues already vetted for hosting film events.
Upcoming Events to Bookmark
- Streetside Cinema Season 8 finale — Oct 2, a/perture cinema. Free sidewalk shorts screen continuously until midnight, ideal for testing low-light rigs.
- OUT at the Movies Preview Night — Oct 2, Wake Forest University. A 70-minute sampler of festival shorts tees up the main program.
- Winston Shorts — Oct 10, Camel City Playhouse. Curated Triad-made shorts followed by Q&A; great for sourcing local editors and VFX artists.
Networking & Industry Mixers
- Tap In Media Mixer — Oct 3, ToastedWS. Informal happy-hour meet-up for DPs, drone ops and marketers.
- Mixxer Community Social — Oct 9, Mixxer Makerspace. Gear-swap and maker demo night that often pulls UNCSA film-tech students.
Permits & Practicalities
Winston-Salem posts approved street-closure and special-event permits on its public portal, giving line producers real-time insight into potential traffic impacts. Although no film-specific ordinance is on the Oct 6 City Council docket yet, attending the meeting—or streaming it online—lets producers flag last-minute road-work or parade conflicts before call sheets go out. For shoots that require larger setups, the Piedmont Triad Film Commission remains the first stop for coordinating police support, drone clearances and road closures. Keep in mind that application fees for special-event permits rise on Jan 1 2026, so securing fall dates now can buffer budgets.
Final Takeaways
Between the OUT festival’s influx of visiting talent and back-to-back mixers, the next two weeks offer a dense networking window that rarely comes this cheap or convenient. Lock your permits early, clear your evenings for screenings, and you’ll head into Q4 with fresh crew contacts, lived-in locations and an eagle-eye on Winston-Salem’s evolving film permits landscape—all crucial advantages in today’s competitive LGBTQ film festival circuit and broader Triad production scene.
