North Carolina is not new to the movie industry. Landscapes layered with rich talent and a copious amount of extensively eclectic locations from the coast to the crest of the mountain range, the state has thrived in its ability to mold a captivating story on screen.
Currently we are seeing a surge of independent filmmakers finding their way and their calling without moving away from their home state. Asheboro area visionary and film festival program director, Ty Brueilly is proof of this firsthand. He has rooted himself back in his hometown since 2015 and started shooting his own films shortly after.
Since his debut feature film release of ‘Shucks’ nine years ago this weekend (Veterans Day 2017), he has taken the independent film scene by force and by storm. Establishing his own ‘Shucks’ cinematic world that currently holds eleven titles. Receiving over one hundred awards in dozens of countries for his work, with nearly just as many directing credits, he is the epitome of the widely respected advice, “if you want to become a filmmaker, just shoot! film and shoot! and create! don’t wait on anyone!”
Brueilly explains, “North Carolina is the best place to film for me, and I feel like that’s the same way with most of the filmmakers I encounter from this state. It has everything you need right here. Of course there are necessary supplements that you need to succeed or reach higher potential, like for me, it’s part of my working order to get to Los Angeles/Hollywood several times a year, I do that because I can do efficient work and netqorking there in a small amount of time that can carry over to making my films and to curate my events the best they can be, but I will live here in North Carolina.”
One event he is talking about is the Mightier Than The Sword Awards at Sunset Film Festival that he established in 2023, with its first event held in January 2024 and currently planning on it’s fourth year. Known for bringing Hollywood to Asheboro, the festival has quickly become one of the most respected and highly reviewed fests in the state.
“As a filmmaker I know exactly what filmmakers need, want and how they can flourish. Film festivals that are done properly can really accelerate the trajectory of films and everyone that works on them.” Brueilly said, then continues, “I have extensive experience in the film festival arena, and I wanted to use all that I learned to provide something useful, meaningful and motivating to filmmakers around the nation and world, but with a heavy focus on those from NC.”
The Mightier Than The Sword Awards at Sunset Film Festival has been a steady success since it’s first year, so much so that a standalone event, the SWORD ENCORE SERIES has been established to help provide awareness and familiarity to the community on the quality and caliber of films that North Carolina is producing. The first of what Brueilly intends to be a reoccurring, possibly monthly event in 2027 will initiate on Thursday November, 19, 2026 6-10pm, right at the historic Sunset Theatre, which is also the home of the main festival.
Brueilly says, “Movie goers and film buffs, they always want more, and there is power in reiteration. I noticed that after the last film was played at our last festival. People were not ready to go home; they wanted to see more films. So that’s why we created this encore series, one more block of films for Asheboro area audiences to watch, and I couldn’t have thought of a better headliner for this than Sean’s ‘Outerbound’.”
‘Outerbound’ was largely filmed in Greensboro, NC with a few locations in nearby High Point, NC. The trailer alone https://youtu.be/3ErK9EJaSEw?si=bs_l7mZ293hP7U-G shows how much care and attention that was taken to detail, making sure the flow and cinematography was cohesiveand also how comfortable the acting cast felt in their characters. It screams perfect chemistry. This feature film is the culmination of an idea that started in 2011.
Director, Producer, Editor and Cinematographer, Sean Noroña says, “The idea itself actually started when my buddy Nathan (Rohan), our screenwriter, wrote the first draft of the script back in 2011. So about 13 years. We were officially ready to make a feature, probably from 2023 to 2025. Two and a half years of rewriting, pre-production, and two summers of filming. It took us about 15 shoot days to get it all in the can.”
The perseverance has cultivated such an incredible movie, a diamond in the rough as it were. Something superiorly polished and professional, and relatable to the nostalgia of youth no matter what generation the viewer might be included in. We all come toage, and we all love with complex and oftentimes misguided, confusing emotions, while others seem to have the perfect approach.
Noroña elaborates, “The most important thing for audiences watching my film is to see the juxtaposition of a healthy relationship that is naturally unfolding next to a toxic relationship going nowhere.”
Brueilly adds, “In the grand scheme of things, for the independent industry, I would certainly say ‘Outerbound’ is a diamond in the rough, but when it comes to a more focused, NC playing field, it’s one of the best features I’ve seen in the past few years and that’s saying a lot, because I feel like NC production is some of the top in the nation. I feel like the state itself is that diamond in the rough in the USA. We get a lot of submissions to our festival and it’s rare that an NC film is unwatchable due to quality, so I feel like we have a higher standard as a collective than most places, and our events are the perfect place to showcase those.”
‘Outerbound’ will be headlining the first installment of the SWORD ENCORE SERIES on November 19, 2026 at the Sunset Theatre. 234 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro, NC. The event doors open at 5:30pm with short films and music videos starting at 6:00pm that include ‘A Sleepy Holler Halloween Special’ – ‘You Don’t Know Jack’ – ‘The Shark’ – ‘Back Off’ – & the theatrical premiere of ‘Tiger Uppercut’ with a few more suprises.
7:30pm will be ‘Outerbound’ and 9:30 ‘7eventh 7irkle’. Special on stage Q&A will follow each showing that has representation. Along with this audiences will get a special first look at Carl J. Grasso’s ‘The Suffering’. This is a free event with reserved seats available upon request to mightierthantheswordrecords@gmailcom
The annual festival will be August 13-15, 2027, also at the Sunset Theatre.
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