Events

The Highlands‑Cashiers Film Festival returns September 16–19 with competition films, special screenings, director Q&As, community events, and the festive Black & White Masquerade, offering a boutique, story‑driven weekend on the Plateau.

The Film Festival Society members enjoy exclusive access to the Black and White Masquerade, VIP festival privileges, and the special Horror Deconstructed seminar — a deeper, insider way to experience the Highlands‑Cashiers Film Festival.

This year’s Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival blends regional stories with global perspectives, offering films that explore place, identity, and community ties.

On July 30, the Highlands‑Cashiers Film Festival hosts a reception and screening of Rise, Ruin, and Restoration: A History of Lake Toxaway, a documentary on the lake’s dramatic past.

When the Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival returns this September, it won’t feel like a second act. It will feel like momentum.

Trail Mix, HCFF’s 2025 Audience Choice winner, returns June 20 for free community screenings, an early step toward this fall’s 2026 Highlands‑Cashiers Film Festival.

Never Not Yours, the 2025 Highlands Cashiers Film Festival Feature Film Award winner, returns on Sunday, August 16, at The Village Green, a FREE HCFF screening that celebrates community, independent filmmaking, and the festival’s growing creative spirit.

With actor‑producer Joy Jorgensen leading the creative team, the Highlands Cashiers Film Festival builds on its successful debut with expanded vision and energy.

As fall settles over the Plateau, the Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival debuts September 18–21 with a cinematic celebration rooted in place, memory, and mountain magic. From garden premieres to Hollywood tributes, every frame honors the art of storytelling—and the land that inspires it.