A little girl hides in a cornfield. Masked home invaders stalk her in the rows. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues as she tries to escape the field with her life. "The Rows" is one of the many films to show at the South Carolina Underground Film Festival (SCUFF). The film festival highlights independent filmmakers from across the country. The three-day-long event showcases a wide variety of films, from drama shorts to sci-fi features.
SCUFF will be held at the Nickelodeon Theater from Nov. 7 to 9. There are 50 films selected for this year’s schedule, and three are directed by South Carolina filmmakers Eugene Rocco Utley, Ebony Wilson and Michael Smallwood.
“Behind Closed Doors," directed by Utley, is a short coming-of-age thriller about a high schooler with anxiety trying to find a connection at a party when an unexpected connection finds him instead. It explores the different social landscapes young people have to connect in and the challenges they face, Utley said. It is his third professional film.
Utley said the film is bold in style and narrative. Utley wanted to make a personal film that took risks while being aware of the discourse around the topic, he said. This will be his second film to show at SCUFF, his first being "A.B." in 2023.
Utley grew up in Myrtle Beach and now lives in Murrells Inlet. He said he found his artistic passion during high school and studied world cinema, journalism and media writing in college.
“I truly started falling in love with film more there and started getting involved with a lot more creatives and just studying the both production and reception end of it,” Utley said. “And eventually, once I graduated, I just started independently producing and directing projects. And each one, I just kept on trying to grow from the last one.”
Utley said that a lesson he has learned through his career is to be a positive influence and to encourage the people around him as they all grow. Film is a collaborative medium, so it always has to be about the people around you, he said.
"RYDE," directed by Wilson, is a short film about a ride-share driver’s shift that goes sideways when a troubled passenger enters the story. It will take viewers aback and pull them in, Wilson said.
The film is based on Wilson's real experiences with ride-sharing, and she said she hopes to raise awareness about the dangers of the service.
It will be Wilson’s first film to feature at SCUFF, but she is not a new creator. She has been in the film industry as an actor since she was 15, she said. She said she began writing and producing in college and made her first feature film shortly after graduating.
“I was kind of like a pioneer here in Columbia, as one of the first filmmakers to begin really navigating that independent space,” Wilson said.
Throughout her 21-year career, she has gained experience writing, producing, directing and acting. In 2024, she won Best Score with “RYDE” at the 2nd Act Film Project.
“I've worked with so many people locally … it's kind of in this one huge collaborative and we're all kind of in the same space now and seeing our work together in the same space now, which is really cool," Wilson said.
Wilson said that filmmakers entering the industry should network with the people in their area. She said it’s important to keep the final goal in mind, work backwards from that and to develop your piece for where you see it going and who you want to pitch it to.
"Tonight and Maybe Tomorrow," directed by Smallwood, is a sci-fi drama about a party held at the end of the world that reconnects two acquaintances who go on their first date. It is Smallwood’s first feature film, which he began creating in 2024.
Smallwood was inspired by the social anxieties he and the people around him felt about the future, he said. The idea of using a party to tell this story was challenging until he used the connection of romance to guide the viewer.
“One of the themes of the movie is how do you get through it? How do you get through those moments?” Smallwood said. “That sort of became the core of the movie … The only thing that really can get you through those moments is to embrace those things, to embrace those relationships and those moments that we have with each other.”
Smallwood is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but has lived in Charleston for over 20 years. He said he always had an interest in film and acted in theatre from second grade to college. Smallwood studied theatre at the College of Charleston, where he began writing plays and screenplays.
Smallwood said his career has spanned from indie films to David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” trilogy. He won awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Baltimore International Black Film Festival and FilmQuest, he said.
"I can be fairly focused," Smallwood said. "I've been fortunate enough to get to work with some incredible people and some great organizations. It's been a long path to get here but certainly fun."
“Tonight and Maybe Tomorrow" will play on Nov. 7, “RYDE" and "The Rows" on Nov. 8 and “Behind Closed Doors” on Nov. 9. The rest of the schedule and tickets can be found on the SCUFF website.