Almost Cured
“After the first touchdown, the crowd was a little less racist, and after the second touchdown, they were Almost Cured”. Almost Cured is an honest, personalized account about racial integration in a small North Carolina Appalachian community in the midst of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in 1963. Against a distressing backdrop of the South in tumultuous upheaval with widespread protests, bombings, deaths, and thousands of arrests, the teenage African-American players on the newly-integrated high school football team have the “weight of the world on their shoulders” as the team and community navigate to the championship game. Told through firsthand recollections and archival media, this heartfelt and revealing movie acknowledges that although we were and still are just ‘Almost Cured’, there is hope if we focus on what unites us.
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Tom DierolfDirector
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Tom DierolfProducer
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Durward RogersAdvisor
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NAACP- North Carolina Transylvania County ChapterAdvisor
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Sergio Miguel SilvaAssistant Editor/Color Grading
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Melissa PonsSound Design
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Carter Heyward & Susan SasserExecutive Producer
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Gene & Sally BakerCo Producer
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Frances & Ben Collins-SussmanCo Producer
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Frances & Ben Collins-SussmanCo Producer
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Cliff BrookshireKey Cast
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Dr. Keith ElliottKey Cast
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Lloyd FisherKey Cast
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Paul Gardin ScruggsKey Cast
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Tommy KilgoreKey Cast
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Dr. Betty ReedKey Cast
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Nancy BrookshireKey Cast
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Richard "Moby" SorrellsKey Cast
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Project Type:Documentary, Short
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Genres:Historical, Sports, Social Issues
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Runtime:29 minutes 28 seconds
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Completion Date:October 7, 2017
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Boone Film FestivalBoone, NC
United States
November 3, 2018
Official Selection -
Brevard 150th Year AnniversaryBrevard, NC
United States
October 15, 2018 -
Indigo Moon Film FestivalFayetteville, NC
United States
October 13, 2018
Official Selection -
Tryon International Film FestivalTryon, NC
United States
October 6, 2018
Official Selection -
Online Global Peace Film FestivalOrlando, FL
United States
September 18, 2018
Florida Premiere
Official Selection -
Full Bloom Film FestivalStatesville, NC
United States
September 14, 2018
Official Selection -
Knox Film FestKnoxville, TN
United States
September 15, 2018
Tennessee Premiere
Official Selection -
Asheville Film FestivalAsheville, NC
United States
September 8, 2018
Official Selection -
FAM Fest International Film FestivalCharlotte, NC
United States
August 8, 2018
Documentary Award -
Cape Fear Independent Film FestivalWilmington, NC
United States
June 14, 2018
Official Selection -
Longleaf Film FestivalRaleigh, NC
United States
May 12, 2018
North Carolina Premiere
Official Selection -
Ozark Foothills FilmFestBatesville, AR
United States
April 21, 2018
Arkansas Premiere
Best Documentary Short -
Beaufort International Film FestivalBeaufort, SC
United States
February 24, 2018
South Carolina Premiere
Official Selection -
Flagstaff Mountain Film FestivalFlagstaff, AZ
United States
February 16, 2018 -
Chandler International Film FestivalChandler, AZ
United States
January 15, 2018
World Premiere -
Spotlight Documentary Film AwardsAtlanta, GA
United States
December 20, 2017
Silver Award -
Direct Short Online Film FestivalOnline
United States
Best Documentary Non/fiction of the Month (Dec. 2017)
Tom Dierolf, PhD, is currently a trainer/researcher at a World Heritage Site. He has over 30 years of international/US experience in rural community development, including 12 years in Appalachia. Tom has published photos from several NCAA Division I sports and a professional NFL game. A first-time filmmaker, he combined his passions for social justice, visual arts, sports, history, and Appalachia to make Almost Cured. Tom received a Certificate in Documentary Studies at Duke University in 2016.
Almost Cured is a historical documentary on a series of events experienced by a community in the mountains of Western North Carolina (WNC) during the 1960’s Civil Rights Era. Production was done in WNC (and TN) while I was resident in the community and a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign (104%) provided funds for finishing touches and film festival submission.
For viewers from Western North Carolina or Southern Appalachia, it helps them better understand their history. For viewers from outside the region (including more eastern parts of NC), it can help to dispel common negative misconceptions about Appalachia. For everyone, it is an engaging, and sometimes counterintuitive, story about race relations that shows there is some hope if we focus on what unites us.