SUBMIT FOR 2027

Be a part of something MIGHTY!!!

August 13-15, 2027 @ The Historic & Beautiful SUNSET THEATRE Downtown Asheboro, NC

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Festival History

In January 2024, Asheboro area artist and visionary, Ty Brueilly brought Asheboro it's first ever International Film Festival and it extended so much life and culture to downtown, thanks to teamwork with the historic Sunset Theatre and the City Of Asheboro.

It was well attended and well received by close to 1,000 attendees!

Now in our fourth event year, the MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD AWARDS at SUNSET FILM FESTIVAL will take place once again at the historic and beautiful Sunset Theatre, from August 13-15, 2027 and will continue the tradition of giving our audiences the opportunity to see a wide array of films from film-makers all around the world.

Although the main intentions for our screening blocks are dedicated to finding films made in or around North Carolina, we also include documentaries, music videos, shorts, late night horror content and urban comedy from all over the world. 100 film titles were included in both the 2024 & 2025 schedule, mostly short films, and cut that to 70 film titles in 2026 to make more room for supplemental engagement blocks.

Intimate Q&A panels are held following each film with representation, along with some meet and greet sessions are planned. Exclusive Asheboro Undecided & Comedy Hurts podcasts are planned for live filming on stage.

Past interviews have been with former Rolling Stone Music Editor, Mark Kemp and our guests of honor, Richard & Anastasia Elfman in 2025 and The Creative Businessmen sitting down with our guest of honor Allen Danziger (original 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre') and cast/crew members of 'Cannibal Comedian' in 2024.

In 2026 we teamed up with Rigarrao Productions out of Los Angeles to provide a unique on stage to red carpet experience. We also teamed up with Camp Films out of Asheboro for documenting on stage conversations and Mechanist Recordings out of Greensboro, NC to document the red carpet. Happy Fright Films and Pink Plaid Producitons continue to be critical components in the festival and we are excited to welcome more teams to help produce our event in 2027.

The opening night networking event, is dedicated to ice breaking and meeting fellow filmmakers and the opening night reception is a celebration with live music and a comedy hour.

The award segment of our event is a formal award ceremony, for the films that are programmed into the festival with awards chosen by and given by three distinct groups of judges, who remain anonymous.

Another component of the award ceremony are cultural awards for the arts, entertainment, journalism and activism within the community of Asheboro, a way for visiting filmmakers and audiences to get to know what Asheboro has to offer.

After just three years we have become an IMDb qualifying festival, which is a major help for all filmmakers, actors and procuers in the industy.

Our Story

Mightier Than The Sword Records was established in Boone, North Carolina in May of 2005 by Asheboro native, Tyler "Ty Bru" Brueilly. Since then it has expanded and branched off into MIghtier Than The Sword Records, Photography & Literature, eventually sprouting off Heart's Core Art Store & Film and Fashion by Brueilly.

We are proud to have created countless international award winning pieces of art, both visual and performance that has most recently been showcased and awarded in major film festivals and gorgeous theaters all around the world.

In 2023, one of Brueilly's works, 'A Night In Charlotte With Sweeney Ty' was screened at the world famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, and since that moment, Brueilly has been motivated to take what he has learned from attending and being awarded over one hundred awards at countless film festivals in dozens of countires since 2023 and bring that to his own film festival, which just so happens to be in his own hometown at Sunset Theatre, donwtown Asheboro.