Within minutes of arriving at my first Film Fest 919 on the evening of Oct. 9, I knew I wanted to make the cinematic trek to Chapel Hill an annual event. Hooked by an incredible slate of as-yet-released titles curated by program director Claudia Puig and festival founders Randi Emerman and Carol Marshall, I also felt welcomed and wanted throughout the five-day gathering by Langston Harris’ hospitable staff at the Silverspot Cinema.

In addition to the wealth of options and comfortable seats, Film Fest 919 brought such bonus delights as an insightful chat with Anthony McCarten — recipient of the festival’s Distinguished Screenwriter Award — after his latest film, The Two Popes, and a late-night nerd-out session with The Florida Project co-writer Chris Bergoch, part of an extended Q&A following Honey Boy. The 2020 edition is slated for Oct. 14-18 and you better believe my calendar is already marked.

If you didn’t follow along with my on-site coverage via Twitter, or want a refresher as awards season descends, here are my brief takes on each of the 17 films in the order I saw them. Be on the lookout for full reviews as they’re released locally:

MARRIAGE STORY: Baumbach's best yet? His writing and visuals continue to improve, as do the performances he draws from his talented casts.

FRANKIE: The proper follow-up to LOVE IS STRANGE. Sachs returns to rich adult drama with relatable characters. Huppert's best in a while.

PARASITE: Another fully-realized vision by Bong. Hits numerous genre beats in expert fashion and the synthesis of them is masterful.

BACURAU: Patience-testing, ultraviolent, hyper-political, and ultimately satisfying follow-up to AQUARIUS.

WAVES: Shults "finally" pens a script to match his top-notch technical prowess. Far and away his best film, with edits that echo Malick and a narrative structure that recalls THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES...but is a movie about a young black man destroying his life really the story to tell right now, especially from a white filmmaker?

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE: Strong performances and big emotions, but other than some beguiling imagery and the almost complete absence of men, it's a fairly standard, stuffy costume drama.

SORRY WE MISSED YOU: Loach strikes again! Who else pummels so hard with such real, relatable characters and makes the emotional onslaught feel worth it — and even welcome? Haneke would be wise to take notes.

CHICUAROTES: Well-made, humorous first act or so devolves into a schlocky, depressing, ultimately repulsive cautionary tale. Curious why Bernal wanted to tell this story.

FORD V FERRARI: High-quality, old-school Hollywood entertainment. Plentiful thrills and laughs, and it's delightful to welcome back Bale (cheery edition).

HONEY BOY: Noah Jupe double feature! An even more fascinating exorcism of personal demons than expected. Shia is brilliant, but so are Jupe and Lucas Hedges (who's having an excellent fest) as his stand-ins. Marvelous all around.

THE TRUTH: Takes a while to feel like a Kore-eda film... and even then it's more like his Assayas cover band. A decent lark abroad, but lacks the deep humanity of his recent work.

THE KILL TEAM: Not much to see here. Basic military morality tale, dressed up with crisp visuals and occasional tension, but only partially-formed on character and narrative levels.

JUST MERCY: Like a non-pulpy Grisham adaptation, and then a few steps above whatever that brings to mind. Jordan, Foxx, and Larson are terrific, and Nelson steals each of his scenes. Unfortunately timely, but potentially unifying. I'm pretty much floored.

THE TWO POPES: Rooted in basically one long, energetic central scene, popping with the humor and heart of McCarten's script, augmented by the one-two punch of Hopkins and Pryce, Meirelles' docudrama style, and Bryce Dessner's hip score. Religion is cool?

PAIN AND GLORY: Top-notch Almodovar with Banderas in rare form. Would have been a fun double feature with HONEY BOY, but also maybe best to space these deep introspective works out. And those colors!

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN: Norton's noir is all-around good enough, but never aspires to greatness...a shame considering what a more imaginative filmmaker could do with this material.

THE REPORT: A crackling political thriller that spits in the face of government corruption (and ZERO DARK THIRTY). Terrific way to close out a wonderful festival.

(Photo: Parasite, courtesy of Neon)