FILM FEST KNOX is an international film festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, hosted by Visit Knoxville and the Visit Knoxville Film Office in partnership with Regal and The Public Cinema. November 9-12, 2023.
Festival Program
Elev8or Pitch Live Competition
Live Event
A screening of the top 8 films, followed by feature pitches and a Q&A with the jury.November 9 · Regal Riviera · 6:00 p.m.
Time of the Heathen
Dir. by Peter Kass
A wandering drifter witnesses a murder and goes on the run with the victim's young son.November 10 · Regal Riviera · 5:15 p.m.
Peak Season
Dir. by Henry Loevner & Steven Kanter
An emotionally adrift young woman forges an unexpected friendship with a wilderness guide when she and her fiancé take a summer holiday.November 10 · Regal Riviera · 5:30 p.m.
Here
Dir. by Bas Devos
A potential love story between a Romanian construction worker and a Belgian-Chinese doctorate student of moss.November 10 · Regal Riviera · 7:30 p.m.
Country Brawlers
Dir. by Curren Sheldon
An intimate look into the lives of professional boxers in Appalachia and the coaches that give them a fighting chance in an unforgiving region.November 10 · Regal Riviera · 7:45 p.m.
Kick Me
Dir. by Gary Huggins
A nightmare comedy about a school counselor whose compassion, generosity and dedication destroy the lives of everyone around him.November 10 · Regal Riviera · 9:45 p.m.
Art of the Pitch
Pres. by Seed & Spark
Founder and CEO of Seed & Spark, Emily Best, will show you how to make an effective pitch deck.November 11 · Hyatt Place · 11:30 a.m.
Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman
Dir. by Rosine Mbakam
In 2014, Rosine Mbakam returned home to Cameroon for the first time in seven years, bringing with her her French husband and their young son.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 12:00 p.m.
An Evening Song (for three voices)
Dir. by Graham Swon
A writer moves to the Midwest with her novelist husband and they soon find themselves caught in a love triangle with their pious housekeeper.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 12:30 p.m.
Made in Tennessee Shorts
Shorts Program
A showcase of work by filmmakers from throughout the Volunteer state.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 1:45 p.m.
Mountains
Dir. by Monica Sorelle
A Haitian demolition worker is tasked with dismantling his rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 3:15 p.m.
Elev8or Pitch Screening 1
Shorts Program
This event will offer networking opportunities for Knoxville area filmmakers to connect with their counterparts beyond East Tennessee.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 4:00 p.m.
Anselm
Dir. by Wim Wenders
A 3D portrait of artist Anselm Kiefer. Screening with Laberint Sequences by Blake Williams.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 5:30 p.m.
Elev8or Pitch Screening 2
Shorts Program
This event will offer networking opportunities for Knoxville area filmmakers to connect with their counterparts beyond East Tennessee.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 6:00 p.m.
A Hard Problem
Dir. by hazart
After the death of his mother, Ian begins cleaning out the family home while his estranged sister Lisa makes funeral arrangements.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 8:00 p.m.
Somewhere Quiet
Dir. by Olivia West Lloyd
Meg is trying to readjust to normalcy after surviving a traumatic kidnapping, but her sense of reality soon starts to deteriorate.November 11 · Regal Riviera · 8:30 p.m.
New York Stories: Jim Jennings
Dir. by Jim Jennings
An 8-film program of shorts spanning four decades of Jennings's career.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 11:15 a.m.
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Dir. by Pat Hartley & Dick Fontaine
In 1980 James Baldwin revisits locations of violent struggle during the Civil Rights movement.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 11:30 a.m.
Music
Dir. by Angela Schanelec
A uniquely personal and elliptical updating of Sophocles's Oedipus Rex.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 1:00 p.m.
Filming in Tennessee
Pres. by Tennessee Entertainment Commission
Join Executive Director, Bob Raines, and Visit Knoxville Film Office Director, Curt Willis, for a conversation.November 12 · Hyatt Place · 1:30 p.m.
Lousy Carter
Dir. by Bob Byington
After receiving a grim diagnosis, middle-aged literature professor Lousy Carter reevaluates the relationships in his life.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 1:30 p.m.
Mambar Pierrette
Dir. by Rosine Mbakam
Pierrette carries on as best as she can, laughing and commiserating with her neighbors.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 3:20 p.m.
One More Week
Dir. by Samuel Wayne Scott
The seniors of West High attempt to win a state championship as they come to terms with the end of high schoolNovember 12 · Regal Riviera · 3:45 p.m.
About Thirty
Dir. by Martín Shanly
Arturo's penchant for indiscretions is impossible to overlook.November 12 · Regal Riviera · 5:20 p.m.
