FILM FEST KNOX

06/09/2026

New for 2026, FILM FEST KNOX is partnering with .acre.films to direct the Elev8or Pitch Development Lab.

Since 2013, producers Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams, Co-Founders of Ten Acre Film and members of Producers United, have produced over twenty feature films, twice being nominated as producers for Film Independent Spirit Awards (Producers Award, 2019; John Cassavetes Award, 2013). Ten of their features have premiered at Sundance, including Boots Riley’s Independent Spirit Award-winning Sorry to Bother You. An additional six films have premiered at SXSW, including 6 Years (Netflix) and I Used to Go Here starring Gillian Jacobs and Jemaine Clement. Other films have premiered at festivals including Berlinale, Tribeca, Cannes, and Toronto International Film Festival. Recent highlights include Bleecker Street’s What Happens Later directed by and starring Meg Ryan, Yen Tan’s All That We Love starring Margaret Cho and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (screened at FILM FEST KNOX in 2024), and The Senior, starring Michael Chiklis & Mary Stuart Masterson.

Duffy is an Associate Producer of Blueback (tiff 2022/Sundance 2023), Executive Producer of Buoyancy (Berlinale 2019) and The Sound of Silence (Sundance 2019), and Co- Executive Producer of Before You Know It (Sundance 2019). Duffy is an alumnus of the Rotterdam Producing Lab, Cannes Producers Network, Sundance Producing Summit, Catalyst Program and SFFILM’s Producers Fellowship, and a Stowe Story Labs mentor.

Williams is a Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow and a Sundance Institute Catalyst Fellow. He is also a past lecturer at the University of Tennessee and current lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to producing, he worked as a film programmer for various film festivals and was awarded the 2007 International Film Festival Summit Excellence Award.

Please join us in celebrating this exciting partnership!

06/05/2026

📢 Elev8or Pitch Registration is officially OPEN!

FILM FEST KNOX provides space for local filmmakers to share their craft and passion with a large audience, and the Elev8or Pitch takes this a few steps further:

- Filmmakers submit an 8-minute stand-alone short film as a proof-of-concept to establish a foundation for a full-length feature film’s potential production.
- In addition to their short film, each competitor submits a 60-second pitch to share their idea, as well as how and why they are ready to make it into a feature film.
- A jury of film industry professionals will evaluate all team submissions.
- All finishing teams will have their films screened in a block during FILM FEST KNOX.
- The top 8 Elev8or finalists will be asked to give a live pitch following their short film’s screening in front of a live audience and a panel of industry professionals, preparing the judges to imagine the feature potential. This will take place on Thursday, November 12.
- The top three teams chosen as the winners of the Elev8or Pitch will be awarded cash prizes and participate in FILM FEST KNOX’s Elev8or Development Lab. The Lab offers workshops and opportunities for the winners to receive feedback and network with established industry professionals.
- All finished projects submitted to the Elev8or Pitch will be eligible for additional awards.

The deadline for registration is July 16, and the Kickoff Party for the Elev8or Pitch will be that evening at 5PM at Scruffy City Hall. All teams are recommended to attend. Specific requirements for the Elev8or Pitch submissions will be revealed at the Kickoff Party.

➡ REGISTER HERE AT FILMFESTKNOX.COM. The registration fee is $80 per team, which includes one full festival pass for the weekend.

06/02/2026

📢 Officially announcing 2026 dates for FILM FEST KNOX: Join us at the Regal Riviera in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, November 12–15!

New for 2026, FILM FEST KNOX is partnering with .acre.films to direct the Elev8or Pitch Development Lab. Registration for the Elev8or Pitch will open on Eventive on June 5, 2026.

Head to filmfestknox.com for all the details!

05/27/2026

“This is a beautiful film, really beautifully made. It really flows, it flows almost like a documentary, but with beautiful aesthetic control. That’s really a difficult tightrope to walk.”

Don't believe us? Take David Cronenberg's word for it! The all-time greatest Canadian filmmaker is such a fan of Blue Heron, he volunteered to moderate a recent screening in Toronto.

See it for free on Wednesday, May 27, at its only Knoxville screening.

05/26/2026

Excited and honored to be included for the second year in a row in MovieMaker Magazine's "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee!" Read all about this accolade here: https://www.moviemaker.com/50-film-festivals-worth-the-entry-fee-2026/

05/19/2026

One perk of having her debut feature distributed by Janus/Criterion is that Sophy Romvari got to visit the closet. What discs would you grab?

The writer and director of BLUE HERON shares how John Cassavetes inspired her own approach to independent filmmaking, praises THE WATERMELON WOMAN and NOT A ...

05/17/2026

Join us next Wednesday, May 27, for Knoxville's only screening of the most critically acclaimed debut film of the year. Currently 97% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes, and 100% fresh among the top critics.

In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island, but their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly dange...

05/07/2026

Excited to support the next generation of filmmakers at Pellissippi State Community College with their inaugural VPT Student Film Festival!

05/01/2026

We had a great time this morning supporting the next generation of filmmakers at Green Magnet Academy in East Knoxville! These talented 5th graders created several film projects for our Visit Knoxville Film Office to judge. "Hot Hands" was the winner in the stop-motion category, and "Choosing Green" was the documentary winner. It's exciting to see their artistic passion and we hope to have more opportunities to stay involved with the filmmakers of tomorrow!