(Today’s article is by guest writer Robert Farago.)
My elevator pitch: check out Inside of Knoxville’s pithy peek at the aspiring moviemakers competing for cash and professional mentoring at the 2024 Film Fest Knox’s Elev8tor Pitch contest. Eight finalists. One winner. Yes?
A few months before Film Fest Knox opened for business, 21 filmmakers submitted a five-to-eight-minute movie to a prestigious four-judge jury, hoping to secure a chance to level-up their filmic love child at Film Fest Knoxville’s Development Lab. A cinematic incubator’s run by Paul Harrill, Elev8tor Pitch judge, Sundance Festival short film superstar and Co-Chair of Cinema Studies at the University of Tennessee. To one-day please God turn their mini-meisterwerk into a full-length feature film.
Unlike Doctor Harrill’s films, the movies screened at the South Gay Street Regal cinema weren’t fully realized stories. The works on view were carefully-crafted excerpts from what would be a feature film if someone bankrolled the filmmakers’ artistic vision and technical expertise. As the full-house audience would attest, there was a great deal of both on offer.
That’s no sop to Film Fest Knox organizers Visit Knoxville. The audio emanating from Cinema 2’s speakers during Saturday’s Live Pitch Competition screening was evidence enough of world-class filmmaking. From Keep Watch’s gently rattling drawer handles to Episodes’ nerve-racking approaching train, all eight “proof of concept” films offered comprehensively complex and completely credible soundscapes. As Porky Pig didn’t assure moviegoers in the ’30’s, that’s not all folks!
Cinematography, editing, lighting, acting, music – at no point did anyone in the packed theater labor under the impression they were enduring amateur hour. I mean eight minutes. Or feel like they were being forced to suffer cinematographic stunting and flossing. To say the least.
In just its second year of operation, Film Fest Knox’s ability to draw top-flight filmmakers to Regal’s Marble City mecca is beyond reproach. In fact, the main difference between the independent filmmakers’ production values and those of mainstream moviemakers was… nothing.
In terms of the filmmakers’ vision – revealed by the scripts driving their Film Fest Knox’s demi expositions – you probably won’t be surprised to learn there wasn’t a single car chase among them. That said, more than one filmmaker seemed hell-bent on answering the question WWQTD (What Would Quentin Tarantino Do)? Ah, To Hell With It.
In the main, the films’ themes were deeply personal and/or pointedly provocative. Narratives included a father’s decline into dementia (Dad’s Last Beach Trip) and a tangled tale of drug addiction, homicide and guilt, based on a true story (Things We Don’t Talk About).
At the end of the day (Sunday), A Scout is Kind tied-up the Film Fest Knox’s second annual Elev8tor Pitch competition. Elegantly shot, immaculately acted, the victorious vignette focused on the faltering relationship between two lifelong Scouts on the cusp of their college career.
A Scout is Kind’s producers are headed for Film Fest Knox’ Development Lab. The filmmakers are richer by five thousand dollars. A sum that wouldn’t even cover an afternoon’s catering for a major motion picture, never mind compensate Kind’s team for the time and money they spent bringing their film to fruition.
Needless to say, that’s besides the point. The 2024 Elev8tor Pitch contest was a chance for 21 filmmakers to show the world – and themselves – that they have what it takes to make the high quality professional work. Whether or not these or future efforts find commercial success, every contestant emerged from Film Fest Knox’s competition with increased experience and justifiable pride. As does the city that hosted them.