“I’ve always been interested in movies ever since I was a kid,” says Jamison Stalsworth.
Stalsworth was known for being the kid with a video camera in his backyard or in his bedroom. Whether it be just experimenting or making stop motion, he was always filming.
“It was just something that never left me. I kept thinking, ‘This is just a fantastic career path that I would be really fortunate to be a part of.’”
Knoxville’s film industry has been on the rise in recent years with more and more notable filmmakers and films coming out of East Tennessee. According to WATE 6, Knoxville’s film industry has, again, been named one of Moviemaker Magazine’s best places to work as a filmmaker in 2024.
Curt Willis, the Film Office Director at Visit Knoxville, says that Knoxville has always had a strong reality and true crime presence in the film industry. However, feature films and scripted films were what Knoxville was missing.
“Nothing was consistent, so when I took a job in the film office to make Knoxville a bigger film industry, I tried to bring in more feature or scripted films,” says Willis. “Since 2016, we’ve recruited close to 20 feature films.
Willis got into the world of independent film in 2007 by producing a screenplay titled “Amateurs The Movie.” He was using Visit Knoxville as an office location and heard that plans to open a film office were in the works for 2014.
“Obviously being a local filmmaker, I wanted to be a part of that and landed that job in 2014. And 10 years later I’m still here,” says Willis.
Stalsworth, a local filmmaker, has seen the industry grow in Knoxville, leading to more opportunities for him and other filmmakers.
“Being born and raised in Knoxville, it has come a long way since I was a kid. I remember growing up and being apprehensive that I’d have to move to a big city to pursue [film]. It was fortunate that as I got older and tried to get into film and television, Knoxville was also coming up in a big way,” says Stalsworth.
Stalsworth had a win at the Nashville Film Festival back in September this year. His film was titled “A Man Called Hurt: The Life and Music of Mississippi John Hurt,” which followed the life of the blues musician.
Stalsworth describes the experience as surreal with the initial ten-minute documentary growing into a full feature film over a few years.
“The film was produced through Draft, which is a production company in Knoxville that I’m blessed to be a part of. It was co-directed with Alex Oliver, the CEO of Draft. He started this company in 2007 in Knoxville. Draft has grown from video production to commercial production, local and regional production, and now we’re doing a lot of documentary film work,” says Stalsworth.
The Knoxville Film Festival, which had been around for about 20 years, recently came to an end. Film Fest Knox is Knoxville’s newest and now principal film festival that launched in 2023. The festival is in partnership with Public Cinema, held every November, and brings in films from all over the world.
“Film Fest Knox has been a great fit for us and it was very successful last year. We’re about a month out from year two, and I feel like we’re really building something special with great guests,” says Willis.
This year, the festival will feature Oscar-nominated guests with noteworthy films and panels. Both Willis and Stalsworth note that Film Fest Knox is also a great opportunity for upcoming local filmmakers to network and gain knowledge from others.
“It’s a fantastic outlet for people who are trying to exercise their creativity through filmmaking, especially if they might not know how to get started to just jump in and start making something. Try and fail, or try and succeed and surprise everybody and themselves,” says Stalsworth.