Visit Knoxville Announces American Regional Cinema Competition

FILM FEST KNOX, taking place November 6–9, 2025 at the downtown Regal Riveria, announces the lineup of its third annual American Regional Cinema Competition: Bird in Hand, Charliebird, Mouse, Other Houses, and Tropical Park. The Best Film winner will receive an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run, courtesy of Regal. Additional awards include Best Director and a Jury Prize.

The American Regional Cinema Competition is a diverse showcase of the personal, ambitious filmmaking happening outside of the traditional industry capitals of Los Angeles and New York City.

The makers of the competition films will be in attendance to introduce their films, participate in Q&As, and discuss the current state and future of regional cinema.

American Regional Cinema Competition Lineup

Bird in Hand (Dir. Melody Roscher)
90 minutes – Comedy, Drama
Bird in Hand follows a biracial bride-to-be seeking a connection with her charismatic hippie mother, while using her wedding plans to manipulate everyone in her orbit. Shot in Richmond, Virginia.
Nominated for 2025 Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Alisha Wainwright (Raising Dion, Shadowhunters), Christine Lahti (Chicago Hope, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), and Annabelle Dexter-Jones (Succession, American Horror Story).

Charliebird (Dir. Libby Ewing)
98 minutes – Drama, Music
When a music therapist begins working with a unique young patient, she is confronted with her past and what it means to live. Set in a small, rural town in Texas. Shot in Dickinson, Texas. Winner of 2025 Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature at its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Gabe Fazio (The Good Nurse, A Star is Born), Jeffrey Grover (The Alto Knights, Dark Waters), and Samantha Smart (Bull, Tommy).

Mouse (Dir. Kenny Riches)
105 minutes – Drama
A petty thief living with his mother signs up for a penpal service in hopes of finding a friend, or maybe more. Unfortunately, his penpal has other other plans. Shot in Salt Lake City, Utah. Winner of the Grand Chameleon Award and Best Narrative Feature at its premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival. Starring Kimball Farley (The Righteous Gemstones, Queens of the Dead), Sarah Coffey (31 Candles, The Eighth Day), and Kenny Riches (The Strongest Man, A Name Without a Place).

Other Houses (Dir. S. Cagney Gentry and Thomas Southerland)
95 minutes – Drama
World Premiere
Immigrant Radka Winslow must choose between the American Dream or living a creative life back in Bulgaria. Other Houses tells the poetic and funny story of Radka’s life-changing summer of choices. Shot in Lexington, Kentucky. Starring Katerina Stoykova (Fort Maria, Proud Citizen) and Jude McPherson.

Tropical Park (Dir. Hansel Porras Garcia)
88 minutes – Drama
During a driving lesson, two Cuban siblings: a newly arrived trans woman and her estranged conservative brother, face each other for the first time in years, with Miami passing silently outside the windows. Shot in Miami, Florida. Starring Ariel Texido (Dueños del Paraíso, Marido En Alquiler), Lola Bosch.

American Regional Cinema Competition Jury

FILM FEST KNOX is pleased to welcome an accomplished, three-person jury for the American Regional Cinema Competition. Each is a leader in various fields of the industry, including filmmaking, criticism, festival programming, and distribution.

Bedatri Choudhury
Bedatri D. Choudhury is The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Arts and Entertainment Editor. Before this, she worked extensively with documentary films, particularly in the areas of program management and commissioning. She was most recently the Managing Editor of Documentary magazine, and is a programmer with DOCNYC, True False, and SFFILM. An alumna of the NYFF Critics Academy, Sundance and SXSW Press Inclusion Initiatives, the National Critics’ Institute, and Berlinale Talents, she can often be heard on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour.

James M. Johnston
James M. Johnston produced and directed Second Unit for the films The Green Knight, The Old Man and the Gun, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and the upcoming Mother Mary from A24. He also directed Second Unit for Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy and Netflix’s Last Letter from Your Lover. He has directed multiple short films that have played to acclaim at festivals around the world, including the award-winning Melville, which IndieWire called one of the best American short films of 2015. Up next is his feature debut, Strawweight.

Ryan Krivoshey
A veteran of the independent film scene, Ryan Krivoshey founded the award-winning distribution company Grasshopper Film in 2015, hailed as “one of the most artistically daring of distributors” (The New Yorker). With its adventurous slate, Grasshopper has built a reputation for introducing audiences to provocative documentaries and bold works from both emerging and celebrated filmmakers. In 2025, Ryan co-founded Correspondent, where he serves as President, a production company committed to developing artistic, cinematic, and boundary-pushing films.

Full Festival Passes and VIP Passes are now on sale.

About Regal
Regal operates one of the largest and most geographically diverse theatre circuits in the United States, consisting of 5,565 screens in 409 theatres in 41 states along with the District of Columbia and Guam as of April 30, 2025. Regal is focused on delivering the best moviegoing experience by providing our guests with the largest selection of premium large formats (including 4DX, IMAX, RPX, and ScreenX), the only unlimited subscription program, and enhanced food and beverage offerings to make every visit to the theatre a truly memorable experience. Additional information is available online at REGmovies.com.

About The Public Cinema
The Public Cinema was created to share vital works of contemporary international and American cinema—works that might otherwise be unseen or overlooked by Knoxville audiences. Most of the films screened are discoveries from the festival circuit; many are Tennessee or regional premieres. Whatever is screened, the only agenda is to create a space for cinema as an art form and to promote discussion among discerning moviegoers. For more information visit publiccinema.org.

About the Visit Knoxville Film Office
The Visit Knoxville Film Office serves to strengthen Knoxville’s economy through the promotion of the city as a premiere filming location. By attracting motion media companies to Knoxville through the marketing of its locations, accommodations, services, crew, and talent, the Film Office fosters the creation of jobs in the area, stimulates business opportunities, and generates exposure. Knoxville has five times been named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. For more information visit filmknoxvilletn.com and follow on Facebook.