Putting old films in conversation with new; expanding our sense of regional cinema
Revival
Film festivals are rare opportunities to put older, under-seen work in conversation with new films, like songs in a playlist. The Revival program at FILM FEST KNOX is intended to expand our understanding of American regional cinema by screening recent restorations and rediscoveries.
2026 Program
Eye of God
Dir. by Tim Blake Nelson
Two tragedies unfold in a small Oklahoma town. Nelson's debut feature as writer/director.Nov. 13 · Regal 1 · 2:00 p.m.
I Used to Be Darker
Dir. by Matthew Porterfield
A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore and finds their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis.Nov. 14 · Regal 1 · 9:30 p.m.
Mississippi Triangle
Dir. by Christine Choy, Worth Long and Allan Siegel
An intimate portrait of life in the Mississippi Delta, where Chinese, African Americans, and whites live in a complex world of cotton, labor, and racial conflict.Nov. 13 · Regal 1 · 5:00 p.m.
Wendigo
Dir. by Larry Fessenden
When a family heads upstate for a weekend getaway, a fluke accident alters their lives forever and conjures the ferocious spirit of the Wendigo.Nov. 13 · Regal 1 · 10:00 p.m.
2025 Program
A Ghost Story
Dir. by David Lowery
A recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.Nov. 9 · Regal 1 · 2:00 p.m.
Edited Documents: Films by Peter Bundy
Nine Short Films
A survey of work made by regional filmmaker Peter Bundy between 1978-1982.Nov. 8 · Regal 2 · 11:30 a.m.
Songs and Stories: Short Films by Sailor Bear
Seven Short Films
A program of rarely-screened films by Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, and David Lowery.Nov. 9 · Regal 2 · 12:00 p.m.
Spring Night Summer Night
Dir. by J.L. Anderson
Jessica, the eldest daughter of a coal miner-turned-farmer, has a fling with her half-brother Carl, which complicates things more when she becomes pregnant.Nov. 7 · Regal 2 · 5:45 p.m.
The Old Man & the Gun
Dir. by David Lowery
In his final leading role, Robert Redford plays a real-life prison escapee who became a folk hero after pulling off several bank heists at 70.Nov. 7 · Regal 2 · 8:00 p.m.
2024 Program
Desert Hearts
Dir. by Donna Deitch
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed professor is unexpectedly seduced by a carefree, spirited young woman.Nov. 16 · Regal Riviera · 7:45 p.m.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Dir. by John D. Hancock
A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse.Nov. 15 · Regal Riviera · 10:00 p.m.
Northern Lights
Dir. by John Hanson & Rob Nilsson
The bitter-sweet story of young lovers caught up in a political struggle waged by farmers against the grain trade, the banks, and the railroads.Nov. 15 · Regal Riviera · 5:45 p.m.
Wanda
Dir. by Barbara Loden
Wanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.Nov. 17 · Regal Riviera · 11:30 a.m.
2023 Program
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.
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.
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.
