The local film festival makes its sixth annual run as Made in East Tennessee comes back to the big screens.
On March 21, beginning at 7 p.m., the Real to Reel Theater in Johnson City will be hosting Made in East Tennessee for local filmmakers to get a chance to premiere their works in front of an audience.
Shara Lange, head of the project and associate professor at ETSU, began the film festival to show student-made films and to form a sense of community.
Lange said it’s changed a lot since the event started six years ago, and now they usually show 10 films a year with awards and scholarships given to students. Lange said Made in East Tennessee is all about supporting student filmmakers.
“Why not support people’s hard work and ideas of student film here?” Lange said.
Many of the ETSU faculty also help in setting up the event. The Radio/TV/Film program at ETSU works closely with the rest of the Media and Communication Department to make the night run smoothly.
While many Radio/TV/Film students are the core filmmakers, the submissions are open to all students in the Media and Communication Department.
“Part of it is sharing student work with the community,” Lange said. “When you make a film, you make it to show to an audience. It’s a great chance for the students.”
Sponsors work closely with the event too.
Media companies donate to the awards and scholarships for the students. Two awards include the inspiration award and audience’s favorite award.
“We really appreciate the community’s support,” Lange said. “It’s so great for our students to get the support.”
This year, a variety of nine films will be showing, along with a trailer for an upcoming student film.
“We’ll make a night of it,” Lange said. “It’ll be very fun.”
