More than 20 short films screened at one-day Southern Oasis Film Festival
This month, local niche theater Central Cinema hosted the second annual Southern Oasis Film Festival. More than 20 short films, many of which were produced locally, were screened at the 96-seat venue on Saturday, Feb. 8. The event welcomed filmmakers, their friends and families and excited moviegoers alike, and it awarded trophies for best director, writer, film and many others.
The day was broken into four film blocks, with the final two packed with films made in and around Knoxville and its surrounding counties. The last block of the day screened all entries to a timed film competition entitled Two Week Twister. Actor and writer Tyler Broadway explained the parameters of the competition:
“Local filmmakers have two weeks to write, shoot, edit and submit a short film that’s anywhere from 7 to 13 minutes [long]. It’s pretty fun, and it motivates you to get up to make a film. You’re given an object, a line of dialogue and an action that needs to be crucial to the story.”
“The Interview,” the film Broadway co-wrote, went on to win awards for best writing, best twist and best film – the top prize in that particular competition.
Thomas Moore, founder of Southern Oasis, buzzed around Central Cinema all day, hardly able to take a break from all the excitement. The local filmmaker started the festival last year when he heard conversation around town about potential bias in the film community.
“The only goal is to give [filmmakers] a place to play films that they’ve worked hard on,” Moore said of his creation. “At some point, some of these people were frowned upon because of who they were or what they made. Here, [our judging] is based on the technical grading of the film.”
Though he runs Southern Oasis, Moore doesn’t judge the films or submit his own for screening. He secures judges from outside the community and creates an inclusive space where all filmmakers and types of films can have their time on the big screen.
In addition to “The Interview,” big winners at the 2020 festival included August Aguilar’s “Pandora” and “Papa,” which saw Brian Peery take top awards for writing, direction and short film.
What was most striking about the material on display was the diversity of its subject matter and the many styles of the films that were shown. For example, audiences were able to laugh at “Re:Visions,” a dark comedy/thriller parody about a marketing team receiving last-minute revisions from its director of marketing, which was shot at local design house Designsensory. They also cringed – but couldn’t look away – as a monstrous mother ate special-effects flesh right in front of the camera in “Happy Mother’s Day,” another of Aguilar’s contributions.
Overall, thanks to Southern Oasis and Central Cinema, audiences got an inside peek into the fast-growing Knoxville film scene. At the end of the festival, Moore reminded attendees: “Don’t be afraid to watch films that weren’t made in Hollywood. Some really great films come through [this festival] that audiences normally wouldn’t see. If you see a local film festival, you should go check it out.”
