Film
PRESENTS
BIG EARS 2024 FILM PROGRAM
Big Ears Festival teams up with filmmakers and curators Lily Keber and Zac Manuel to present a full docket of feature-length films and shorts for the 2024 festival, returning to the Regal Riviera in downtown Knoxville.
Music is an integral component of any piece of cinema. This year’s film program is an ode to all that music and cinema together can unlock- the intricacies of the human experience, the complexities of love and loss, the emotional depths of sickness and healing, and the transformative power of creation. This curation of films explores the remarkable story behind the creation of 1990’s psychedelic rock, the sonic innovations of Detroit techno, the untold histories of Black Appalachia, and the mythos of Americana through archetypal interpretations of cowboy iconography and real life pioneers. These intersections of cultural histories and personal narratives depict the interconnectedness of our lives, both here on earth and in realms beyond. We are excited to share this collection of films for 2024’s Big Ears Music and Film Festival and together witness the universal resonance of music as the heartbeat of storytelling.
Sisters with Transistors
Written and Directed by Lisa Rovner
22 09 AM / EST
Mississippi River Styx
Co-directed by Tim Grant and Andy McMillan
22 11 AM / EST
The Tuba Thieves
Directed by Alison O’Daniel
22 12 PM / EST
GOD SAID GIVE ‘EM DRUM MACHINES
Directed by Kristian R. Hill, Produced by Jennifer Washington
22 02 PM / EST
Charles Lloyd: Arrows into Infinity
A film by Dorothy Darr and Jeffrey Morse
22 03 PM / EST
Kite Zo A
Directed by Kaveh Nabatian
23 09 AM / EST
ANCIENT VOICES: A Film for George Crumb
Directed by Tristan Cook (World Premiere)
23 10 AM / EST
The Other One
Written and Directed by Henry Threadgill
23 11 AM / EST
Home of the Brave
Written and directed by Laurie Anderson
23 12 PM / EST
The Elephant 6 Recording Co.
Directed and Produced by C.B. Stockfleth
23 02 PM / EST
O Pioneer
Directed by Clara Lehmann and Jonathan Lacocque
23 03 PM / EST
Not Not Jazz
Directed by Jason Miller (Tennessee Premiere)
24 10 AM / EST
American Symphony
Directed by Matthew Heineman, Produced by Lauren Domino
24 11 AM / EST
Artist Talk: Deconstructing the Soundtrack with Blake Leyh
24 12 PM / EST
Music for Black Pigeons
Directed by Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed (US Premiere)
24 12 PM / EST
Allen Toussaint: The Songwriter Tapes
Exclusive Sneak Preview
24 03 PM / EST
Carpet Cowboys
Directed by Emily MacKenzie & Noah Collier (Knoxville Premiere)
24 03 PM / EST
Liberated Landscape: Black Appalachian Ohio
Directed by William Isom II (World Premiere)
Lily Keber, Curator
Lily is a filmmaker and educator based in New Orleans. Her directorial debut, Bayou Maharajah, premiered at SXSW in 2013 and has since won many awards including the Oxford American Award for Best Southern Film and Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ Documentary Of The Year. Lily is a co-founder of New Orleans Video Voices, a women-led collective dedicated to increasing media literacy across the Gulf South. In 2015, she was commissioned by Time Inc. to contribute to their coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s 10-year anniversary. The resulting film, Everything Is To Be Continued, exposes how Black working musicians have been excluded from New Orleans’ economic recovery. Lily’s second feature documentary Buckjumping premiered in October 2018 to the largest audience ever assembled at the New Orleans Film Festival.
Zac Manuel, Curator
Zac Manuel (b. 1989) is a director and cinematographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Zac’s work in documentary draws from complex legacies of Southern identity, with particular interest in the impacts of history and inheritance on Black communities. Zac uses his camera to create bridges of intimacy and transparency between himself and his films’ participants, with a collaborative and improvisational shooting style inspired by the movements and rhythms of jazz.
