Johnson City will host an inaugural film festival on Nov. 8 and 9 in downtown Johnson City. There were 86 films submitted for the festival. Milligan senior Taylor William was among the few that were selected. Along with local filmmakers, there have been submissions from Turkey, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
The festival was created by Josh Mancuso, CEO of Mancuso Entertainment, to give local filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their work, to attract films and people to this region and to encourage independent filmmaking.
Mancuso, who is a filmmaker himself, has wanted to do a festival in Johnson City for years. “The timing had to be right, and I believe now is the time,” he said.
The festival will take place throughout downtown Johnson City, with screenings being held at Willow Tree Coffeehouse, Main Street Theatre and JHR Brewing. The downtown area was chosen to support local businesses and showcase the area.
“We chose downtown because we believe in the revitalization happening there. We encourage festival-goers to take advantage of all that is available downtown,” said Mancuso. “Also, with everything happening downtown, it makes the festival walkable.”
He talked about all that went into choosing the films that were accepted. “We look at the quality of the film and if the film has a good story. We try to select a variety of films so there is something for everyone,” Mancuso said. “But if it’s a good film, it will make the cut.”
Mancuso also talked about his expectations for the festival. He said that since this is the first film festival, he is not quite sure what to expect, but with 86 submissions, he is optimistic. “I just want people to attend the screenings and have fun,” he said. “I am confident it will be a great weekend.”
Williams is also hoping for a great weekend, with two of his films, “Lady Umbrella” and “Worthless Idea,” making it into the festival. “I wasn’t sure if I’d make it in. This is my first festival outside of Milligan, so I was a bit nervous,” he said.
Williams spent over a year making “Lady Umbrella,” which is a homage to all the 1940s thrillers he grew up watching. “Worthless Idea” took an entire semester to create, and Williams explained that it is about “struggling with perfection in creating art and how ideas will come back to you given time.” Both films premiered at Milligan’s short Film Festival back in May 2019.
Freshman Travis Kyker also had his film, “The Richest Man in the Wood,” selected for the festival. His film was created to be stylistically and morally similar to Grimm’s fairy tale, and it was written and shot back in February for a different film festival.
“I first heard about [Johnson City’s] festival when I was touring Milligan as a prospective school. I remembered it a couple weeks ago, and decided to submit something,” Kyker said. “I was super excited when I heard that Richest Man was selected for the festival, and I can’t wait to attend to see what it’s like!”
Erin Donovan, a recent Milligan alum, also has a film in the festival. Her film, “Our Neighbors” is about what it is like to be a queer student on a Christian college campus. The film also takes a look at the culture surrounding homosexuality on a campus such as Milligan’s. Her film also premiered at the Milligan short film festival.
Williams, Donovan and Kyker are excited for the opportunity to be apart of the festival. “It’s an amazing feeling when your art gets noticed,” said Williams. “And being in the inaugural festival for Johnson City made the occasion even more special.”
Headline photo: Williams’ film “Lady Umbrella” will be featured in the festival.