Mossy Creek Documentary Festival Slated for April 10

“Inspire” has been chosen as the theme of Carson-Newman College’s Mossy Creek Documentary Arts Festival on Tuesday, April 10. The daylong festival, which is free and open to the public, begins at 10:30 a.m. and will be held in Phoenix Theater, part of Henderson Humanities Building.

Seven diverse and thought-provoking films have been chosen to represent the theme.

Films with local flavor include Valley of Independence, featuring the surprising history of Grainger County, and Nashville Rises, which explores the city’s destruction and recovery from flooding two years ago. A C-N student production titled Day by Day follows a group of students who for one month put into practice suggestions taken from the Pal’s restaurant sign marquee.

Ed’s Story: It Ain’t Over is a short film that examines a man’s resilient spirit despite the diagnosis of a terminal illness.

The festival will include a special university screening of a work in progress, Rising from Ashes, which tells the story of Rwanda’s first national bicycling team. Another festival film, BTS: A Documentary about Making Documentaries, takes the audience behind the scenes in the making of that film.

Sure to be a favorite is Being Elmo, the Sundance Award-winning film about the African-American creator of one of the world’s most beloved puppets. Alpha Chi Honor Society will host a fundraiser featuring children’s games and story time. The party is slated to begin at 2 p.m. and the film will follow at 3:30 p.m.

Breakout sessions with directors, cinematographers, producers and composers will allow audience members to learn more about the ins and outs of documentary filmmaking. A student photography competition will also explore images that create a sense of inspiration.

The festival’s full schedule is available at (http://www.commatcn.com). For more information, contact Dr. Mark Borchert at 865-471-3294 or mborchert@cn.edu.