KNOXVILLE, TN (January 18, 2024) – The Visit Knoxville Film Office today announced that Knoxville has again been recognized as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2024.   

This year marks the fourth occurrence of Knoxville’s inclusion in this prestigious list in the “smaller cities and towns” category, claiming the number 6 spot. Knoxville has long been known as a production hub for television and other media content. In the past few years, Knoxville has emerged as a premier destination for independent feature films. The Visit Knoxville Film Office is proud to have Knoxville be recognized alongside Memphis, another established Tennessee production hub, taking the number 21 spot in the “big cities” category.

The article writes, “Knoxville has lured an impressive number of recent TV projects, from true crime like TV One’s Fatal Attraction and Oxygen’s Snapped to adorable and educational Sesame Street fare for Max like Cookie Moster’s Bake Sale, Oscar’s Handmade Halloween and Elmo & Tango’s Holiday Helpers. Films that have taken advantage of the region’s astonishing natural beauty include the Hallmark Channel’s Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance. And recent documentary standouts include Curren Sheldon’s Country Brawlers, a look at rural boxing in Central Appalachia that won the Best Tennessee Feature last year at the highly respected Nashville Film Festival. Filmmakers are drawn by very professional, experienced crews, and by the many gorgeous locations.”

“Last year marked another successful year for the Visit Knoxville Film Office, particularly in hosting our inaugural film festival,” said Kim Bumpas, President of Visit Knoxville. “FILM FEST KNOX was a crowning achievement, showcasing everything from local filmmakers to welcoming talented producers from hubs such as Miami and Los Angeles.”

Remarking on the notable film festival, the article states, “With its first edition this past November, this festival — started by the Visit Knoxville Film Office, Public Cinema, and the locally based Regal Theaters — introduced the American Regional Film Competition, to showcase great work from outside New York City and Hollywood that is too often overlooked. The winner of the competition receives an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run through Regal.”

“We are honored to once again make this top list in MovieMaker Magazine,” said Curt Willis, Director of the Visit Knoxville Film Office. “We are proud to support and represent a community of talented filmmakers, which in turn makes it easy for us to recruit additional film projects to Knoxville.”

MovieMaker compiles its annual list based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research, and personal visits, whenever possible.

https://www.moviemaker.com/best-places-moviemaker-2024/

MovieMaker’s Best Small Cities and Towns to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2024:

  1. Richmond, Virginia
  2. Saint Petersburg, Florida
  3. Las Cruces, New Mexico
  4. Boulder, Colorado
  5. Knoxville, Tennessee
  6. Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
  7. Wilmington, North Carolina
  8. Savannah, Georgia
  9. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  10. Santa Fe, New Mexico

MovieMaker is dedicated to the art and craft of making movies. Their list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2024 appears in the winter issue which will be on newsstands next week and distributed at Sundance Film Festival.

ABOUT THE VISIT KNOXVILLE FILM OFFICE The Visit Knoxville Film Office, established under Visit Knoxville in 2014, serves to strengthen Knoxville’s economy through the promotion of the city as a premiere filming location. By attracting motion media companies to Knoxville through the marketing of its locations, accommodations, services, crew, and talent, the Film Office fosters the creation of jobs in the area, stimulates business opportunities, and generates exposure. Knoxville has four times been named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. The Film Office also hosts an annual film festival, FILM FEST KNOX. For more information, visit filmknoxvilletn.com and follow on Facebook.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Tim Molloy Editor-in-chief MovieMaker Magazine tim.molloy@moviemaker.com

Kristen Combs Director of Communications Visit Knoxville (865) 306-4341 kcombs@knoxville.org