Regal Cinemas and Central Cinema help to make Knoxville a great town for movie-lovers, but Chroma Knox has stepped in to fill a void for those craving something a little more experimental.
Chroma Knox is a free screening series that meets every month, often inside St. James Episcopal Church, giving viewers a unique movie-watching experience with stained-glass ambiance inside the hallowed nave.
Local filmmaker and graphic designer Nathan Swann started the series and tapped film critic and podcast host Bryan Loomis to program films. Through Chroma Knox, the two present arthouse, experimental, international and slow cinema features to a small but growing group of cinephiles.
“It’s about being adventurous and discovering what your taste is and if it might be different than what we’re accustomed to or what’s a quote-unquote ‘normal’ film,” Loomis said.
The series has the flexibility to show movies anywhere and held its last screening at local art studio Spacecraft Knox through a partnership with Olivia Licht of Minute Films Knox.
Swann is looking to nail down some additional alternative venues and would like to show something outdoors. He and Loomis are open to collaborating with venues or organizations to find a film that fits their atmosphere or aligns with their goals.
“Folks are volunteering their spaces for us to use for free, which has been a really neat community partnership thing for us,” Loomis said.
The next screening at St. James is at 8 p.m. Oct. 9, starting with a short film by Yorgos Lanthimos called “Nimic” before a screening of Robert Wiene’s German expressionist silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” The series will return Oct. 23 with David Lynch’s short film “Fire (Pozar),” followed by Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña’s “The Wolf House.”
Chroma Knox posts its monthly screenings on Instagram @chromaknox. It has hosted seven screenings so far:
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria” (with his short film “Blue”)
Jan Švankmajer’s “Alice” (with Maya Deren’s short film “At Land”)
Tyler Taormina’s “Happer’s Comet” (with Deborah Stratman’s short film “In Order Not to Be Here”)
Alan Clarke’s “Penda’s Fen” (with Jonathan Glazer’s short film “The Fall”)
Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” (with Malcolm Le Grice’s short film “Berlin Horse”)
Sergei Parajanov’s “The Color of Pomegranates” (with his short film “Kyiv Frescoes”)
Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors” at Spacecraft Knox (with Guy Maddin’s short film “Seances”)
Chroma Knox held its first screening in March inside St. James Episcopal Church, showing Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” along with his short film “Blue.” Chroma Knox is a free screening series showing experimental and arthouse films.
“We have a consistent little group of people that come every time. We always have new faces almost every time, which is cool,” Swann said. “And typically, the response is always positive. Always, people enjoy it, even when people don’t particularly like the film.”
Chroma Knox admits a fair share of walkouts, but the two aren’t hard-pressed about it. The fact these movies can be shown at all in Knoxville remains a driving factor, and they’re glad to see any response to what they’re showing.
“We’re showing films that aren’t for everyone, and we understand that, so we’re grateful that people are trying them out,” Loomis said.
Chroma Knox wants to show more experimental movies to Knoxville
One of their biggest challenges has been getting the rights to show films and support filmmakers. The series operates with a public performance rights license, which allows them to screen a certain number of movies for free using the free streaming service Kanopy.
Nathan Swann, left, founded Chroma Knox with Bryan Loomis. The two focus on filling a void for movie lovers in Knoxville by showcasing experimental and arthouse films.
They’ve also contacted filmmakers to get permission, Swann said, sharing that Deborah Stratman was very supportive of Chroma Knox showing one of her short films and even added it to her record of places her films have been shown.
“It would be interesting in the future to see if we could do some small fundraising to get enough money to pay for some rights to different things − still pull from Kanopy some but also be able to pay for things that are outside of that parameter,” Swann said.
One film Swann is considering for a future screening is called “Leila and the Wolves,” which is about revolutionary Lebanese and Palestinian women. The screening would act as a fundraiser for efforts related to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
“We’re really hoping to build trust with the people who come out to watch the films and show things that maybe are a little bit more the mainstays of our lane,” Loomis said. “But eventually, we’re hoping to get sort of adventurous and show things that maybe … no one has heard of or no one but us have checked out or very rare, underseen, underappreciated films.”
Chroma Knox has mostly grown on Instagram, reaching nearly 1,000 followers since launching its account in February. For those who haven’t been to a screening, Loomis wants them to know: “You could be exposed to something that makes you feel differently than you’ve felt before. That’s what it’s all about.”
“Films aren’t just the screen; the space that you’re in also influences how you experience the film,” Swann added. “That, too, is something you’re not going to get anywhere else.”
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email [email protected].
Support strong local journalism by subscribing to subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Free Chroma Knox movie screenings show experimental films in Knoxville
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
