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Actors Hal Holbrook and Dually the dog prepare to film a scene for the movie "That Evening Sun" Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008 in Rockford, Tenn.
OAK RIDGE - "That Evening Sun," a film that was shot in and around Knoxville in summer 2008, continued its festival hot streak at the awards ceremony for the sixth annual Secret City Film Festival on Sunday night.
The drama, which stars Hal Holbrook and Ray McKinnon, was named Best Feature Film by the judges, in addition to capturing the audience award for best feature. Larsen Jay, one of the film's executive producers, praised his fellow filmmakers, thanked the crowd and festival organizers, and said "That Evening Sun" represents the filmmaking talent available in East Tennessee.
"We know what we're doing here," he said at the ceremony for the festival, which was held at the Oak Ridge Playhouse.
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The Best Short Film award went to "Gone Fishing," a seriocomic tale from the United Kingdom about catching a mythic pike and accepting death. A winner at multiple festivals, "Gone Fishing" stars Scottish-born acting veteran Bill Paterson ("Comfort and Joy"). The winner for best documentary came from New York: "Signs of the Time," a look into the genesis of baseball hand signals narrated by Richard Dreyfuss.
"Night Rituals," the story of a student having an overwhelming week, submitted from Pennsylvania, won for Best Student Film. The film's star, Hannah Bailey, is a newcomer to acting but not to film: She was one of the key high-schoolers featured in the 2008 documentary "American Teen," an award-winner at the Sundance Film Festival.
The first awards were revealed Saturday night after two former Oak Ridgers who've made good in Hollywood shared some of their experiences and insights with an attentive crowd in an event billed as "A Homecoming Conversation with Mitch Rouse and Elaine Hendrix."
Festival founder/director Keith McDaniel presented both writer-actor Rouse, co-creator of the Comedy Central cult favorite "Strangers With Candy" and an alumnus of "According to Jim," and actor-producer Hendrix, who has nine film projects on deck and can be seen on next Monday's episode of "Castle" on ABC, with the Founder's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film and Television.
An offbeat tale of friendship and the appreciation of art, "This Is Not the South," was named the Best Tennessee Film. Shot in and around Bristol, Tenn., by first-time writer-director Derek Davidson, the film incorporates NASCAR, the Civil War legacy, pickup trucks, shoplifting and the work of 20th-century surrealist Rene Magritte. Davidson's wife, Karen Sabo, produced the film as her master's thesis at East Tennessee State University.
Best Southern Film and Audience Favorite for short film went to an Arkansas entry, "Where's My Close-up, Mr. Thornton?" One of the film's stars, Arkansas native Natalie Canerday, also appeared in "Port City," which took second place in the feature category.
On Saturday morning, Canerday, who has become a strong supporter of the Secret City festival, co-headlined an acting workshop with Maryville-based actor David Dwyer.
Canerday's contributions also included the Natalie Canerday "Bless Their Heart" Award, which went to "Donut Heaven." The comical short made in Florida by New York director Annetta Marion shows a feuding daughter and mother trying to resolve their conflicts with a bet concerning their bad habits.
Second-place juried finishers included the short "Home Field Advantage," documentary "Seed to Stalk: A Sorghum Tradition," Southern film "Penny," Tennessee film "Eleven" and student film "She Sang, She Directed." "Melting of the Globe" was named Audience Favorite for documentary.
The festival's inaugural 7-Day Shoot-out, in which filmmaking teams had seven days to make a seven-minute film, awarded first place to "Roger Dodger: A Change WE Can Believe In," directed by Michael Samstag, and second place to "Hey Now," directed by Jeff Delaney and John Stewart. "Roger Dodger" also won Audience Favorite in the shootout.
A special award for Best Film by a 12-Year-Old went to Chase Hartsook of Lenoir City for his novel romantic comedy "Third Rate Romance."
Betsy Pickle is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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