Knox County Public Library is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Agee by teaming up with TAMIS (Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound) and the University of Tennessee to present the James Agee Centennial Film Festival October 23-25, 2009.
Although generally remembered as an author, James Agee was known in his lifetime for film criticism, screenplays and other film work. The public is invited to celebrate his love of cinema with screenings of movies that influenced him, those that were championed by him, and even Agee's own work. The Festival features an impressive collection of unique and rarely seen films, paired with lectures and commentaries by Agee scholars. It is hoped that a weekend-long celebratory screening of Agee's work in film can help promote a re-evaluation of James Agee's important work within the motion picture industry, in which he spent a good portion of his latter-day career.
The James Agee Centennial Film Festival is part of the James Agee Centennial Festival. See the complete schedule of events, view rare historic pictures of the Agee family, and learn more about the speakers and films at
www.knoxlib.org/agee100.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street
7-10 p.m.
FILM SCREENING: Easy Street (1917), Charles Chaplin
DISCUSSION BY: John Wranovics on "The Political Side of Chaplin that Inspired Agee"
FILM SCREENING: Monsuier Verdoux (1947), Charles Chaplin
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
The Square Room, 4 Market Square
10:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
FILM SCREENING: The Blue Hotel (from Omnibus, 1956)
John Wranovics will speak on "Agee and the Filipino Epic Genghis Khan"
FILM SCREENING: Genghis Khan (1950)
Wranovics' personal collection of materials relating to Agee's screenplays will be on display.
2:00-3:30 p.m.
DISCUSSION BY John Wranovics on "The Quiet One a forgotten milestone in American Documentary filmmaking"
FILM SCREENING: The Quiet One (1948)
3:45-5:30 p.m.
DISCUSSION BY: Jeffrey Couchman on "Collaborating on a Classic: Agee and Huston Aboard The African Queen"
FILM SCREENING: The African Queen (1951)
8:00 -11:00 p.m. Admission $5
DISCUSSION BY: David Auburn on "Agee Comes to Yellow Sky"
FILM SCREENING: The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (from Face to Face,1952)
COMMENTS AND READING by Jack Neely
TAMIS presents Agee: Lost and Found Footage-rare glimpses of Ageeana from All the Way Home (1963), Cades Coves, Fort Sanders, and the Southern Railway
READING BY RB Morris of James Agee's Last Letter from his play The Man Who Lives Here is Looney
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25
The U.S. Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre, 803 S Gay St.
Admission $7
1-2:30 p.m.
DISCUSSION BY Ross Spears, producer of AGEE
FILM SCREENING: Agee (1980)
3-5 p.m.
DISCUSSION BY Jeffrey Couchman on "Vision and Revision: James Agee and Charles Laughton Adapt The Night of the Hunter"
TAMIS presents 35mm restored nitrate local film trailers (10 minutes)
FILM SCREENING: The Night of the Hunter-restored version (1955)
Q&A Session with Jeffrey Couchman
This program is possible through support from the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), The University of Tennessee and the Friends of the Knox County Public Library. For more information on the James Agee Centennial Film Festival, please contact Nelda Hill at 215-8767.
What is TAMIS?
The Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and providing access to the moving image and recorded sound heritage of our region.
Film archivists Bradley Reeves and Louisa Trott established the archive in November 2005. Since then they have been tracking down and preserving historical images and recordings, and have built up a large collection of film, video and sound recordings relating to the history and culture of East Tennessee.