The film is titled SUNDAY DINNER and is a short narrative comedy written by McDaniel. He describes the film as, “When a young pastor and his family have dinner at the home of the chairman of the deacons, anything can happen!”

Extras are needed for a church congregation on Saturday, May 16th from 2-5 pm at the United Church Chapel on the Hill. McDaniel said he needs the extras to be men, women and children – ages 8 to 80.

If you are interested in being an extra in the film, email keith@secretcityfilms.com for more information. If you do not have email and want to participate, call 865-742-8783.

The spill was the result of a breach in a retaining pond, which released more than a billion gallons of fly ash sludge onto the neighboring community and into the Emory River.  It is the largest environmental disaster in the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

In announcing plans for the film, McDaniel, a Roane County native, said, “I grew up in Roane County and my father worked at the Kingston Steam Plant for more than 30 years. As a Roane countian and documentary filmmaker, I feel compelled to make sure this story is told honestly and accurately.”

He added, “Those whose lives have been affected by this disaster are our friends and our neighbors and we have an obligation to document the causes of and the ramifications of this event – not only for the rest of the world but for future generations.”

McDaniel stated he is looking to talk with those whose homes, businesses and/or lives have been affected by the spill. They may contact him by email at keith@secretcityfilms.com or by phone at 865-742-8783.

McDaniel is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and owner of Secret City Films in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. His latest film, THE CLINTON 12, is narrated by actor James Earl Jones and tells the story of the integration of Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee, in August 1956. THE CLINTON 12 is currently being broadcast nationwide on PBS television.

In addition to film screenings, the festival features educational workshops and panels, parties and an awards ceremony honoring the best films of the festival.

2008 is the fifth year of the film festival, which had “humble beginnings” in 2003. McDaniel said, “I started this festival for our local film production community here in East Tennessee and although we still feature local filmmakers, we are now screening films from around the country and throughout the world.”

“The festival has just grown and grown – getting better and better each and every year,” McDaniel added. “More and more local folks are attending the festival and more and more filmmakers are traveling to participate. As a matter of fact, we have filmmakers attending this year from as far away as France.”

The festival begins this year on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 5:00 pm for Free Family Night. “We started family night last year as a way to say thanks to East Tennessee for their support. All the films on Thursday evening are family-friendly, admission is free and we even give away free popcorn,” McDaniel said. The festival continues on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, culminating with the awards ceremony Sunday evening. McDaniel said, “We present awards at the end of the festival to honor those films which our judges consider to be outstanding.”

“The festival is also a great opportunity for our East Tennessee filmmaking community to get together and celebrate their efforts. It also gives the public a chance to meet and mingle with these filmmakers and view their work,” McDaniel added. “We have a great time every year and this year looks to be the best festival we have ever presented.”

“One of the things I am most excited about this year is our partnership with the Metroscope website. Trailers and clips from almost all of the films to be screened at this year’s festival can be viewed at www.metropulse.com/videos. This way, folks have an opportunity to check out the films prior to the festival. We have lots of fun things in store this year for the festival and want to invite all “filmlovers” to come out and join us,” McDaniel said.

Full Festival Passes are available for purchase for $75 per person. However, they may be purchased online for only $60 through the month of September by visiting www.thesecretcitystore.com. Other ticket packages are also available, as well as festival schedule and film descriptions, by visiting  www.secretcityfilmfestival.com. For more information, or to volunteer to help with the festival, email keith@secretcityfilms.com.

That said, I have just finished watching The Clinton 12 on PBS (Tivo to be more specific) and I was moved and inspired by the story. When I went to public schools in Connecticut in the 70′s and 80′s the schools were completely integrated and despite living in Knoxville for ten years now I had only limited knowledge of Clinton’s role in public school integration and the civil rights movement as a whole.

In previous docs, Keith has taken subjects as expansive and complicated as the Manhattan Project and presented them in such a way that historians and laymen alike are able to comprehend and appreciate the enormity of the story and come out richer for the experience. In The Clinton 12 McDaniel’s tells his most powerful story to date with powerful first hand accounts accented by a wealth of archival footage.

It’s a story of a nation divided and a community united. It’s a powerful film that illustrates how the strength of a community can impact an entire nation. Fifty years later it acts as a cautionary tale to show how far we have come and how far we still have to go.

More importantly, in my eyes, it’s a great example of how one filmmaker can cast a spotlight on a nearly forgotten but pivotal moment in our nation’s history. A story that could only be told by a filmmaker who grew up near that community and refuses to boil the argument down to simple sound bites and allows the story to be told by the people who lived it and were changed by it.

Every day our history is being written and re-written and this revision of history rarely focuses on the hard moments in our past. There’s a tendency in our culture to sweep the awkward historical events under the carpet. The United States has never apologized for our history of slavery and the story of civil rights that is taught in our schools does not do credit to the children like those of the Clinton 12. These 12 kids did not choose to make history but were thrust into it by forces that must have seemed incomprehensible and frightening at the time.

The documentary is informative and entertaining without becoming preachy or sentimental. It’s a powerful and incisive story that should be required viewing for every student in this country. If you didn’t happen to catch the show on PBS, you can purchase the DVD at www.thesecretcitystore.com. By purchasing a DVD you are not only getting a great documentary film, but you are also helping to support a great documentary filmmaker.

Written by Michael Samstag for Knoxville Films

View the trailer: