Why Cinematary is 'one of Knoxville's better kept secrets' for movie buffs after 11 years

Yahoo

02-05-2025

No matter how you cut it, Knoxville is a movie town, from Regal Cinemas being headquartered here to the independent Central Cinema continuing to grow its Knoxville Horror Film Festival.
But one of Knoxville's "better kept secrets" when it comes to film is a long-running movie podcast called Cinematary, which is celebrating its 500th episode and the start of a new era.
It began 11 years ago in Knoxville, growing its audience internationally over the years with a variety of guests and four hosts who use the platform to share their opinions of movies new and old. They are:
Zach Dennis, audience editor at The Charlotte Observer (Favorite movie: 'Night of the Hunter')
Andrew Swafford, high school English teacher (Favorite movie: 'School of Rock')
Michael O'Malley, high school English teacher (Favorite movie: "Babe")
Grace Winburne, librarian and bartender (Favorite movie: 'Singin' in the Rain")
'Cinematary has been such a foundational part of my life for over a decade now," Dennis told Knox News. "It's been different lately, just kind of taking a step back and reflecting on that. Not only the movies that we saw − the movies that we talked about, the different episodes − but just the people that I met, the friendships and groups that we had through this thing."
The hosts will gather at 8 p.m. May 3 to play Wes Anderson's film "The Grand Budapest Hotel" at Central Cinema, followed by a live podcast commemorating their 500th episode. They'll discuss the film, address the audience and reminisce with an interview conducted by Darren Hughes, co-founder of The Public Cinema and organizer for Film Fest Knox.
The night brings together major players in Knoxville's cinema scene under one roof at 1205 N. Central St., and tickets can be purchased at centralcinema865.com.
Dennis was studying journalism at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville when he wrote an article about the UT Cinema Club and its presidents at the time, Dylan Moore and Andrew Swafford. One of Dennis' classes discussed the newer medium of podcasts, so he pitched an idea to the club presidents.
The first Cinematary episode launched in 2014.
"Podcasting was so new,' Swafford said. 'I think I had listened to some podcasts, but I wasn't quite sure what (Dennis was) asking of us. I thought (he was) maybe asking for us to be on the radio or something."
It took a few episodes for them to find their footing, eventually settling into a groove and starting series that focused on specific film topics. One of the first was called "Young Critics Watch Old Movies," in which they pick landmark films from each decade to discuss, like "The Godfather" and "Blade Runner." The newest iteration includes 'The Phantom Carriage,' 'Pinocchio' and 'Repo Man.'
Some of the other series are "Tennessee Auteurs," "Journalism in Film" and "Cinematary Re-Do," which reappraises films they've covered before.
'It's been kind of our excuse to continue film school to a degree,' Dennis said. 'Eleven years ago, I had such a small movie knowledge, and now I don't know if it's any bigger, but at least I've gone to more places with it."
Since then, the hosts have launched a website and attended multiple film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Knoxville Horror Film Festival. The podcast has featured international guests, from film writers to scholars, and they even talked to the creators of Letterboxd before the movie reviewing app grew in popularity.
'It does feel like one of Knoxville's better kept secrets," Swafford said. "I don't know how big of a Knoxville audience we actually have. A lot of the people who have written into the show are from India or Spain or somewhere − people who are getting pointed our way through internet algorithms."
Previous contributors include Dylan Moore, Lydia Creech, Jessica Carr and Nadine Smith, all of whom helped define the podcast. O'Malley joined in 2017, while Winburne is the newest addition, first appearing in 2020.
'It's been so fantastic to have people like Michael and Grace join because they bring new passion, new ideas, different ways of thinking about things that always kind of refreshes the group,' Dennis said.
The hosts chose "The Grand Budapest Hotel" as their anniversary episode subject for two reasons: It's a big, vibrant film anyone can enjoy, and it's also the first film Cinematary dedicated an entire episode to discussing. It also fits in the "Re-Do" series, and Winburne has a special connection to director Wes Anderson.
'He was the first director for me where I felt like I was establishing my own film taste and aesthetics. I caught him in a pretty influential time," Winburne said. "That first movie for me was 'Moonrise Kingdom,' and then from there I went all the way back and then all the way forward, and I've been a loyal Wes Anderson fan throughout."
The event caps off "Season One of Cinematary," Winburne said, as the group plans to take a brief hiatus afterward. The hosts are reconfiguring Cinematary to produce series that are more focused and that dive into different topics while giving themselves more time for research and stronger production.
Instead of bi-weekly episodes, Cinematary will focus on one series at a time with one episode per week. Once the series concludes, they'll take a break and repeat the process. The length of each series will depend on "what we feel works," Dennis said.
As the hosts prepare for their next chapter, they shared some of their favorite memories from the first 500 episodes.
Favorite memory for Dennis: The first episode and attending the Toronto International Film Festival for the first time.
Favorite memory for Swafford: Anniversary episodes like Cinematary's 200th in which they drunkenly summarized complex movies like David Lynch's 'Mullholand Drive' and Hideaki Anno's 'The End of Evangelion.'
Favorite memory for O'Malley: Covering films screened during the Big Ears Music Festival or curating series, like the ones about international animation and Biblical films. 'Those kinds of series where we allow a main person to curate it is a good excuse to get people to go through your own obsession with you, and I had a good time with that,' he said.
Favorite memory for Winburne: Inviting her dad on Cinematary to discuss David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and flex his film knowledge. "That is definitely an episode I will cherish for the rest of my life, knowing that we got to share in something so special, share our love for cinema with Cinematary and with listenership," she said.
Keenan Thomas reports for the Knox News business growth and development team. You can reach him by email at [e-mail].
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Movie podcast Cinematary based in Knoxville celebrating 500 episodes