Paul Harrill, Light from Light (still), 2019.

Paul Harrill is the Dee & Jimmy Haslam Chair in Cinema Studies. With Maria Stehle, is the Co-Chair of UT’s Cinema Studies program. He teaches courses in filmmaking.

Harrill’s films have screened around the world theatrically, at festivals and museums, on television, and via streaming platforms. Venues include Sundance, The Museum of Modern Art, PBS and Netflix.

Light From Light, Harrill’s latest feature, stars Marin Ireland and Jim Gaffigan. The film was produced by Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Sailor Bear (The Old Man and the Gun), Ten Acre Films (Sorry to Bother You), and Ley Line Entertainment.Upon its premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival it was called “a remarkable achievement” (C. Mason Wells, Film Comment), “transfixing” (David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter), and “a gem” (Elizabeth Weitzman, The Wrap). Light From Light was given a 20+ city theatrical release by Grasshopper Film and earned the “Certified Fresh” distinction from Rotten Tomatoes.

Harrill’s debut feature Something, Anything was named a New York Times Critics’ Pick, earned an “Essential Viewing” tag from The Dissolve, and was called a work of “simple, unforgettable beauty” on RogerEbert.com.  His short films include Gina, An Actress, Age 29, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and Quick Feet, Soft Hands, a co-production with the Independent Television Service starring Greta Gerwig.

From 2005-2015, Harrill maintained a filmmaking blog, selfreliantfilm.com, to champion personal, regional, and do-it-yourself cinema. That site evolved into a production/distribution company, which has been involved in the production of award-winning regional films like Thomas Southerland and S. Cagney Gentry’s Fort Maria and Cameron Bruce Nelson’s Some Beasts.

Harrill’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, IFP, The MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, SouthArts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Aperture Film Grant, among others.