ABOUT: Diagnosed with cancer, a car salesman asks a pastor to help him get right with God. But, when the salesman discovers the pastor can preform miracles, he begs the pastor to heal him. But, in exchange for the salesman’s family.

Born and raised in Knoxville, Crue Smith graduated the University of Tennessee with a degree in cinema studies in 2018. His short films Two Fifty and Borrowers and Lenders were featured in Nashville International Film Festival. His feature-length directorial debut, Angel of Light, premiered at the 15th Soho Film Festival in New York, New York. Follow the film on instagram at @Angeloflightfilm.

UT Alumni who worked on Angel of Light include star David Alley, one of the chairs of UT’s theater program; alumni Kelly Shipe and Jamie Hickman, who also star in the film; composer Matt Honkonen, set designer Marianne Smith, executive producer Scott Smith, key grip Haley Hodges, and production assistants Emily Adams and Tammy Castany, and theatre program alum Luke Atchley.

ABOUT: Jamie works a sterile desk job and nurses a stagnant relationship until a great aunt’s funeral shakes up her life.

Eli Heaton graduated from UTK in 2021 with a bachelor’s in cinema studies and a double-minor in English and Theatre. He has directed a wealth of commercial content with Big Slate Media and eight narrative shorts. He’s a proud producer of many projects by his friends and a founding member of Tennessee-based collective Mesmer Films. Follow him on instragam at @eliheaton_.

Callie Bacon is an actress, writer, and filmmaker whose passion is using comedy as a tool to tell stories about Appalachian women on a broad scale. She graduated from UTK in 2020 with a bachelor’s in Theatre When she’s not working on personal projects, she works at the University of Tennessee for Digital Learning. Follow her on instagram at @callie_bacon.

Many UTK alumni worked on Bless Her Heart, including Ethan Graham Roeder, John Thomas Dickson, Guido Del Rosso, Lena Shoemaker, Ron Levy, Zane Harvey, Jesse Blaylock, Luke Atchley, Brock Ward, and Keegan Tucker. 

ABOUT: A small-town theatre kid struggles with self-doubt during college auditions.

Leigh McTeer Shields is a filmmaker and photographer based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Shields graduated from UT’s Cinema Studies program in 2024 with a minor in theatre. Her previous work has been featured at the Handheld Student Film Festival and Ablaze Magazine’s print publications. You can learn more about her work on her website and by following her on Instagram at @leighmcteer.  
UT Students and Alumni who worked on Hell is High School Theatre include Grace Olen, Guido Del Rosso, Tyler Muchnick, Ben Cline, Elle Hoytt, Caleb McNeil, Daniel Johnson, Lena Shoemaker, Diana Dalton, Wyatt Allison, Develyn Jayan, Alana Mara,
Evan Dovgalyuk, Hannah McNally, Kaitlyn Daniels, Michala Plato and Zane Harvey.          

ABOUT: The bed as a place for comfort and sleep becomes a portal that consumes and transports away from reality, but not to safety. What happens when your escape turns on you, and your brain feeds off its own fears?

Shannon Ferguson is an interdisciplinary artist and animator from Fairview, TX. She graduated with a BFA in Studio Arts from Syracuse University in 2020, and she is currently pursing her MFA in Studio Art- Printmaking at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She works primarily in printmaking and fiber arts, and she investigates themes of comfort, chronic pain, and femininity. Follow her on instagram at @shannonferguson_art.

ABOUT: A lone butcher patching a hole in a worn slaughterhouse closet is attacked by a beast.

John Thomas Dickson is a filmmaker based in Nashville, Tennessee and a graduate of UTK’s cinema studies program. He works as a full-time producer and editor for local independent film productions in Nashville. John has directed several short films that have screened across Tennessee and his short “Enter Recession” screened at the 2020 Nashville Film Festival. His dream is to direct a micro-budget feature film and is currently building his body of work as a director.

ABOUT: This character-based film was made by students at UT and focuses on Brian Beauchene, owner of Pluto Sports.

Jake Morlock is a Knoxville native and graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he majored in Information Science. During his time at UT, he directed and wrote various videos, most notably a short horror film and two documentaries: Batmite and Shooting For An ‘A’, both of which will feature on East Tennessee PBS. He hopes to become a director of his own films, especially in the horror genre.

Emma Caskill expects to graduate in the fall of 2025 with a degree in Journalism. Her passion for journalism arose when she noticed the rising amount of bias in the news. As a student, she has dabbled in multiple different forms of journalism, including cinematography and writing.