
How do communities support their small businesses?
One answer is a short film which is the direction that Sweetwater selected and Knoxville's a/b studios produced.
While working as the Rural Outreach Coordinator for the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, Amelia Bartlett met county leaders from around East Tennessee, all asking a similar question: How do we support small businesses in our communities?
Today, she offers an innovative answer in her newest venture, regional production company a/b studios that we first spotlighted in this March 28, 2024 teknovation.biz article. On January 22, a/b studios will screen its branded narrative film, How to Get the Girl, which was funded by and made to highlight the City of Sweetwater, TN.
“One of the community’s biggest dreams was to have a Hallmark film made in their town,” Bartlett explains, noting the rom-com (romantic comedy), community-oriented nature of Hallmark movies. “It’s part economic development, part tourism, and part atypical marketing approach while also contributing to the growing conversation around rural filmmaking.”
Shot over a weekend in September 2024, with a cast and crew of 17 people, the film spotlighted five local businesses — including The Lazy Beagle, Cup Runneth Over Coffeehouse, Sweetwater Flower Shop, Sweetwater Antiques, and Sweetwater Creamery. The film also cast locals in extra roles, and ultimately featured the “hearts and smarts” of the charming small town’s Main Street business district.
The resulting seven-minute short film screened at Knox Film Fest in November 2024, as a top-eight finalist in the Elev8tor Pitch Competition.
Many short films serve as proof-of-concepts for a feature length movie. This short, however, will serve as a proof-of-concept for a year-long marketing campaign for the City of Sweetwater, positioning the town as ready for its own feature film.The accompanying “Falling for Sweetwater” travel guide will be built into the Sweetwater website, with much more to come.
“We’re starting with a Valentine’s Day campaign wherein we’re using footage from the film in advertisements and social content while driving traffic back to the travel guide and hopefully through to Main Street businesses,” Bartlett says. “This campaign is part of their larger 150th City Anniversary series of events.”
She said the plan is to track tourism traffic driven by engagement with the film across multiple platforms, from film screenings at festivals across the region to supercuts and vignettes shared through digital channels.
So, how was the project funded?
Thanks to businesses and patrons in Sweetwater along with the city and county governments, sufficient funds were raised to underwrite the labor costs for the entire cast and crew — with Bartlett as Executive Producer, Kate Szekely as Producer, and Stephanie Hong as Writer and Director — as well as the costs needed for production insurance, gear rental, the film’s post-production, and even hiring catering from local Sweetwater restaurants.
In addition to the marketing campaign, a/b studios has its sights set on fulfilling the city’s larger wish of shooting a feature film. “So many Sweetwater community members shared their love stories with us during production. There’s so much authentic material there that Szekely and I are creating a custom feature film script to be set and filmed in Sweetwater,” Bartlett said, adding, “Consider taking your Sweetheart for your own rom-com-inspired Valentine’s Day on the sweetest street in Tennessee.”
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