Our goal is simple.
Bring amazing filMs to Huntsville.
Posers (SFFF ‘22)
Every story begins with an idea. Ours started with the crazy idea of starting a film festival from the ground up. One random day, Trevite reached out to high school classmate, Kelley, to see if she wanted to bring an amazing film experience to the city…
Southern Fried Film Festival was founded by Trevite Willis, an award-winning producer with over 20 years based in New York, and Kelley Reischauer, a stage, TV, and film actress who spent 20+ years in Chicago and Los Angeles before returning home to Huntsville. Together, they brought the first independent film festival to the city in June 2018.
The inaugural festival ran four days, opening at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Davidson Center before moving to the Parsons Law Library in downtown Huntsville. In those four days, the festival screened over 20 feature and short films and hosted panel discussions with industry leaders and local affiliates — pairing each film's story with a deeper conversation about its themes.
2019 was a year of creative pursuit. Trevite was producing a feature film. Kelley was directing a play. The festival took a deliberate pause.
When the pandemic arrived in 2020, the festival didn't disappear — it adapted. Kelley and Trevite pivoted to a drive-in format at MidCity, launching Southern Fried Film Festival: Under the Stars. Over two days, more than 350 cars packed in per day to watch features and shorts, hear from local musicians and artists, and share the stage with arts and service nonprofits hit hard by COVID-19. The spirit of community showed up — literally.
The most recent chapter brought the festival back to its full four-day format with a hybrid indoor/outdoor experience. Opening night moved to the newly built Orion Amphitheater, with the rest of the festival at 3rd Circle Cellars and the Salty Nut Brewery.
Now in its eighth year, SFFF continues to grow — rooted in Huntsville, shaped by the people who make it.
Meet the Founders
Trevite Willis
Founder, Festival Director
Founder, Board Member