MOUNT VERNON — Knox County’s cultural nucleus comes alive beneath the midway lights for one week each summer.
The Knox County Fair is the payoff of an entire year of preparation for hundreds of local residents. It’s also a gathering place for a community built on agriculture and tradition.
Knox County filmmaker Josh Hill grew up in that world. Now, he has returned to the fair with three cameras and a rather unusual idea: tell its story through a film that blends documentary footage with fiction.
“The Fair” captures the event through real footage of competitions and interviews, interspersed with fictional scenes.
A different kind of showing
Hill originally planned a two-minute promotional reel. The project quickly took a different direction, however.
Hill decided to capture the feeling of the fair itself while also weaving in a fictional character who struggles to fit into the time-honored environment.
Briggs Swallow, a young local actor, plays that character. The film moves between real events and acted scenes featuring Swallow and characters of the fair realm.
Hill calls it “a mockumentary, documentary, art film.”
The style also sets the film apart visually. Hill avoided relying on sweeping shots of the fairgrounds. Instead, he chose to focus on cinematic images and details.
He wanted to recreate the feeling of the fair, not simply document its attrations.
“It feels like someone’s idea or dream of the fair,” Hill said.
Hill wants those involved in the fair to see their work and traditions treated as something worth preserving.
“It’s a romantic love letter to the place,” Hill said.
A week at the fair
Hill sees a deep culture behind the fair’s everyday routines.
“At first glace, (Knox Countians are) very silent, humble, noble,” Hill said. “But you really cannot find a more dramatic and romantic people group.”
The fair is a place where participants spend months preparing animals and projects for a single week. It’s also a week where the character of the county becomes visible and a thing worth celebrating.
“The way that you dress carries a philosophy with it, down to the boots you wear, the way you talk, the way they stand,” Hill said. “It all exudes a larger philosophy of conservative, patriotic simplicity, family values. It has really, really deep connotations behind everything that you do at the fair.”
Hill hopes the film leaves participants with a stronger sense of pride in those traditions.
“I want (the viewers) to feel pride … I want them to come out going, ‘Yeah, everything I do is absolutely worth it,” Hill said. “‘What I do is special and that place is special.'”
A hometown production
Hill was born and raised in Knox County, between Mount Vernon and Centerburg. He showed sheep, cows, chickens and pigs through the Redbrush 4-H club. He also served on the junior fair board.
His familiarity with the fair helped shape the project. The senior fair board supported the production with access to the grounds, workspace and interviews.
Hill worked alongside his brother, Christian Hill, and Swallow. The three-person crew had no script or lighting setup. They used three cameras and filmed from about 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day of fair week.
The board also helped the crew reach scenes and people they might otherwise have missed. Hill said the film would not have been possible without that support.
The next chapter
Hill hopes the fair film shows what a small amount of community involvement can accomplish. He wants to build a local entertainment scene with stories made for Knox County residents.
“Look at what we were able to do for Knox County with 2% effort from (the residents),” Hill said. “What could we do with 10% effort next time?”
Hill’s dream is to one day make a movie about every town in Knox County.
“I have all the expensive cameras. I just need places and times to film people,” Hill said.
Hill already has the equipment. Future projects need local people willing to open their businesses, share their stories and help bring scenes to life.
“The Fair” will premiere at 6 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Memorial Theatre in Mount Vernon. The event is free to attend.
