Working at the Library of Congress in February 2018, the students on the Land Grant Films team began to understand that their project—a documentary about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, tied to the milestone of Parton’s giving away her 100 millionth book—was a much bigger deal than they had realized.

“We were there getting our press passes,” remembers Kayli Martin (’21), the film’s assistant producer. “I thought, ‘This is what it’s like to be a professional journalist.’”

The Library That Dolly Built, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, student-driven film and documentary about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, will premiere April 2 in New York City and be screened in theaters across the nation.

Associate Professor of Journalism and Electronic Media Nick Geidner is the director and producer of the film, which was crewed by 15 student members of Land Grant Films, an Emmy-nominated documentary production program housed in UT’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media. JEM video production specialist Clinton Elmore served as the film’s editor.