GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) -Hollywood is coming to Northeast Tennessee in the form of the 21st Annual Golden Trailer Awards. The ceremonies recognize the creators of trailers and other film and video game marketing.

The ceremony is normally held in Los Angeles but will be held and live-streamed from the Niswonger Performing Arts Centers in Greeneville Thursday, July 22. The creators cited several reasons for the move including COVID-19 restrictions in LA.

“My sister and I have a tech startup called Viewniverse and we were meeting with a company called TSG. TSG focuses on finding businesses they think would be great for the area,” said co-creator Evelyn Watters. “When we saw the NPAC center, the Niswonger Performing Arts Center we were blown away.”

“We were down there looking for our tech startup to try to bring the industry into the Eastern Tennessee corridor here and we got a tour of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center and it rivaled, we’ve been doing the show for 20 years, and it rivaled theaters in New York and Los Angeles,” said co-creator Monica Brady.

Founded in 1999 by sisters Evelyn Watters and Monica Brady, the Golden Trailer Awards are sometimes called the award show for film trailers. The sisters founded the GTAs to recognize the people who create trailers and other film and video game marketing, people we don’t often hear about.

“We were looking around for the best, here we are, first-time filmmakers, thinking we can get the best trailer editors and we went looking for them and we realized they were anonymous,” said Watters.

Content that was created between April 2019–April 2021 from studios, independent films, and foreign films were eligible to enter the awards. This covers traditional TV and movie trailers, but also posters, radio spots, digital advertising, and even title sequences. 

Entries are judged by a jury consisting of directors, producers, actors, writers, executives, and advertising creatives. 

“People like Paul Levin and Dan Janvey producer for “Nomadland”, just different people from all over the industry,” said Brady.

“And we’re super excited about having Leanne Morgan as our host whose pretty local,” said Watters.

They are also dedicating this year’s awards to all front-line workers and first responders that kept the world turning during the pandemic.

“People that kept all of us going throughout this time. On the frontlines, in the hospitals, in the nursing homes, and also in the service centers,” said Brady.

They hope to inspire future filmmakers as well.

“What people need, what people crave is those innovative voices and those stories. They need your stories. So when you get encouraged to tell those stories that get people back to the movies,” said Watters.

If you can’t attend, you can also stream the awards online for free. For streaming information and tickets click here.