The Indie Memphis Film Festival presented by Duncan-Williams, Inc., (November 1-6) has announced its full slate of films for the 20th edition of the annual festival this year. Oliver Butler and Will Eno’s THOM PAIN opens the festival, while Lynn Sachs’s TIP OF MY TONGUE is the Closing Night selection. In between those two films and among the competition films, are a special salute to Abel Ferrara, a MLK50 series honoring the slain Civil Rights leader, a special sneak peak at Craig Brewer’s new television series, a special sidebar of shorts featuring the work of filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, a music-filled block party, and a full slate of screenings featuring many of the most critically revered and popular films from this year’s film festival circuit.

TIP OF MY TONGUE

TIP OF MY TONGUE

Indie Memphis Executive Director Ryan Watt, said, “We felt a little more pressure for our 20th anniversary to present something special to the community and our loyal filmgoers – and our staff has really delivered. The festival features groundbreaking films that I believe Memphis has come to expect from us, along with some unique special events, premieres, and filmmaker appearances. Each year, we hope to inspire everyone in Memphis to block a week off from their schedule and immerse themselves in the very best independent cinema, awash with our local talent, and highlighted by the presence of amazing filmmakers from all over the world. This year’s edition is not to be missed.”

Rainn Wilson in THOM PAIN

Rainn Wilson in THOM PAIN

Oliver Butler and Will Eno’s adaptation of Eno’s Pulitzer Prize finalist, THOM PAIN, offers Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) delivering, at Los Angeles’s Geffen Playhouse, a spare yet blistering monologue as he rambles from one rousing observation to another with plenty of non-sequiturs along the way. Wilson, Eno and Butler are set to attend the screening. Lynne Sachs’s TIP OF MY TONGUE, finds the filmmaker marking her 50th birthday by gathering a group of her contemporaries for a weekend of recollection and reflection on the most life-altering personal, local, and international events of the past half-century.

A FEAST OF MAN

A FEAST OF MAN

Films selected for the Narrative Competition, include Trevor White’s A CROOKED SOMEBODY, Karl Jacobs’s COLD NOVEMBER, Caroline Golum’s A FEAST OF MAN, Mark Webber’s FLESH AND BLOOD, Anthony Onah’s THE PRICE, Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney’s SYLVIO, and Theodore Collatos’s TORMENTING THE HEN.

DRIFTING TOWARD THE CRESCENT

DRIFTING TOWARD THE CRESCENT

Documentary Competition selections include Kimi Takesue’s 95 AND 6 TO GO, Jeff Onay’s THE CAGE FIGHTER, Laura Stewart’s DRIFTING TOWARD THE CRESCENT, Landen Van Soest and Jeremy Levine’s FOR AHKEEM, Erik Nelson’s A GRAY STATE, Adam Bhala Lough’s THE NEW RADICAL, and Robin Berghaus’s STUMPED.

The Indie Memphis Hometowner Competition – all World Premieres – include Anwar Jamison’s A BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW, Chase Gustafson’s FINDING TOBEY, Laura Jean Hocking and Melissa Anderson Sweazy’s GOOD GRIEF, David Brian Guinle’s FURRY LEWIS & THE BOTTLENECK GUITAR STORY, Joanne Fish’s MR. HANDY’S BLUES, and Shelby Elwood’s TRANS*CEND: A JOURNEY FROM GENDER TO SELF.

SUSPIRIA

SUSPIRIA

Among the tremendous list of special events are; indie film stalwart, Mark Webber attending a double feature of his film, FLESH AND BLOOD, and a 10TH Anniversary screening of Adam Bhala Lough’s Director’s Cut of WEAPONS, which has never been screened in the film’s intended form since its debut at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival; a 40th Anniversary 4K presentation of Dario Argento’s classic SUSPIRIA; a special preview screening of the first four episodes of Craig Brewer’s new television series, The You Look Like Show, which features two comics facing off in an insult battle with only one rule, you gotta start with “You Look Like,” including a live show with the comedians in-person; a short film series featuring two attending Saudi filmmakers as part of the “Desert to Delta” cultural exchange in partnership with the University of Memphis; and the “Grizzlies Female Fan Experience” – a short film series featuring Memphis’s popular NBA franchise from a woman’s perspective.

ALIVE IN FRANCE

ALIVE IN FRANCE

It had been previously announced that legendary American independent director Abel Ferrara would come to Memphis for a special film salute including the 25th anniversary screening of his landmark police thriller BAD LIEUTENANT (1992), and a 20th anniversary screening of THE BLACKOUT (1997) with Q&As afterward with Ferrara, cinematographer Ken Kelsch, and editor Anthony Redman. However, now Indie Memphis has added the International Premiere of his film, ALIVE IN FRANCE, as well as a performance of his band, Flyz, following that screening, as well as at Hi Tone on Sunday, November 5. The band is made up of Abel’s long time collaborators, the composer Joe Delia, actor/singer Paul Hipp and Abel’s wife and actress Cristina Chiriac. His background singers “The Dirty Blondes” feature PJ Delia and Mia Babalis.

KING: A FILMED RECORD… FROM MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS

KING: A FILMED RECORD… FROM MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS

Also previously announced, Indie Memphis and the National Civil Rights Museum will work together to present MLK50, a special program of films new and old which will commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in Memphis while addressing the various legacies, completed and still unfinished, of the Civil Rights icon’s work. Indie Memphis will also host a block party from Nov. 3-5, closing off traffic along Cooper between Union and Monroe in Midtown. One of the highlights will be the Memphis premiere of THANK YOU, FRIENDS: BIG STAR’S THIRD LIVE… AND MORE, directed by Benno Nelson and featuring an all-star cast of musicians such as Robyn Hitchcock and members of R.E.M. and Wilco. The concert film will be shown on a large outdoor screen with Big Star’s Jody Stephens in attendance.

Passes are now on sale and information on the film festival can be found at IndieMemphis.com. Passholders are granted first access to film tickets beginning September 26th before they go on-sale to the general public on October 10th.

 

The 2017 Indie Memphis Film Festival official selections include:

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION

THOM PAIN                                                                           World Premiere

Directors: Oliver Butler & Will Eno

Country: USA, Running Time: 75min

Thom Pain is just like you, except worse. One night, he finds himself on a stage, in the dark, in a theatre. In the audience are people who, just like him, were born and will die. Thom is going to try to make sense of it all. He’s going to try to save his life, to save their life, to save your life – in that order. A camera crew captures the night, as various forces align to produce a reckless and accidentally profound event.

 

CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION

TIP OF MY TONGUE                                                             Regional Premiere

Director: Lynne Sachs

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

To mark her 50th birthday, filmmaker Lynne Sachs gathers a group of her contemporaries—all New Yorkers but originally hailing from all corners of the globe—for a weekend of recollection and reflection on the most life-altering personal, local, and international events of the past half- century, creating what Sachs calls “a collective distillation of our times.” Interspersed with poetry and flashes of archival footage, this poignant reverie reveals how far beyond our control life is, and how far we can go despite this.

 

NARRATIVE FEATURES COMPETITION

A CROOKED SOMEBODY

A CROOKED SOMEBODY

A CROOKED SOMEBODY                                                   Regional Premiere

Director: Trevor White

Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min

Michael Vaughn’s minister father always told him: Better to be an honest nobody than a crooked somebody. But intent on saving his floundering career as a spirit medium in the wake of a kidnapping, Michael attempts to make a name for himself as a TV psychic by solving the mystery behind a national scandal.

 

COLD NOVEMBER                                                               Regional Premiere

Director: Karl Jacobs

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

In rural middle America, 12-year-old Florence is eager to undergo the rite-of- passage of her first deer hunt. When Florence finds herself alone during a hunt, however, expectations dissolve into chaos as she must rely on her instinct and training to follow through with her decisions, pull herself together, and face becoming an adult.

 

A FEAST OF MAN                                                                 Tennessee Premiere

Director: Caroline Golum

Country: USA, Running Time: 81 min

When wealthy New York playboy Gallagher dies unexpectedly, his five closest friends are summoned to his country home for a viewing of his video will. Each one will become a millionaire overnight, if they can unanimously agree to consume his dead body.

 

FLESH AND BLOOD

FLESH AND BLOOD

FLESH AND BLOOD                                                            Regional Premiere

Director: Mark Webber

Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min

Director and actor Mark Webber explores family dynamics using his real family as this drama about a man returning home from prison who attempts to rebuild his life while living with his activist mother and Asperger’s stricken teenage brother in inner city Philadelphia. A dysfunctional family tree soon emerges whose every branch is not only broken but likely unrepairable.

 

THE PRICE                                                                             Tennessee Premiere

Director: Anthony Onah

Country: USA, Running Time: 92 min

Seyi, a bright young Nigerian-American working on Wall Street, must navigate the delicate balance of a dying father, a burgeoning romance with a white girlfriend, and dangerous new business opportunities. When his ambition pushes him into morally dubious waters, secrets threaten to erupt and shatter his world. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.

 

SYLVIO

SYLVIO

SYLVIO                                                                                   Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Kentucker Audley & Albert Birney

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

When a small-town gorilla joins a local TV program, some on-air mishaps threaten to shatter his identity, sending him on an adventure of self-discovery where reality and fantasy start to blend. Co-directed and starring Memphis’s own Kentucker Audley, who won the Indie Memphis grand jury prize with Open Five in 2010. A Factory 25 release.

 

TORMENTING THE HEN                                                      Tennessee Premiere

Director: Theodore Collatos

Country: USA, Running Time: 77 min

When playwright Claire is invited to set her latest political work at a rural theatre company, her fiancé Monica tags along for a much-needed vacation. Upon encountering Mutty, an enigmatic neighbor with a gross lack of social boundaries, Monica’s hope for a quiet vacation, and perhaps her very sanity, are thrown into utter jeopardy.

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION

95 AND 6 TO GO                                                                   Regional Premiere

Director: Kimi Takesue

Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min

In this affectionate portrait, filmmaker Kimi Takesue finds an unlikely collaborator while visiting her grandfather Tom in Hawai’i. A recent widower in his 90s, Tom seems content to go about his daily routines until he shows surprising interest in his granddaughter’s screenplay. In alternately funny and poignant discussions, Kimi’s fictional love story – and Tom’s creative revisions – soon serve as a vehicle for his past memories of love and loss to surface.

 

THE CAGE FIGHTER                                                            Tennessee Premiere

Director: Jeff Onay

Country: USA, Running Time: 81 min

A blue-collar family man breaks the promise he’d made years ago to never fight again. Now forty years old, with a wife and four children who need him, Joe Carman risks everything—his marriage, his family, his health — to go back into the fighting cage and come to terms with his past.

 

DRIFTING TOWARD THE CRESCENT                               Regional Premiere

Director: Laura Stewart

Country: USA, Running Time: 83 min

As the Mississippi River flows past the towns of Keokuk, Iowa towards Hannibal, Missouri, the birthplace of Mark Twain, an antebellum history languishes in the air. Drifting Towards the Crescent is about the place on the Mississippi River, where the North begins to drift into the South. As the diesel barges ply the waters, the river no longer needs the towns, but the towns still need the river.

 

FOR AHKEEM

FOR AHKEEM

FOR AHKEEM

Directors: Landen Van Soest and Jeremy Levine

Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min

Beginning one year before the fatal police shooting of a Black teenager in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, For Ahkeem is the coming-of-age story of Daje Shelton, a Black 17-year-old girl in North St. Louis. She fights for her future as she is placed in an alternative high school and navigates the marginalized neighborhoods, biased criminal justice policies and economic devastation that have set up many Black youth like her to fail.

 

A GRAY STATE

A GRAY STATE

A GRAY STATE                                                                     Regional Premiere

Director: Erik Nelson

Country: USA, Running Time: 93 min

In 2010, David Crowley worked on a film about a future in which the government crushes civil liberties. When Crowley and his wife and child are found dead in 2014, conspiracy theorists speculate that they have been assassinated by the government.

 

THE NEW RADICAL                                                              Tennessee Premiere

Director: Adam Bhala Lough

Country: USA, Running Time: 116 min

Uncompromising millennial radicals from the United States and the United Kingdom attack the system through dangerous technological means, which evolves into a high-stakes game with world authorities in the midst of a dramatically changing political landscape. An Orchard release.

 

STUMPED                                                                              Regional Premiere

Director: Robin Berghaus

Country: USA, Running Time: 72 min

When filmmaker Will Lautzenheiser’s limbs are amputated, his life is derailed and he turns to stand-up comedy as a therapeutic and creative outlet. Meanwhile, a world-famous medical team is performing transplants that restore bodies to unprecedented levels. Despite grave risks, Will agrees to undergo an experimental double-arm transplant in the hope of reclaiming his independence.

 

SOUNDS COMPETITION

BARRACUDA

BARRACUDA

BARRACUDA                                                                        Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Jason Cortland and Julia Halperin

Country: USA, Running Time: 101 min

In this unsettling thriller a mysterious English woman arrives in Texas, ostensibly to reconnect with her half sister, although her real motives may be to stake to her claim to her country music star father’s musical legacy. An Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films release

 

FLOCK OF FOUR                                                                 Tennessee Premiere

Director: Gregory Caruso

Country: USA, Running Time: 87 min

Four young white men search for a legendary black jazz musician on Central Avenue, Los Angeles in 1959 and in the process learn about aspects of themselves and their society they weren’t aren’t quite prepared for.

 

A LIFE IN WAVES                                                                  Tennessee Premiere

Director: Brett Whitcomb

Country: USA, Running Time: 74 min

Before the synthesizer-driven score of “Stranger Things,” and the multimedia robotics of Daft Punk, there was Suzanne Ciani, the five-time Grammy award nominated composer, electronic music pioneer, and neo-classical recording artist whose work has changed the male-dominated worlds of sound synthesis and computer music forever.

 

SIDEMEN

SIDEMEN

SIDEMEN                                                                                Tennessee Premiere

Director: Scott Rosenbaum

Country: USA, Running Time: 77 min

An intimate look at the lives and legacies of piano player Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin, all Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf sidemen. The film captures some of the last interviews and their final live performances together, before their deaths in 2011. An Abramorama Release.

 

THE GOLDEN AGE                                                               Regional Premiere

Director: Justin Connor

Country: USA, Running Time: 102 min

Allegedly inspired by true events and using a mélange of fiction and non-fiction techniques, director Justin Connor stars as Maya O’Malley, a notorious difficult recording artists who, after a string of incendiary remarks in the press, gets dropped from his music label, Aspect Records in the Fall of 2012, and seeks to claw his way back to relevance.

 

DEPARTURES COMPETITION

COMMON CARRIER                                                                         Regional Premiere

Director: James N. Kienitz-Wilkins

Country: USA, Running Time: 78 min

In this kaleidoscopic portrait of various New York artists, a screenwriter, an actor, an urban shaman, and the director himself contend with everyday annoyances like broken appliances, FedEx dealings, and a sick parrot as they struggle to fulfill their creative tasks. Amid densely layered sounds and images—with radio broadcasts from WNYC and Hot 97 drifting in and out—Common Carrier takes a heady look at the work of being a creator in an unforgiving town.

 

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW I FEEL

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW I FEEL

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW I FEEL                                    Regional Premiere

Director: Su Friedrich

Country: USA, Running Time: 42 min

Su Friedrich has taken up the camera again in her ongoing quest to film the battleground of family life. Her mother Lore–who played the lead in The Ties That Bind (1984), a film about her experiences growing up in Germany during the Second World War–plays the lead again, this time kicking and protesting against being moved at the age of 94 from her home in Chicago to an “independent living” facility in New York.

 

OPUNTIA                                                                               Tennessee Premiere

Director: David Fenster

Country: USA, Running Time: 60 min

OPUNTIA is a 60-minute film essay centered on conquistador turned shamanic healer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his strange account of the New World. OPUNTIA follows de Vaca’s route from Florida to Texas to Chihuahua, tracing the physical markers of his journey and exploring history’s echoes and fictions encountered along the way. Through a mysterious alchemy, de Vaca’s spirit is called in to the prickly pear cacti, known scientifically as genus Opuntia. Together, de Vaca and cacti defy the weight of centuries and narrate a poetic meditation on colonialism, indigenous cultures, healing, death and mystical transformation.

 

RAT FILM

RAT FILM

RAT FILM                                                                               Tennessee Premiere

Director: Theo Anthony

Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min

Across walls, fences and alleys, rats not only expose our boundaries of separation but make homes in them. RAT FILM is a feature-length documentary that uses the rat—as well as the humans that love them, live with them, and kill them–to explore the history of Baltimore. “There’s never been a rat problem in Baltimore, it’s always been a people problem.”

 

TONSLER PARK                                                                   Tennessee Premiere

Director: Kevin Jerome Everson

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

This slow cinema portrait of the black staff members in the polling station at Tonsler Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, filmed during the US Presidential Election Day on 8 November 2016, observes rows voters pass as they hand out voting slips, the boredom of security members and the labor that democracy requires in Everson’s signature lugubrious, meditative style.

 

HOMETOWNER COMPETITION

A BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW                                           World Premiere

Director: Anwar Jamison

Country: USA, Running Time: 50 min

Filmmaker Anwar Jamison examines the epidemic of prescription drug abuse, its effects on the users and their families, and the consequences that often go unseen.

 

FINDING TOBEY                                                                   World Premiere

Director: Chase Gustafson

Country: USA, Running Time: 75 min

FINDING TOBEY details the history of the Memphis skateboarding scene, the people and the eventual construction of the city’s first public skate park.

 

GOOD GRIEF                                                                        World Premiere

Directosr: Laura Jean Hocking and Melissa Anderson Sweazy

Country: USA, Running Time: 53 min

The Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief helps children and teenagers who are suffering through the trauma of lost loved ones. This documentary tells the stories of clients and counsellors as they ask “What’s so good about grief?”

 

FURRY LEWIS & THE BOTTLENECK GUITAR STORY    World Premiere

Director: David Brian Guinle

Country: USA, Running Time: 54 min

The story of how the slide guitar got to the Memphis/Delta region from Hawaii and the role Furry Lewis played in the evolution from the Hawaiian style to the bottleneck sound.

 

MR. HANDY’S BLUES

Director: Joanne Fish

Country: USA, Running Time: 60 min

Ten years in the making, Joanne Fish’s hour long documentary about W.C. Handy, known as The Father of the Blues, takes you into the often unrecognized career of one of greatest songwriters America ever produced.

 

TRANS*CEND: A JOURNEY FROM GENDER TO SELF   World Premiere

Director: Shelby Elwood

Country: USA, Running Time: 65 min

Transgender/Nonbinary residents of Memphis, TN share their struggles against familial, cultural, and legislative oppression as they seek gender authenticity in this documentary feature, narrated by the filmmaker.

 

SPOTLIGHT

ABUNDANT ACREAGE AVAILABLE                                  Regional Premiere

Director: Angus MacLachlan

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

North Carolina tobacco farmers Jesse and Tracy Ledbetter (Terry Kinney and Amy Ryan, both excellent) are mourning the death of their father. Soon, the unexpected arrival of three mysterious men sets in motion a series of events that will change their lives forever. A Gravitas Ventures Release.

 

DAYVEON

DAYVEON

DAYVEON                                                                              Tennessee Premiere

Director: Amman Abbasi

Country: USA, Running Time: 75 min

Struggling with his older brother’s death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends the sweltering summer days roaming the streets of his rural Arkansas town. With no parents and few role models, he soon falls in with a local gang. Though his sister’s boyfriend tries to provide stability and comfort as a reluctant father figure, Dayveon becomes increasingly drawn into the camaraderie and violence of his new world. A Film Rise release.

 

LAST FLAG FLYING                                                            Regional Premiere

Director: Richard Linklater

Country: USA, Running Time: 124 min

Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carrell), Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and the Rev. Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) reunite for a different type of mission: to bury Doc’s son, a young Marine killed in Iraq. Forgoing burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Doc and his old buddies take the casket on a bittersweet trip up the coast to New Hampshire. Along the way, the three men find themselves reminiscing and coming to terms with the shared memories of a war that continues to shape their lives. An Amazon Studios Release.

 

LEMON

LEMON

LEMON                                                                                   Tennessee Premiere

Director: Janicza Bravo

Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min

The opening night film at this year’s Rotterdam Film Festival, Lemon announces the remarkable directorial talent of Janizca Bravo. After Isaac’s blind girlfriend walks out on him, his life goes into free fall, and he directs an unhinged staging of Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” attends the Passover Seder from hell, and attempts to woo a new flame. With Brett Gelman, Nia Long, Rhea Perlman, Judy Greer, Megan Mullaly, Fred Malamed, Jeff Garlin and Michael Cera. A Magnolia Pictures Release.

 

LOVE AFTER LOVE                                                              Regional Premiere

Director: Russell Harbaugh

Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min

When their family’s patriarch loses a harrowing battle against a fatal disease, Suzanne (Andie MacDowell) and her middle-aged sons, Nicholas (Chris O’Dowd) and Chris (James Adomian), must navigate through their increasingly unstable lives without his support. Over the course of several years, their family must endure an emotional gauntlet of domestic hardships. They face painful break-ups, failed careers, and dangerously concealed depression. Through it all, one essential truth remains: even without a father figure’s presence, a family’s bond is the most important thing of all. An IFC Films Release.

 

MAYA DARDEL                                                                     Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Zachary Cotler & Magdalena Zyzak

Country: USA, Running Time: 84 min

An internationally respected poet (Lena Olin) announces she is going to kill herself and needs an heir and executor. Young writers drive up the mountain to compete for the position and are challenged intellectually and emotionally. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.

 

THE MISOGYNISTS                                                              Regional Premiere

Director: Onur Tukel

Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min

In a single, fully-stocked hotel room on the night of the 2016 general election, two Trump supporters celebrate the results that halted the ongoing “end of man,” in the latest from indie provocateur Onur Tukel. Led by Dylan Baker’s gleefully deranged lead performance, Tukel’s tongue-in-cheek exploration of a divided America digs deep into the night’s mass existential crisis, and leaves with some disquieting results.

 

MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND                                                 Tennessee Premiere

Director: Ana Asensio

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

An illegal immigrant struggling to begin a new life in New York City is offered a great opportunity, but as day turns to night, she discovers she’s been lured into a dangerous game. Winner of this year’s SXSW Film Festival narrative feature grand jury prize, Asensio’s debut, in which she also stars, is one of the year’s most suspenseful and quietly disturbing films. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.

 

MR. ROOSEVELT Tennessee Premiere

Director: Noel Wells

Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min

After a death in her family, struggling LA-based comedian Emily Martin (Noel Wells, formerly of “Saturday Night Live”) returns to Austin. There she finds herself in the awkward position of staying with her ex and his new girlfriend until the funeral, while trying to close old doors from her past.

 

PERMANENT

PERMANENT

PERMANENT                                                                         Regional Premiere

Director: Colette Burson

Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min

This comedy, set in 1983 in small town Virginia, centers around a 13-year old and her family. The story of a hairstyle gone incredibly wrong and a young girl’s plight to fit in while encountering bullies at a new school. A Magnolia Pictures release.

 

SUPER DARK TIMES

SUPER DARK TIMES

SUPER DARK TIMES                                                            Tennessee Premiere

Director: Kevin Phillips

Country: USA, Running Time: 100 min

Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence. A The Orchard release.

 

THE UPSIDE                                                                          Tennessee Premiere

Director: Neil Burger

Country: USA, Running Time: 118 min

In this remake of the blockbuster French film THE INTOUCHABLES, two New Yorkers from opposites sides of the tracks, a wealthy but paraplegic author and investor (Bryan Cranston) and a sharp tongued felon (Kevin Hart) form an unusual bond after the former mistakenly hires the latter as an auxillary nurse. A Weinstein Company release.

 

MLK 50

ACORN AND THE FIRESTORM                                          Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Samuel D. Pollard and Reuben Atlas

Country: USA, Running Time: 84 min

Community organizing group ACORN became a major player in the 2008 presidential election that resulted in Barack Obama’s victory. Conservatives took issue with the group, fueling accusations of voter fraud and government waste at the left-leaning organization. As one learns in this salient, non-fiction political thriller, the ensuing political drama spawned the now-omnipresent Breitbart Media, drove an even deeper wedge between Democrats and Republicans, and served as a prescient foreshadowing for much of today’s political climate.

 

THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP

THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP

THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP                                  Tennessee Premiere

Director: Erik Jeung

Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min

On April 30, 2014, Dontre Hamilton, a black, unarmed man diagnosed with schizophrenia, was shot 14 times and killed by a Milwaukee police officer responding to a non-emergency wellness check in a popular downtown park. His death sparked months of unrest and his family into activism. Offering a painfully realistic glimpse inside a movement born out of tragedy, this explosive documentary takes a behind the scenes look at how justice remains out of reach for Hamilton’s family and many like them.

 

KING: A FILMED RECORD… FROM MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS (1970)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Country: USA, Running Time: 185 min

This Academy Award-nominated documentary presents key events in the life of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, the production follows King through major steps in his struggle to promote racial equality. Including footage of King’s stirring speeches, the documentary is a fitting tribute to his legacy, and features clips narrated by numerous celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Paul Newman and James Earl Jones.

 

MARVIN BOOKER WAS MURDERED

Director: Wade Gardner

Country: USA, Running Time: 112 min

Marvin Booker, a homeless street preacher, while being booked into the Denver Detention Center, was beaten to death by five jail guards – for simply wanting to retrieve his shoes. The event was caught on tape, and witnessed by more than 20 people. The city of Denver never indicted, nor reprimanded any of the deputies involved. In this explosive documentary, the Booker family refuses to settle with the city, pushing the case toward a stunning federal civil trial.

 

QUEST                                                                                   Tennessee Premiere

Director: Jonathan Olshefski

Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min

Filmed over the course of eight years, filmmaker Jonathan Olshefski chronicles the daily struggles and successes of the Raineys, an African-American family living in Philadelphia, whose triumphs and tragedies in Obama era America echo the fraught nature of a country where gun violence, and its effects on young families, are all too common.

 

UPTIGHT!

UPTIGHT!

UPTIGHT! (1968)

Director: Jules Dassin

Country: USA, Running Time: 104 min

Black militants in Cleveland, after a rash of police misconduct, build up an arsenal of weapons in preparation for a race war, only to be betrayed by one of their own in this remake of John Ford’s The Informers. With a score by Memphis’s own Booker T and the MG’s, Dassin’s movie was suppressed in its day. Boasting remarkable performances and technical credits to go with a narrative that is more timely than ever, this is a movie that deserves much wider recognition than it currently has.

 

THE WORK

THE WORK

THE WORK                                                                            Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Jairus McCleary and Gethin Aldous

Country: USA, Running Time: 89 min

Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, “The Work” follows three men from outside as they participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past. The raw and revealing process that the incarcerated men undertake exceeds the expectations of the free men, ripping them out of their comfort zones and forcing them to see themselves and the prisoners in unexpected ways. “The Work” offers a powerful and rare look past the cinder block walls, steel doors and the dehumanizing tropes in our culture to reveal a movement of change and redemption that transcends what we think of as rehabilitation.

 

WORKING IN PROTEST                                                       Tennessee Premiere

Directors: Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley

Country: USA, Running Time: 80 min

Political turmoil in the United States takes on a movingly personal aspect through this judiciously edited archive of street marches and public demonstrations, shot since the 2000 Republican Convention by filmmakers Michael Galinski and Suki Hawley. Illuminating altercations between members of opposing factions – young men of Occupy Wall Street vs an old school liberal Democrat, Trump supporters vs detractors gathered for the inauguration – show us the problematic role of the police in protecting and suppressing dissent.

 

ABEL FERRARA: ALIVE IN MEMPHIS

25th Anniversary Reunion Presentation

BAD LIEUTENANT (1992)

Director: Abel Ferrara

Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min

The Lieutenant (Harvey Keitel) is a corrupt cop steeped in gambling debt who exploits his authority to sexually harass teenage girls, embezzle money and abuse drugs. His troubles come to a head when a mob lackey delivers an ultimatum: pay off his debt, or else. His fate appears sealed. But when The Lieutenant learns that a $50,000 reward is being offered to whoever catches a pair of thugs who raped a nun (Frankie Thorn), he jumps at the opportunity, hoping that he can still redeem himself. Presented in 35mm courtesy of Peter Conheim and Lionsgate.

 

20th Anniversary Reunion Presentation

THE BLACKOUT (1997)

Director: Abel Ferrara

Country: USA, Running Time: 98 min

Actor Matty (Matthew Modine), who is struggling with substance abuse, retreats to Miami. Hoping to straighten himself out, Matty proposes to his girlfriend, Annie (Béatrice Dalle), who reveals that she aborted their child without his knowledge. Shaken, Matty spends a decadent night with his artist friend, Mickey (Dennis Hopper), and returns to New York City with no memory of what happened. He begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous, but he’s troubled by what he might have done while blacked out.

 

ALIVE IN FRANCE                                                                International Premiere

Director: Abel Ferrara

Country: France, Italy, USA Running Time: 79 min

A selection of this year’s Director’s Fortnight in Cannes in this rich, self-directed concert documentary Ferrara transforms from internationally lauded cult film director into a grizzled rock singer while his six-person outfit tours France.

 

Special Screenings and Presentations

Special Family Presentation

44 PAGES

Director: Tony Shaff

Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min

A portrait of Highlights Magazine following the creation of the cultural phenomenon’s 70th Anniversary issue, from the first editorial meeting to its arrival in homes, and introducing the quirky people who passionately produce the monthly publication for “the world’s most important people,”…children. Along the way, a rich and tragic history is revealed, the state of childhood, technology, and education is explored, and the future of print media is questioned.

 

40th Anniversary Presentation

SUSPIRIA (1977)

Director: Dario Argento

Country: Italy Running Time: 98 min

In Italian horror maestro Dario Argento’s stylish, phantasmagorical classic, an American newcomer (Jessica Harper) to a prestigious ballet academy in Germany comes to realize that the school she is attending is a front for something sinister after a series of grisly murders. Presented in 4K courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

 

THANK YOU FRIENDS

THANK YOU FRIENDS: BIG STAR’S THIRD LIVE…AND MORE

Sounds Special Presentation

THANK YOU, FRIENDS: BIG STAR’S THIRD LIVE… AND MORE

Director: Benno Nelson

Country: USA, Running Time: 95 min

A celebration of the musical legacy of Memphis’ best-known secret – Big Star – and their legendary THIRD album. Performed by a collective featuring members of Big Star, the dB’s, Let’s Active, the Old Ceremony, the Posies, R.E.M., Semisonic, Wilco, and Yo La Tengo with Kronos Quartet, Skylar Gudasz, Brett Harris, Robyn Hitchcock, Jessica Pratt, Luther Russell and others. Following the untimely death of Alex Chilton two days ahead of Big Star’s planned SXSW performance in 2010, famous friends and fans came from far and wide to play the gig in his honor. Much of that spontaneous ensemble, along with other musical titans, return to the stage in this triumphant film.

 

WEAPONS

WEAPONS

10th Anniversary Presentation

WEAPONS (2007) DIRECTOR’S CUT

Director: Adam Bhala Lough

Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min

Weapons presents a series of brutal, seemingly random youth-related killings over the course of a weekend in a typical small town in America, and tragically reveals how they are all interrelated. After competing in the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Competition, it was acquired and recut by a now defunct distributor. It has never again been screened in its intended form until Indie Memphis 2017. Starring Nick Cannon, Paul Dano, Mark Webber, Jade Yorker, Amy Ferguson, Riley Smith, Brandon Mychal Smith, Tony Trucks, and Arliss Howard.

 

Special Sneak Preview Screening

THE YOU LOOK LIKE SHOW

Director: Craig Brewer

Country: USA, TRT: 40 min

Two comics face off in an insult battle with only one rule, you gotta start with “You Look Like”. A special event hosted by Craig Brewer, presenting a sneak peek of the first four episodes of “You Look Like”, plus a live show featuring the comedians.

 

SHORT FILMS

GRIZZLIES FEMALE FAN EXPERIENCE (TRT: 33MIN)

Short films highlight the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team from the female perspective and the audience votes for the winner. A discussion to follow with women who love the Grizzlies and defy stereotypes. Prizes and Special Guests TBA

 

MAMA BEARS

Director: Jeremy Burgess, Running Time: 7:20min

 

MY HERO

Director: Geoffrey Brent Shrewsbury, Running Time: 5:30min

 

SOUNDS LIKE HOME

Director: Phoebe Driscoll, Running Time: 5:10min

 

STEPHANIE LOVES THE GRIZZLIES

Director: Melissa Sweazy, Running Time: 3:57min

 

THE LAST FAN

Director: Laura Jean Hocking, Running Time: 4:59min

 

WHAT’S INSIDE THE CAGE

(2015 Winner – Best Hometowner Documentary Short)

Director: Suzannah Herbert, Running Time: 6:25min

 

SAUDI FILMS: DESERT TO DELTA

In Saudi Arabia, there are no cinemas available for the public to see movies and most artists upload their work to YouTube. However, a film community is growing with support from the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture arts centre in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Two Saudi filmmakers will travel to Memphis for screenings and talks as part of the “Desert to Delta” cultural exchange in partnership with the University of Memphis.

 

IS SOMYIATY GOING TO HELL?

Director: Meshal Aljaser, Running Time: 24min

 

OUD

Director: Abdulaziz Al Shelahy, Running Time: 35min

 

NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION (TRT: 91min)

A MEDITATION

Director: Joe Petricca, Running Time: 15:47min

 

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Director: Brantly Jackson Watts, Running Time: 17:16min

 

MADE TO ORDER

Director: Alanna Murray, Running Time: 13:54min

 

MORDECHAI

Director: Benjamin Bee, Running Tim3: 13:50min

 

ONE UP

Director: Eimi Imanishi, Running Time: 14:41min

 

WENDY

Director: Michael Oshins, Running Time: 14:53min

 

NARRATIVE SHORTS SPOTLIGHT (TRT: 84min)

FRY DAY

Director: Laura Moss, Running Time: 16min

 

GEMA

Director: Kenrick Prince, Running Time: 13:26min

 

I LIVE HERE

Director: Shane Watson, Running Time: 17:46min

 

LAST CALL LENNY

Director: Julien Lasseur, Running Time: 12:30min

 

MRS DRAKE

Director: Caitlin FitzGerald, Running Time: 15min

 

NEW NEIGHBORS

Director: E.G. Bailey, Running Time: 9:25min

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION (TRT: 87min)

COWGIRL UP

Director: Nathan Willis, Running Time: 5:17min

 

ELECTION NIGHT

Director: Ryan Scafuro, Running Time: 7:40min

 

GAYS FOR TRUMP?

Director: Aaron Paul Lovett, Running Time: 16:44min

 

ISIS HAIR SALON

Director: Nicholas Coles, Running Time: 4:52min

 

JESSZILLA

Director: Emily Sheskin, Running Time: 7min

 

LESSONS INJUSTICE

Director: Karen Chapman, Running Time: 8:57min

 

MICKEY’S PETS

Director: Ashley S. Brandon, Running Time: 13:01min

 

REBUILDING IN MINIATURE

Director: Veena Rao, Running Time: 7:12min

 

SILO: EDGE OF THE REAL WORLD

Director: Marshall Burnette, Running Time: 10:43min

 

THE DUEL

Director: Sean David Christensen, Running Time: 5:50min

 

DEPARTURES SHORTS COMPETITION (TRT: 96min)

 

ANOTHER GIRL, ANOTHER PLANET

Director: Laura Jean Hocking (Memphis Filmmaker), Running Time: 7:10min

 

BWAKHAA!

Director: Jabriel E Woodall (Memphis Filmmaker), Running Time: 6:08min

 

COLLAPSING

Director: Brian Ratigan, Running Time: 0:55min

 

DAILY COMMUTE

Director: Scott Palazzo, Running Time: 0:55min

 

EVOCATION OF A NIGHTMARE

Director: Wally Chung, Running Time: 1:20min

 

GIRL BECOMES SNOW

Director: Bryan and Tyler Betschart, Running Time: 7:19min

 

HORSE DAD

Director: Anna Hudzik, Running Time: 2:17min

 

I KARDIA

Director: Sarah Christine Bolton (Memphis Filmmaker), Running Time: 7:49min

 

MOLASSES & LEMON

Director: Robert Sickels, Running Time: 4:06min

 

OK, CALL ME BACK

Director: Emily Ann Hoffman, Running Time: 4:47min

 

PATTERN FOR SURVIVAL

Director: Kelly Sears, Running Time: 6:30min

 

PLICKER

Director: Byungjun Kim, Running Time: 2:44min

 

RED VELVET CAKE

Director: Martina Boothes (Memphis Filmmaker), Running Time: 9:30min

 

SABINE

Director: Sissy Denkova (Memphis Filmmaker), Running Time: 2:15min

 

SESTINA

Director: Tom Varisco, Running Time: 1:42min

 

THIS IS YATES

Director: Josh Yates, Running Time: 12:10min

 

UGLY

Director: Nikita Diakur, Running Time: 11:54min

 

UNWORLDLY

Director: Sarah El Bakkouri and Cross Li, Running Time: 6:08min

 

AFTER DARK SHORTS (TRT: 92min)

BEAST

Director: Christopher Sferrazza, Running Time: 19:53min

 

BUCKETS

Director: Julia Jones, Running Time: 13:30min

 

DON’T EVER CHANGE

Director: Don Swaynos, Running Time: 9:49min

 

FATHER

Director: Chris Keller, Running Time: 9:50min

 

GREAT CHOICE

Director: Robin Comisar, Running Time: 07:21min

 

HIGH & TIGHT

Director: Luis Servera, Running Time: 15:13min

 

LIKE THE DINOSAURS

Director: Emilie Rosas, Running Time: 16:20min

 

MLK50 HOMETOWNER SHORTS (TRT: 87min)

AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Matteo Servente, Running Time: 6min

 

ARKABUTLA

Category: Narrative Short

Director: Katori Hall, Running Time: 14:27min

 

GET OFF THE BUS

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Robert Rowan, Running Time: 6min

 

GIRLS LIKE ME: A SELF/LOVE STORY

Category: Experimental Short

Director: Aisha Raison, Running Time: 7:03min

 

GREENWOOD

Category: Experimental Short

Director: Jairus B Burks, Running Time: 5min

 

HENRY

Category: Narrative Short

Director: Mark Goshorn Jones, Running Time: 7:29min

 

MYLES

Category: Narrative Short

Director: Kevin Brooks, Running Time: 7:35min

 

OVERCOME

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Jordan Danelz, Running Time: 11:30min

 

ROBERT

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Sarah Fleming and Joann Self Selvidge, Running Time: 7:48min

 

SENESCENCE LOST

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Kathy O. Lofton, Running Time: 7:08min

 

THE BLM BRIDGE PROTEST: ONE YEAR LATER

Category: Documentary Short

Director: Yalonda M. James, Running Time: 7:16min

 

HOMETOWNER NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION (TRT: 95min)

DO NOT DISTURB

Director: Ellen Burns, Running Time: 20:22min

 

DRIVEN

Director: Will Robbins, Running Time: 10:59min

 

GRACE

Director: Kevin Brooks, Running Time: 8:50min

 

MUDDY WATER

Director: Nathan Ross Murphy, Running Time: 15m

 

TAKING BACK THE FUTURE

Director: Matthew Aaron Taylor and Mark Rzepka, Running Time: 15:09min

 

THE BUTCHER

Director: Kyle Taubken, Running Time: 12:02min

 

WE GO ON

Director: Matteo Servente, Running Time: 12:42min

 

HOMETOWNER NARRATIVE SHORTS SHOWCASE (TRT: 85min)

BIG AND TALL

Director: Clint Till, Running Time: 15:02min

 

FAVORITES

Director: Tracy S. Facelli, Running Time: 17:24min

 

GUILTY PLEASURE

Director: Jacqueline Quintanar, Running Time: 2:56min

 

JUST ONE DATE

Director: Rachel Hinson, Running Time: 10:52min

 

NIGHTHAWKS

Director: Sean Moore, Running Time: 18:21min

 

SARAH?

Director: Christian Walker, Running Time: 6:44min

 

WINDING BROOK

Director: Mark Goshorn Jones, Running Time: 13:15min

 

HOMETOWNER RISING FILMMAKERS (TRT: 92min)

COMPULSION

Director: Juliet Mace, Running Time: 4:20min

 

FOUL BALL

Director: Christie Caldwell, Running Time: 1min

 

GIRL IN THE PHOTO

Director: Keegon Schuett, Running Time: 8:17min

 

LOVE YOU, CALL ME BACK

Director: Klari Farzley, Running Time: 2:33min

 

OLD BLOOD

Director: Andrew Manning, Running Time: 6:26min

 

OUR NATURE

Director: Jay Lehmann, Running Time: 12:19min

 

PINEWOOD TEN

Director: Eyan and Ivon Wuchina, Running Time: 16:30min

 

THE PREACHER

Director: Jaron Lockridge, Running Time: 15min

 

THE QUANDARY

Director: Paul Williams, Running Time: 12:28min

 

TICK-TOCK

Director: Jake Hall, Running Time: 5:34min

 

WHERE ARE WE?

Director: Vic Matthews, Running Time: 7:05min

 

HOMETOWNER AFTER DARK SHORTS (TRT: 102min)

A GOOD MAN

Director: Christopher Smith, Running Time: 8:36min

 

ART MARTYRDOM

Director: B Siler, Running Time: 18:30min

 

CHILD FOR CHILD

Director: Juan Avella, Running Time: 10:53min

 

ENCOUNTERS WITH RIHANNA

Director: Steven (Rey) Simpson, Running Time: 8:01min

 

GAUNTLET RUN: BREACH

Director: Jyo Carolino and Garrett Atkinson, Running Time: 9:16min

 

GAUNTLET RUN: ORIGINS

Director: Garrett Atkinson, Running Time: 7:41min

 

H.I.D.

Director: Chad Allen Barton, Running Time: 25m

 

THE GAME

Director: Rob Rokk, Running Time: 13:32min

 

HOMETOWNER DOCUMENTARY SHORTS (TRT: 79min)

BIKE LEE

Director: Lauren Squires Readt, Running Time: 8:20min

 

BLACKOUT DAY

Director: Graham Uhelski, Running Time: 7:29min

 

BRICK IN THE WALL

Director: Jordan Danelz, Running Time: 18:04m

 

CAT/YOGA

Director: Edward Valibus, Running Time: 2:40min

 

LANGSTON MILES

Director: Perry Kirkland, Running Time: 3:20min

 

OBLITUS

Director: James Barker, Running Time: 2:52min

 

SCREEN USED

Director: Richard A Lester, Running Time: 17:40min

 

THE LITTLE MAN PROJECT

Director: Kierra Turner, Running Time: 5:46min

 

VOICEMAILS FROM HOME

Director: Blair Fisher, Running Time: 3:07min

 

HOMETOWNER MUSIC VIDEOS (TRT: 101min)

“Alternative Facts” by Infinity Stairs

Director: Graham Burks, Running Time: 3:32min

 

“America’s Perverted Gentlemen (Drawls)” by MonoNeon feat. AWFM

Director: IMAKEMADBEATS, Running Time: 1:32min

 

“Appointments” by Julien Baker

Director: Sophia Peer, Running Time: 4:34min

 

“Bactine” by NAMAZU

Director: George Hancock, Running Time: 3:29min

 

“Cake” by Marco Pavé

Director: GB Shannon, Running Time: 3:54min

 

“Crazy Train” by Brennan Villines

Director: Andrew Trent Fleming, Running Time: 3:53min

 

“Covered In Flames” by China Gate
Director: Noah Miller, Running Time: 3:47min

 

“Earth Boys Are Easy” by Letterman Jacket

Director: Isaac and Hanna Erickson, Running Time: 3:46min

 

“Exits (feat. ZER0)” by XVII TRILL

Director: SHAM, Running Time: 3:15min

 

“Green Eyes” by Fredd Velvet

Director: Erica Qualy and B Siler, Running Time: 3:19min

 

“Harbor Hall” by Don Lifted

Director: Lawrence E Matthews III, Running Time: 4:26min

 

“How Do I Get There” by Don Bryant

Director: Tyler Russell, Running Time: 3:47min

 

“Humble (PARODY)” by Tutweezy

Director: Lloyd Ambrose Jr., Running Time: 2:45min

 

“I’M A GOD (내가)” by TELISU

Director: Quintin Lamb, Running Time: 2:52min

 

“I’ve Been Wrong So Long/See Why I Love You” by The Love Light Orchestra

Director: Laura Jean Hocking, Running Time: 5:09min

 

“Kids These Days” by Chris Milam

Director: B Siler and Chris Milam, Running Time: 3:47min

 

“Mother Sang To Us” by IMAKEMADBEATS

Director: Gift Revolver and Okito Kudakwashe, Running Time: 3:55min

 

“Moving So Fast” by Me & Leah

Director: Jeff Hulett, Running Time: 3:40min

 

“Mr. Mystery” by Lisa Mac

Director: Melissa Sweazy, Running Time: 3:26min

 

“Neon Lift Off” by IMAKEMADBEATS

Director: Noah Glenn, Running Time: 2:18min

 

“Not of This Earth” by Alyssa Moore

Director: John Pickle, Running Time: 2:58min

 

“Parasite Inside” by Aquarian Blood

Director: Benjamin Rednour, Running Time: 3:04min

 

“Regret” by Jolt

Director: Justin Malone, Running Time: 4:26min

 

“Ruler of the Ball” by Crown Vox

Director: Mitch Martin, Running Time: 4min

 

“Sweet Love” by Alan Scoop

Director: Katori Hall, Running Time: 3:20min

 

“Take Control of Me” by Don Lifted

Director: Kevin Brooks, Running Time: 4:11min

 

“The Wile” by Aaron James

Director: Aaron James, Running Time: 3:53min

 

“We Were In Love” by Snowglobe

Director: B Siler, Running Time: 3:01min

 

SOUNDS MUSIC VIDEOS(TRT: 75min)

“30 Cents” by Eli Raybon

Director: Markus Thorington, Running Time: 3:30min

 

“Apocs: Hurrican Goddamn!”

Director: Scott Upshur, Running Time: 6min

 

“Burn The River Down” by Elli Perry

Director: Shawn Engler, Running Time: 3:43min

 

“BWA” by Soniamiki

Director: Marcin Starzecki, Running Time: 3:30min

 

“Colour My Love” by Shaela Miller

Director: Laura Combden, Running Time: 4:59min

 

“Cost Of The Summer” by Night Things

Director: Zach Shields, Running Time: 7:47min

 

“Famelica” by Basculante

Director: Basculante, Running Time: 4:04min

 

“Fourth of Julivar’s” by Tomo Nakayama

Director: Tony Fulgham, Running Time: 4:45min

 

“Heard” by Kaye the Beast

Director: Hope Leigh, Running Time: 4:25min

 

“High Ideal” by Big Bliss

Director: Nick Ray McCann, Running Time: 5:03min

 

“Instinct” by Belle Noble

Director: Jessie Oldfield and Adam Murfet, Running Time: 4:07min

 

“Life is Better Blonde” by Fires

Director: Natalie Erika James and Benjamin Morgan, Running Time: 3:29min

 

“Mountains” by mac/glidden
Director: Laurie Berenhaus, Running Time: 3:47min

 

“Oaks & Willows” by Fortunate Ones

Director: Tatjana Green and Nazar Melconian, Running Time: 4min

 

“Parallels” by I.R.L.

Director: Jack Chapman, Running Time: 3:51min

 

“STARDUST” by NEXT is BEST

Director: Etienne Fu-Le Saulnier, Running Time: 4:15min

 

“Summertime” by Laura Galindo

Director: Carter Tate, Running Time: 3:19min

 

“Try A Little Tenderness” by Alice Tan Ridley

Director: Roy Wol, Running Time: 3:43min

 

HOMETOWNER YOUTH FEST WINNERS (TRT: 60min)

AMBER

Director: Haley Parker and Tina Quarles (Center Hill), Running Time: 12:13min

Youth Fest Award: Best Performance – Haley Parker

 

CHIPS

Director: Chris Sims, Thomas Bongiolatti (Schilling Farms Middle), Running Time: 2:07min

Youth Fest Award: Best Middle School Film

 

CLEAN

Director: Emi Otsuki (Homeschool), Running Time: 9:07min

Youth Fest Award: Best Drama

 

MEIULK PT II

Director: Kade Banbury (Central), Running Time: 1:46min

Youth Fest Award: Best Experimental

 

MOMENTS

Director: Stuart Collier (Hutchison), Running Time: 6:03min

Youth Fest Award: Best Editing

 

“No Diamonds” – trillcloud

Director: Galen Hicks, Michael Price, Sam King (Central), Running Time: 3:20min

Youth Fest Award: Best Original Music Video

 

PROBLEMS

Director: Andrew Cunningham (Appling Middle), Running Time: 4:15min

Youth Fest Award: Shangri-La Projects Award for Talent to Watch

 

SPOILS

Director: Nubia Yasin (Gateway) and Jasmine Watson (East), Running Time: 8:21min

Youth Fest Award: Special Jury Award

 

SQUIRM

Director: Nubia Yasin (Gateway), Jasmine Watson (East), Shanice Wilson (Whitehaven), Mickele Bridges (Overton), Jermey Wilbourne (Melrose), Running Time: 1:46min

Youth Fest Award: Best Sound Design

 

“Steps” – Epps

Director: Vivian Gray (St. Mary’s), Running Time: 4:31min

Youth Fest Award: Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award

 

WAKE UP

Director: Charles Heiter (Lausanne), Running Time: 1:12min

Youth Fest Award: Best Lighting

 

WHO WE ARE

Director: Katharine Nowak (Houston High), Running Time: 1:14min

Youth Fest Award: Best Animation

 

WOMEN VS THE MEDIA

Director: Maggie Lathem (Germantown High), Running Time: 3:38min

Youth Fest Award: Best Documentary

 

 

SHORTS BEFORE FEATURES

COMMON CARRIER (Departures Competition)

Preceded by:

LANCE LIZARDI

Director: Xander Robin

Country: USA, Running Time: 8:22min

A young man takes his love for lizards to the extreme.

 

MAYA DARDEL (Spotlight)

Preceded by:

MIDWINTER

Director: Jake Mahaffy

Country: USA, Running Time: 17min

A pregnant woman returns to her family’s empty cabin to spend time alone, only to find her estranged mother already there waiting for her. What begins as a tentative reunion on the shortest day of the year quickly turns dark.

 

BARRACUDA (Sounds Competition)

Preceded by:

I TURN TO JELLO

Director: Andrew Betzer

Country: USA, Running Time: 12:54min

A short film about a cello player who is horrible at auditioning….and even worse at knowing when to stop auditioning.

 

SUPER DARK TIMES (Spotlight)

Preceded by:

A MIDNIGHT SERVICE – HOME INVASION

Director: Brett Potter

Country: USA, Running Time: 7:13min

THE MIDNIGHT SERVICE is a scripted true-crime series about the unknown across America. In “HOME INVASION”, a broke Miami comedian’s retreat into the Everglades is interrupted by an uninvited visitor.

 

THE PRICE (Narrative Competition)

Preceded by:

DRIVE SLOW

Director: Terrence Thompson

Country: USA, Running Time: 13:41min

“Drive Slow” follows a teenager from the South-Side of Chicago attempting to finish his college essays. As he struggles to boil down his complex surroundings in 500 words, his friends’ disparate opinions, racist news narratives, and the threat of lingering danger only complicate the process. Based off the pilot script of the same name, “Drive Slow” seeks to challenge certain stigmas surrounding Chicago communities, as well as tell the diverse stories of young people from this great city.

 

TORMENTING THE HEN (Narrative Competition)

Preceded by:

INTERIOR TERESA

Director: Meredith Alloway

Country: USA, Running Time: 14:27min

Teresa is having strange spiritual visions. When she meets an intriguing boy who’s also stuck on sanctuary cleaning duty, she starts to realize what these visions might mean, and how they’re connected to her unexpected, new friend. Inspired by the true story of Saint Teresa of Avila.

 

MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND (Spotlight)

Preceded by:

TRUE BLUE

Director: Chris Osborn

Country: USA, Running Time: 18:49min

A pyramid schemer’s dark night of the soul in Atlantic City.

 

DAYVEON (Spotlight)

Preceded by:

MÖBIUS

Director: Sam Kuhn

Country: USA, Canada, Running Time: 15min

A moth eaten tale of magic and mutation half remembered by a teen poet who’s beloved lies lifeless in a stream.

 

MR. ROOSEVELT (Spotlight)

Preceded by:

THE PRIVATES

Director: Dylan Allen

Country: USA, Running Time: 12min

A band struggles with a radioactive energy in their music they can’t control.

 

95 AND 6 TO GO (Documentary Competition)

Preceded by:

SUNDAYS WITH RIKI

Director: Brandon Barr

Country: USA, Running Time: 19:40min

In a documentary that captures the intricacies of mother-daughter relationships, Ivy thinks it is time for her aging mother Riki to enter a new stage in her life, but Riki won’t give in that easily.

 

STUMPED (Documentary Competition)

Preceded by:

FAMILY REWRITTEN

Director: Yasmin Mistry

Country: USA, Running Time: 13:15min

Despite battling Cystic Fibrosis, Camilla, age 16, identifies as a typical middle-class American teenager until the thread that holds her family together suddenly snaps. Just months before her 18th birthday Camilla finds herself in foster care, but instead of being ashamed, she makes a conscious decision to not let her situation define her.

 

FURRY LEWIS & THE BOTTLENECK GUITAR STORY (Hometowners Competition)

Preceded by:

THE MAN IS THE MUSIC

Director: Maris Curran

Country: USA, Running Time: 19:07min

This short documentary is an experiential reflection on art as a way of life. The artist and musician Lonnie Holley is a product of the environment in which he was raised – Jim Crow Alabama – and his work reflects the impact of being socially discarded. Through his unique perspective and the process of creating beauty, Lonnie draws us into his captivating world.

 

LIFE IN WAVES (Sounds Competition)

Preceded by:

ABBY, THE SPOON LADY

Director: Justinsuperstar Johnson

Country: USA, Running Time: 10:19min

You’ve never seen anyone play the spoons like this! Asheville-based Abby Roach is one of a few in the world who makes a living clacking a pair of flatware together. Often underestimated, Abby’s incredible life story is anything but dull.

 

SUSPIRIA (Special Screening)

Preceded by:

THE RETURN OF THE FLESH EATING FILM REELS

Director: John Pickle

Country: USA, Running Time: 8:47min

In 1975 writer director S.S. Wilson (Tremors, Wild Wild West, Short Circuit) unleshed his student film ‘Recored live aka Flesh Eating Film Reels. In the 1980’s HBO would later begin to screen his short film between feature films to kill time. Unknowingly creeping out an entire generation of 8 year olds (John PIckle) who were lucky enough to witness a man being hunted by an otherwise inanimate object.

 

TRANS*CEND (Hometowners Competition)

Preceded by:

TWO BIRDS

Director: Caitlin Stickels

Country: USA, Running Time: 8:30min

Ellie and Rose like each other. The only problem is that they have never met, even though they both frequent the same coffee shop. The question is – who will make the first move?

 

THE YOU LOOK LIKE SHOW (Special Screening)

Preceded by:

STAND UP GUYS

Director: Alexandra van Milligen and Sammy Anzer

Country: USA, Running Time: 13min

A micro-sitcom from the city that brought you Elvis Presley and violent crime, Stand-Up Guys follows a group of ragtag comedians trying to make it big in Memphis, TN.

 

A BITTER PILL TO SWALLOW (Hometowners Competition)

Preceded by:

MADE IN MARIANNA: THE LEGEND OF SUPER WOLFE

Director: Greg D. Hammond

Country: USA, Running Time: 26:46min

In 1956 WDIA transmitted soul music past the Mighty Mississippi; 58 miles away into Marianna, Arkansas. There a 6 year old James E. Wolfe, Jr. listened intently while working with his family in the cotton fields of Lee County. A battery powered transistor radio was the genesis of a desire and a goal for Wolfe.