- The Corduroy Wednesday crew (director Phillips, far left) took home the top Hometowner prize for The Conversion.
Awards for the 12th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival were given tonight at the Hi-Tone Café. Festival screenings continue through Thursday at Studio on the Square. Encore screenings were also announced, and are listed at the bottom of this post.
Director Edward Valibus Phillips and his Corduroy Wednesday crew (Erik Morrison and Benjamin Rednour) took the Hometowner Award for best local feature for their web series The Conversion, which will debut in its entirety at the festival Tuesday night with screenings at 8:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. (The earlier screening is sold out. Some tickets remained at press time for the latter screening.)
“We figured we’d cast everyone in Memphis in the move. That way they’d all buy tickets to the screening and we’d sell it out,” Phillips cracked, accepting the award. “It worked!”
On a more serious note, Phillips praised the festival and took note of what has become a significant moment in the development of many Memphis moviemakers. “For a local filmmaker, Indie Memphis is the first Everest you climb,” Phillips said.
- Director Ryan Parker, Hometowner winner for best short film with Woke Up Ugly.
The Hometowner winner in the short film category was Ryan Parker‘s Woke Up Ugly, which screen as part of a program of local shorts Wednesday at 6:45 p.m.
The Special Jury Awards given by the Hometowner jury were awarded to Ellis Fowler‘s local dance doc Memphis Movement — Jukin’: The Urban Ballet (screening Monday at 6 p.m.), for “visual storytelling” to Kenneth Coker for his animated short Iwa (which screens Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. as part of a local shorts program), for “someone to watch” to Ben Siler for his short The Non-Invasion (screening Monday at 8:30 p.m. as part of a local shorts program), and for “portrayal of living history” to Jonathan Epstein‘s documentary I Am A Man: From Memphis, A Lesson In Life.
