This Indie Memphis Film Festival continues today with some high profile docs, movies in the park, and parties on the roof. Read our full-festival survey from this week’s paper here. For full schedule and ticketing info, see IndieMemphis.com.
Pick of the Day: Thunder Soul (7 p.m., Studio on the Square)
As captured in Thunder Soul, some of the funkiest soul instrumentals of the 1970s were recorded by a group of 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds from Houston, Texas. The Kashmere Stage Band, under the influence of Otis Redding and the tutelage of progressive high school band teacher Conrad. O. Johnson, became widely recognized as the best high school band in America. In an effective documentary about a Kashmere Stage Band reunion concert, Thunder Soul director Mark Landsman shows how the band’s success empowered the Kashmere High students, who also began to excel at sports and academics. It’s a powerful — and great sounding —testament to the often undervalued power of art education in public schools. — Chris Davis
Filmmaker Mark Landsman talks about Thunder Soul:
