The Indie Memphis Film Festival celebrates its ninth year this week, screening approximately 80 films — features, documentaries, shorts, music videos, and experimental movies — over the course of seven days at Muvico’s Peabody Place Theater.
A festival that’s long prided itself as being the definitive annual showcase of locally produced movies will boast its largest selection of local — dubbed “Hometowner” — features ever this year. Among the eight feature films by Memphis filmmakers are three notable second features, including Eat from C. Scott McCoy (of 2004 Indie Memphis winner Automusik Can Do No Wrong), Fraternity Massacre at Hell Island from Mark Jones (of Eli Parker Is Getting Married?), and The Importance of Being Russell from director Sean Plemmons and his partners with Paradox Productions (of Strange Cargo).
The festival lives up to its “Soul of Southern Film” moniker with a couple of high-profile screenings: Arkansas-bred, Mississippi-based actress Joey Lauren Adams will be in town to show off her writing and directing debut, the regional drama Come Early Morning, which screened at Sundance earlier this year. And Arkansas “outsider cinema” auteur Phil Chambliss will be at the festival to screen a few of his homemade short films before they get the royal treatment at the London Film Festival later this month.
Indie Memphis also expands its mission to incorporate more selections from “Beyond the South.” Boston’s acclaimed Alloy Orchestra will be in town to give live accompaniment to a screening of the 1920s silent classic The Phantom of the Opera. And one of the year’s most critically acclaimed indies, Old Joy, will make its first and perhaps only Memphis appearance at the festival. — Chris Herrington
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Muvico Peabody Place Theater
Friday, October 13th-Thursday, October 19th
Individual screenings $6.50; full festival pass $60
See IndieMemphis.com for a full schedule
