Knox Shelton
Indie Memphis has tapped Knox Shelton as its next executive director.
The new leadership hire comes after the resignation of Ryan Watt, who led the arts organization through a period of unprecedented expansion, and the challenges of the COVID era.
Shelton comes to Indie Memphis after a stint as executive director of Literacy Mid-South.
“I am honored and thrilled with the opportunity to lead Indie Memphis. The organization has made tremendous strides over the past several years and has an incredibly optimistic future. I look forward to combining years of working alongside the Memphis community with my passion for film as we continue to anchor Memphis as a thriving artistic environment for film and production,” he says.
Board president Brett Robbs, who led the five-month search for a new director, praised Shelton’s experience in the Memphis nonprofit community.
“Thanks to his inclusive vision and values, Knox will help us continue to support a range of filmmakers and present an ever greater variety of films that reflect our own community’s many different stories, interests, and experiences.”
The organization now called Indie Memphis was founded in 1998 as a film festival to present Memphis filmmakers’ works to the world. It has grown over the last 23 years to include year-round programming, and before the pandemic was scheduled open its own cinema in partnership with Malco’s Studio on the Square.
Shelton will face the considerable challenge of leading the festival in the chaotic, post-pandemic film industry. In 2019, the festival attracted its largest audience yet, selling more than 12,000 tickets and passes. The 2020 festival adopted a pandemic-safe, online, and in-person model which attracted audiences from as far away as Brazil and Israel.
Artistic director Miriam Bale says she expects the festival’s push towards including more diverse voices in independent and art cinema to continue with Shelton at the helm.
“We are thrilled to be working with someone who feels as passionately as we do about the importance of storytelling and education,” said Bale. “With Knox, we’re confident there will be no lag, but a seamless continuation of the work we have done and exponential growth towards where we would like to be.”
