Brody Kuhar – Memphis Flyer

Last Saturday night, Marcella Simien debuted her new album To Bend to the Will of a Dream That’s Being Fulfilled with a unique show at Off The Wall Arts. Sculptor and Off The Wall proprietor Yvonne Bobo created a cylinder of screens, and Infinity Stairs‘ Graham Burks created immersive video to wrap around the performer. The resulting combination of music and video projection mapping were striking.

Marcella Simien sings at Off The Wall Arts while wrapped in Graham Burks’ video projection. (Photo by Chris McCoy)

Simien’s new album is a departure from her usual “swamp soul” sound, incorporating experimental electronic textures and vintage instruments. The first music video from the album takes a completely different tack. It’s a hybrid music video and documentary short by Memphis filmmakers Joshua Cannon and Brody Kuhar. The team traveled down to Louisiana to introduce us to Marcella’s family, including the song’s namesake, her great-grandmother Lelia Manuel Simien. It’s a beautiful, life-affirming work which will cause you to reflect on your family roots as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tim Burton’s all-time classic from 1988 gets a sequel after 36 years. Winona Ryder returns as Lydia Deets, the goth girl of your dreams now all grown up. She’s the host of Ghost House with Lydia Deets, and the mother of Astrid (Jenna Ortega), a teenager who is just as gloomy as Lydia once was. When they return to their old home in Winter River, Astrid discovers the portal to the afterlife in the family home’s attic, and releases Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). Catherine O’Hara returns as Delia, Lydia’s art dealer stepmother, and Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Justin Theroux are along for the supernatural ride.

The Front Room

Brandy returns to the big screen as Belinda, a mother-to-be who is expecting her first child with her husband Norman (Andrew Burnap). But just as the couple is building their new nest, they have to take in Solange (Kathryn Hunter), Norman’s stepmother who was long estranged from his family. Now, they will realize why she has been estranged, and deal with the shocking consequences. Max and Sam Eggers, brothers of The Northman’s Robert Eggers, direct this A24 suspense film from a short story by Susan Hill.

It Ends With Us

Blake Lively stars as Lily Bloom in this hit adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestseller. Lily is caught between Ryle (Justin Baldoni) an intensely emotional neurosurgeon, and Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), her old flame. Can she stop her family’s generations-long cycle of abuse?

“Mama’s Sundry”

On Thursday, Sept. 12 at Crosstown Theater, a new collaboration between Memphis filmmakers Brody Kuhar and Joshua Cannon will make its debut. “Mama’s Sundry” is a 15-minute documentary about Bertram Williams and Memphis musician Talibah Safiya‘s neighborhood garden project.