Indie Memphis’ Saturday is packed with goodness, including strong entries from Memphis filmmakers.
Rhythms Of The Baul
Anupam Lahiri is an Indian-American director who has been active in Indie Memphis circles for several years. His new film “Rhythms Of The Baul” is the highlight of the 10:30 Culture Documentaries block. Lahiri traveled to India to trace the culture and music of the ancient ethno-religious group whose music is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. The immaculately edited doc is a taste of a longer work to come, and features a whirlwind of great musical moments. As singer Bonnie Chakraborty says, “It should not be read as a musical form. It is a way of life,”
Grace Zabriske and Amy LaVere in Only Child
Another Memphis film veteran, Brian Pera, figures into two features today. The first is Only Child, the director’s sequel to Women’s Picture, in which he takes up the story of Loretta, the delusional hotel maid played by the Memphis Flyer’s 2015 Best Singer Amy LaVere. Twin Peaks’ Grace Zabriskie plays opposite LaVere as Delores, who is desperately searching for the mysterious beauty. Also in the cast is Lindsay Roberts as Lana, who strikes up a curiously co-dependent relationship with Loretta.
Pera also appears in and will present The Cult Of JT LeRoy, Marjorie Sturm’s documentary about a popular writer whose bestselling memoir turned out to be full of holes, and the online sleuths who broke the story.
Feral
The other big Memphis event at the festival is Morgan Jon Fox’s Feral, the Memphis director’s brilliant web series about growing up and hooking up in Memphis. You can read my August cover story about Feral here.