Tag: Ryan Watt

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Names New Executive Director

Ryan Watt, the Indie Memphis board member who stepped in to direct the festival after the departure of Erik Jambor earlier this year, has been named the new Executive Director for the arts organization. 

Ryan Watt, the new Executive Director of Indie Memphis.

“I’m honored to become the executive director of Indie Memphis, and excited about the chance to lead this phenomenally creative organization,” Watt said. “Indie Memphis has played a significant role in the local filmmaking community, I look forward to working with artists to bring greater visibility to our creative community, and providing audiences more opportunities to enjoy the best of independent films that are not otherwise available in Memphis.”

As a producer, Watt has had a hand in several Memphis films, including Open Five, Daylight Fades, and Free In Deed, the joint US/New Zealand production that won a prestigious award at the Venice Film Festival last weekend. 

In addition to the annual film festival, Indie Memphis presents film screenings and premieres year round and offers grants to encourage the work of Memphis based filmmakers. This year’s Indie Memphis film festival, the 18th annual event, will run from November 3-10. 

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Free In Deed Wins Big At Venice Film Festival

A film with deep Memphis connections has won a major prize at the 72nd Venice Film Festival in Italy, which concluded last weekend. 

Free in Deed

Free In Deed, a joint US/New Zealand production helmed by Jake Mahaffy, won the prize for Best Film in the festival’s Orizzonti category, beating out 34 other films from all over the globe. 

The Orizzonti category is for “films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema.” The lead judge for the category was legendary filmmaker Jonathan Demme. 

Director Mahaffy opened his acceptance speech by thanking his Memphis crew: “This is a very collaborative kind of filmmaking. I can’t mention everything but I want to mention a couple of things – first of all the City of Memphis that had a profound soul and we did our best to capture some of that. I am grateful to the people who participated.”

Director Jake Mahaffy accepts the Orizzonti prize for Best Film at the 72nd Venice Film Festival in Italy.

Included in the large crew that shot the film here last year were Memphians Ryan Watt, Nicki Newberger and Adam Hohenberg, who served as associate producers. Acclaimed Memphis filmmakers Sarah Fleming and Morgan Jon Fox served as first assistant director and unit production manager, respectively, with Gloria Belz providing hair and makeup. Among the 51 Memphians with speaking parts in the film are RaJay Chandler, Prophetess Libra, and musician Preston Shannon. New York producer Mike Ryan, who has brought numerous films to the Bluff City over the past few years, served as one of three lead producers.

The film tells the story of a Pentecostal minister trying to save an ailing young boy through faith healing. 

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Film Festival Director Resigns

The Indie Memphis Film Festival has announced the resignation of Executive Director Erik Jambor.

In his seven-year stint as the festival’s first full time executive director, Jambor has overseen the expansion of the festival from its roots as a locally focused, all-volunteer affair into an internationally renown event, screening more than 100 films annually, with year-round programming. The festival became one of the first major events to be held in Overton Square, selling out screenings in Playhouse On The Square and Circuit Playhouse and raising the profile of the entertainment district at a crucial time during its redevelopment. Attendance peaked in 2012, with approximately 12,000 festival goers. 

However, as the festival continued to expand and add screens, attendance has leveled off and dropped over the last two years. In private conversations, Indie Memphis board members have pointed to several factors, including failed outreach beyond the core cinephile audience and the fact that the festival weekend has fallen on the distraction-filled Halloween holiday in the last two years.

A significant shortfall in the festival’s $200,000 annual budget became apparent at the end of 2014, kicking off an internal debate among the board members about the future of the festival. Indie Memphis’ other full time employee, Brighid Wheeler was laid off in January, and Jambor stopped taking his salary in February before finally resigning this week.

In a press release late Friday newly elected board president Ryan Watt, a Memphis-based film producer, said that a search for a new director has begun, and that the search will concentrate on finding someone with non-profit fundraising experience. A scaled-back version of the festival will take place in the fall—although definitely not on Halloween weekend. Watt said this year’s festival will be more locally focused, and that he hopes to reschedule the festival to a more opportune time of year in 2016 and revamping the festival to reflect the changing nature of film audiences. No call for entries has been posted at this time.

Both members of the board and Jambor have characterized his departure as a mutual decision. Jambor has accepted a film fellowship in Italy, and has stated he hopes to return as a consultant to the festival in the future.