From its inception 25 years ago as a forum for Memphis filmmakers to show their work, Indie Memphis has had artist development as a big part of its mission. The ultimate expression of that mandate is the Youth Film Fest. Now in its seventh year, the Youth Film Fest returns in-person this Saturday, August 27th, after two years of meeting virtually.
The one-day fest will be held Downtown at the Orpheum Theatre’s Halloran Centre. This year’s keynote speaker will be Craig Brewer, director of Hustle & Flow and Coming 2 America. Brewer is a Memphis filmmaking pioneer who wrote, directed, and produced his first movie The Poor & Hungry here in 2000. He will be speaking on the subject of storytelling and the importance of understanding not only what techniques will move the audience, but also why and how each story is being told.
During the spring and summer, the Indie Memphis CrewUp program brings together groups of students between grades 7 and 12 to create a short film under the tutelage of a professional to screen at the Youth Film Fest. This year’s batch of nine films, all produced with budgets of $500, will screen at 12:15 p.m. A second batch of 11 short films created by Mid-South students will screen at 5 p.m. The audience will vote for their favorite film, which will win a $300 prize. The winner of the jury prize will receive $500.
A new production grant program modeled on the highly successful IndieGrants awards $5,000 to one youth filmmaker for a short-film proposal. The first Youth Grant winner in 2019 was Janay Kelley. Her film “The River” will make its world premiere at 2 p.m., accompanied by an informational session about the requirements of the grant program.
Workshops will be held throughout the afternoon, including makeup with Mandie J, production design and title graphics with Mica Jordan, stunt choreography with Jyo “Six” Carolino, directing actors with Princeton James, cinematography with Jason Thibodeaux, and the delightfully titled “Producing & Other Weird Jobs” with Sharrika Evans.
The day will end with a group dinner and trivia contest at 6:45 p.m., and the awards show at 7:30 p.m.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 27th. Passes, which can be either in-person or, for those unable to attend, virtual, are available at the Indie Memphis website.