One of the 25 "Coolest Film Festivals"
~ MovieMaker Magazine, Summer '09
Click here for details on submitting to the 2010 Indie Memphis Film Festival.
Festival
Indie Memphis connects and inspires indie filmmakers and film-lovers through the unique creative landscape that is the home of the Blues and the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll. The festival highlights Regional Filmmaking and brings new independent work to Memphis from all corners of the country -- while continuing its thirteen year tradition of providing a showcase for Southern filmmaking, specifically highlighting the work of Memphis filmmakers.
Named one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals" in the Summer 2009 issue of MovieMaker Magazine, the 13th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival is set for October 21-24, 2010 in Midtown Memphis, the city's cultural center and home to a plethora of restaurants, bars and clubs.
Last year's festival saw an attendance increase of more than 30% for the second year in a row -- bringing the overall festival attendance to a record-setting 7,200 attendees. Over 80 filmmakers, industry veterans and special guests from across the United States came to Memphis to screen their work, participate in panel discussions, and connect with each other and other festival attendees, including former New York Times film critic ELVIS MITCHELL (The Black List, KCRW's The Treatment), CRAIG BREWER (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan), PETER GILBERT (Hoop Dreams, At The Death House Door), RAY MCKINNON (The Accountant, The Blind Side), BARRY CORBIN (No Country For Old Men, Northern Exposure), JOE SWANBERG (Hannah Takes The Stairs, Alexander the Last) CORY MCABEE (The American Astronaut, Stingray Sam), HEIDI VAN LIER ("The Indie Film Rule Book") and CHRIS HOLLAND ("Film Festival Secrets"). Other past attendees and special guests have included JOHN SAYLES (Matewan), IRA SACHS (Forty Shades of Blue); GIANCARLO ESPOSITO (Do The Right Thing), ANGELA BASSETT (What's Love Got To Do With It), JOEY LAUREN ADAMS (Chasing Amy), ALBERT MAYSLES (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter), and BOB MONDELLO (National Public Radio).
With roots that run deep in the cultural landscape Memphis is most famous for, Indie Memphis is about more than film -- and the 2009 festival set new milestones connecting music and film: MEMPHIS MUSICIANS performed live in the movie theater auditoriums before screenings, exposing audience members to true, independent Memphis music; the ALLOY ORCHESTRA performed their acclaimed live accompaniments to silent film classics The General and Man With A Movie Camera; singer / songwriter ROBYN HITCHCOCK performed an intimate solo concert to close the festival at Malco Theatres' Studio on the Square, and ELVIS PRESLEY himself returned to the Levitt Shell for a free outdoor screening of Elvis: '68 Special.
Check out past award-winners from 2009 and 2008.
"I've had screenings of my films all around the world. I've watched my films premiere at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, as well as the Prince's Palace in Marrakech. But there has never been an experience to equal my premiere at Indie Memphis."
~ CRAIG BREWER, Hustle & Flow, on screening The Poor & Hungry in 2000
"Local support is imperative to any great festival, and the Memphians fill the theaters and embrace the films and moviemakers as their own... Memphis rolls out the red carpet and spreads its loving arms wide, pulling you in for a big lo' bear hug, saying 'We're glad you're here; -- just like mama would."
~ SCOTT TEEMS, That Evening Sun, in MovieMaker Magazine (Winter 2010)
"Come to Indie Memphis. The atmosphere is cozy; it's like a hug just when you need one."
~ MORGAN JON FOX, OMG/HaHaHa (2008 Best Hometowner Feature)
"Regional festivals are the foundation of truly independent filmmaking and Indie Memphis is a testament to that. Filmmakers like myself, who are working with limited means to make regional movies, can find an audience at Indie Memphis."
~ TOM QUINN, The New Year Parade (2008 Best Feature)
"Indie Memphis has so much that I look for in a film festival, and I should know since I'm at one almost every month: programming with a thoughtful and idiosyncratic point of view that reflects its leadership, and reaches out to promising new filmmakers whose work has an unmistakable sense of place; an excited and eager community that attends the films in force looking to be surprised by the fare, rather than congratulated for coming out; and, oh yeah, barbecue."
~ ELVIS MITCHELL, 2008 festival juror / film critic & interviewer
Click here to peruse the 2009 festival schedule.
