Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Memphis Indie Film Festival lineup

Here it is from the Indie Memphis web site:

2005 Indie Memphis

Soul of Southern Film Festival Schedule

Above God

The first film ever made about Gene Ray – the legendary eccentric behind timecube.com – attempts to portray the beautiful mind of Ray while at the same time following the struggle he endures for his often bizarre theories. 2005. Director: Brett Hanover. HT Documentary, 37:54. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Act One

A comedy-drama that relays the story of a confident, immature twenty-two year old screenwriter, whose work had been produced by a big Hollywood studio. Charged with writing another hit, Kevin looks to his own life for “inspiration,” but discovers so much more. Film explores what it's like to be twenty-something and trying to tackle your two greatest – yet seemingly conflicting – goals: bettering yourself while connecting with the world around you. It's a story that takes an often comedic look at growing up in the world, the people who do the real growing for you, and how we're all just trying to make the movie that is our life the best that it can be. 2005. Director: Brad Ellis. 100:00. Thursday, Oct. 27, 6:30 p.m. Filmmakers scheduled to attend.

Among Brothers

Jennifer, a college senior is found dead in her burned down apartment. The police inform her parents that it appeared to be an accident. Two days later, the autopsy reveals otherwise: there was no presence of smoke in Jennifer’s lungs. She died before the fire. Someone had killed her and tried to cover it up. Based on actual events in Florence, SC. Winner of Silver Remi Award for Theatrical Features, Houston Worldfest. 2005. Director: John Schwert. Narrative Feature, 89:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 5 p.m.

Ants in Ant Farm

A young man blames God for not being involved in his life. God appears to the young man in many human forms, explaining that he has been absent and is not the deity that the world has made him out to be. The universe is as it appears and there is nothing beyond nature for humans. The young man becomes angry with God for his lack of love and respect for the evolution of mankind. He takes his life before God in an act of defiance, as God looks on in simple curiosity. Director: Timm Sculita. HT Narrative Short, 9:50. Sunday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.

Away (A)wake

Four people wander the streets of Memphis sleepless for several days, searching for something they’ve lost, troubled by what they’ve found. 2005. Director: Morgan Jon Fox. HT Narrative Feature, 90:00. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Before

Can the present change the past? Using old family travel movies, this film takes a nostalgic look at the golden age of the Jet Set before finally considering how world events can color our cherished memories. 2004. Director: Hans Stiritz. Documentary, 5:00. Thursday, Oct. 27, 8:30 p.m.

Below Average

Dwayne Durkin learns at the young age of seven that life has dealt him and ugly card, and his future as the class dork looks pretty dim. But as luck would have it, he meets Julie Masters and everything changes with one little kiss. Suddenly the friendship and love they share gives Dwayne a new outlook on life. That is, until fate plays the ultimate prank. 2005. Directors: Kris Boyatt and Natalie Boyatt. HT Narrative Short, 14:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmakers scheduled to attend.

The Bicycle

The story of a boy’s search for his lost bicycle and the mystical discoveries he makes along the way. 2004. Director: Brian Sizensky. Narrative Short, 12:28. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

Bright Sunny South

Even though his life is already really busy with telling his girlfriend’s dogs to get away from him, and letting the neighbor borrow a pipe, Brandon suddenly has to deal with one more thing: trying to keep the man who saved him from a well out of his life. 2005. Director: Andrew Nenninger. HT Narrative Short, 28:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Cleaver

Nikki’s unhappy even though her parents treat her like a princess; the problem is the guy chained up in the bathroom. 2005. Director: John Harvey. HT Narrative Short, 9:47. Monday, Oct. 24, 8:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Code 33

The directors of Horns & Halos (IM 2002) return with their latest film. The Summer 2003 search for the notorious Miami serial rapist is revealed in this engrossing documentary. Captures the divides between policy and community, media and truth, and illegal and legal immigrants, and uses the crime to and hunt to solve it as a window onto Miami itself. 2004. Directors: David Bellinson, Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley, and Zachary M. Werner. Documentary, 82:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Crestfallen

A man discovers a key that unlocks the door to a world within his mind, where he finds the girl of his dreams. 2004. Director: Brian Sizensky. Narrative Short, 9:42. Saturday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m.

Defending Against Defense

Many in Memphis are not aware that there is a SuperFund site at the former Defense Depot. But in the adjacent neighborhood, cancer is common. Local residents and activists have been battling the way this military cleanup has been conducted, and questioning whether there is environmental racism at the heart of the value system in the South.

2004. Director: Elizabeth Daggett. HT Documentary, 12:00. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Dollars & Signs

In the great American city of Memphis, TN, three "businessmen" are struggling to succeed. Carlton has an image to maintain and a family to feed. Mike and Dave have regular folks paying them to stand up against corporate greed. Along the way the three will meet, heads will bump and lives will change. 2005. Director: Brandon Hutchinson. HT Narrative Feature, 78:00. Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Don’t Give Me the Finger

The story of a down-on-his-luck gambler who is lured into a tawdry high-stakes, winner-take-all wager by an elegant but twisted bar owner. 2005. Director: David Rikki Balcorta (Los Angeles, CA). Narrative Short, 15:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Dowsing Spring Hill

A supernatural mystery and story of ongoing racial divide. As the proud owner of his ancestral Civil War-era abandoned church and cemetery in rural Mississippi, documentarian Rex Jones invites a dowser to his property to locate unmarked graves. As the proceedings unfold, it becomes clear that people are segregated in death as well as in life. 2005. Director: Rex Smith. Documentary, 22:00. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.

Dreaming in America

Lucero’s story about that amazing thing too often overlooked: a blue-collar rock group’s struggle to survive in an ever-changing music industry. Cameras started rolling just as Lucero was breaking from its indie rock past and considering the treacherous leap to a major label deal unlike anything seen by the industry before. 2005. Director: Aaron Goldman. Documentary, 71:00. Thursday, Oct. 27, 8:30 p.m. Filmmakers scheduled to attend.

Dream On Silly Dreamer

The true story of the high times and tragic fate of Walt Disney feature animation, told by the artists who lived it. 2005. Director: Dan Lund. Animated documentary, 40:00. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m.

Fighting for Life in the Death Belt

Stephen Bright has spent 25 years defending death row inmates deep in the heart of the nation’s death belt – the Southeastern states where ninety percent of executions occur. This is the death penalty through his eyes. Narrated by Ani Di Franco. “Best of the Fest” winner, Chicago International Documentary Film Festival. 2005. Director: Jeff Marks. Documentary, 53:00.

Herman Does the Lawn

What happens when a henpecked husband is pushed too far? Find out in this animated short, influenced by the works of Walter Lantz, Max Fleischer, Chuck Jones and other great artisans of the past. A hilarious adventure in yardwork with a sweet taste of revenge! 2004. Director: Roy Darby. Animation, 2:50. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m.

IF

Why does life happen as it does? Is it just a series of random events or is there a purpose behind all things? Are we drivers on the road of life or are we just passengers. This film examines those questions through the intimate lens of a relationship. 2005. Director: John Paul Clark. HT Narrative Short, 17:00.

Jack Quack (The Path)

Life just isn’t what it is quacked up to be. Jack keeps getting these weird dreams, so he goes on a mission to solve the mystery. 2004. Director: A.M. Peters. Animation, 6:00. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m.

Joyride

What “the man” wants, “the man” gets…and if you don’t pay attention it will all go by in the blink of a sound bite. 2005. Director: John Cernak. Animation, 5:10. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8:30 p.m.

Last Words

Two characters talk as death approaches. 2005. Director: Adam Remsen. HT Narrative Short, Adam Remsen. 5:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. and Tueaday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen

Tracing the historical arc of the professional bowling tour, from the sport's glory days in the 1950s and '60s, through its near extinction in 1997. The story takes a twist when newly installed CEO Steve Miller sets about modernizing the PBA, and follows four professional bowlers in their sometimes funny, sometimes sad adventures on tour. Winner of the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. 2005. Director: Chris Browne. Documentary, 93:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m.

Live From Memphis Music Video Showcase

Music videos from local musicians. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m.

Loggerheads

A minister’s wife (Tess Harper) must confront her conservative husband, who has estranged them from their adopted son since they’ve learned that he’s gay. Listless and disappointed in life, Grace (Bonnie Hunt) makes a last ditch decision to search for the son she was pressured into giving up for adoption as a teenager. Mark (Kip Pardue), a drifter who is strangely fascinated with loggerhead sea turtles, crosses paths with George (Michael Kelly), a fixture of his quiet beach. Their stories interweave to create a portrait of familial detachment and longing that is at once universal, and steeped in the keenly observed looks and rhythms of three distinctive settings across North Carolina. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. 2005. Director: Tim Kirkland. Narrative Feature. Friday, Oct. 21, 8 p.m.

Messenger’s

What are the blues and are they still alive? This film explores that question through the story of George Messenger, owner of Clarksdale, Mississippi’s oldest running family business, Messenger’s Pool Hall. George tells his story from the bygone era of the sharecroppers and a street bustling with juke joints to the boarded up downtown of today. 2005. Directors: Ria Nurrachman and Jack McDonald. Narrative Short, 12:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 5 p.m.

Mother’s Day

Two brothers battle fate and stupidity while burying their mother in the middle of the night. 2004. Director: Cliff Richhart. Narrative Short, 14:00.

Millworker

Documentary about a grassroots theatre production that told the true story of Southern cotton mill workers through oral histories and folk music, resulting in a profound effect on its cast members and audience while connecting them to their past. 2005. Director: Linda Booker. Documentary: 40:00. Thursday, Oct. 27, 8:30 p.m.

My Redneck Brain Cell

What is that unit of measurement for the spiciness of food? As Bill tries to figure this out, his brain cells argue over the answer. The outcome of this inner struggle is influenced by one lone cell: The Redneck. 2005. Director: Matthew Cornwell. Narrative Short, 7:10. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.

The National Hollerin’ Contest

The title says it all. Director: Philip Brubaker. Narrative Short, 5:43. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Phil Armonik

A janitor in the music building of a university eases the boredom of his daily toil by journeying into his memory and imagination through music.

2000. Director: Benjamin Epps. Experimental, 21:00.

Oceanfront Property

One week. One beach house. One girl who left you at the altar. What would you do? Winner of the Audience Award at the 2005 Texas Film Festival and Best Feature at the 2005 Magnolia Independent Film Festival. 2004. Director: Joe Scott. Narrative Feature, 105:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m.

Occupation Dreamland

A melancholy portrait of a squad of the US Army's 82nd Airborne – based in Ft. Bragg, SC – deployed in the doomed Iraqi city of Falluja during the winter of 2004. A collective study of the squad unfolds as they cope with an environment of low-intensity conflict and confusion creeping steadily towards catastrophe. The result is a revealing, sometimes surprising look at Army life, operations and the complexity of American war in the 21st century. 2005. Directors: Garrett Scott and Ian Olds. Documentary. 78:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 3 p.m.

Orpheus

A modern retelling of the classic Greek myth. A Memphis rock start must travel to the underworld in an attempt to bring his dead wife back from the grave. Incorporating magical realism, Memphis music, and homage to previous versions of the story, Orpheus is at once classic and modern, in style and substance. IS rock dead? 2005. Director: Joel T. Rose. HT Narrative Short, 30:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

The Other Side of the Pillow

Basically what happens between bumps on the head. Callahan and Millings are two opposites co-existing in the same sphere. When they are forced to connect on a personal level, their realities collide, creating a disjointed authenticity to their otherwise tedious routines. In the mundane existence we call life, is change really possible? Is it accepted? Would anyone even notice? Wow, that’s deep…now, wake up. 2005. Director: Sarah Fleming. HT Narrative Short, 21:18. Sunday, Oct. 23, 9 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.

Pickle Power

Douglas Goldberg faces the constant horror of disappointing his brilliant family and shaming their “Wall of Fame.” Despite his best efforts, Douglas always comes up short, losing the blue ribbon to the uber-perfect Jordan White. That is, until he comes upon an ad for the State Pickle Eating Contest, and realizes his love for pickles could win back his family’s love for him. 2005. Director: Benjamin Epps. Narrative Short, 19:56. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Postcards

A recently widowed, elderly woman is revisited by her past when she receives postcards forged by a well-meaning postman. 2003. Director: Benjamin Epps. Narrative Short, 19:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

Prayers from Pelham

A small Southern town pays a dying woman to deliver their prayers to God. 2005. Director: Ruckus Skye. Narrative Short, 27:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

A Program of Films from Bill Brown

A retrospective of experimental documentary filmmaker Bill Brown, noted by critics as one of America’s leading new cinematic voices. Sunday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m.

Raccoon

Based on a short story by Richard Chiappone. Tells the story of two young men hunting on a cold winter day in 1968. When something from their past reveals itself, the incident threatens to have deadly consequences for both. 2004. Director: Trey Nelson. Narrative Short, 18:35. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

The Rest of Your Life

It’s been two years since Alex Young graduated from college, and she is still living in the same city with the same boyfriend and the same job. Seeing that it is time for her to become the adult that college had originally promised to make her, Alex joins the ranks of today’s young adults – the Boomerang Generation – and moves back home. Home, however is no longer what it used to be. 2004. Director: Will Clegg. Narrative feature, 108:00. Saturday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Riverside

Life is beautiful. Love is the answer. Maybe so. But it’s only when something bad happens that we remember…on a warm summer day, beside a lazy river, one 0young woman gets a final reminder. 2005. Director: Todd Tinkham. Narrative Short, 11:45. Saturday, Oct. 22, 9 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

San Quentin

Need new synopsis.2005. Director: Geoffrey Brent Shrewsbury. HT Narrative Short, 3:00.

Santa Claus vs. the Goblins of Halloweenville

One Christmas Eve, Santa had to take a confrontational

and scary route delivering toys. 2005. Director: Albert Brown, Jr. Animation. 7:00. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Say Yes Quickly

The story of a love triangle centered around a mixed-up young writer. Consumed by the loss of her father, Hannah Everland logs onto the internet and logs out of her life. While in cyberspace, she is seduced by a mysterious mentor who calls himself @LIEN. A contemporary Southern Gothic love story, directed by a producer of the Blair Witch Project. 2004. Director: Gregg Hale. Narrative Feature, 88:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m.

Schiavo

The nervous system of Terri Schiavo as compared to the severed head of a Russian canine. 2005. Director: Brett Hanover. Experimental, 10:00. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus

A road trip through the rural South – with its prisons, churches, truck stops, juke joints, and swamps – conducted by folksinger Jim White, who is “trying to find the gold tooth in God’s crooked smile.” Winner of the Jury Award for Best Documentary, Seattle Film Festival. 2004. Director: Andrew Douglas. Documentary, 82:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 5 p.m.

Silence of Mind

Dark drama tells the story of a young man haunted by childhood memories of any abusive father who lurks in his nightmares. Not certain of what is dream and what is reality, and guided by his childhood self, he must confront his past in order to find hope for his future. 2005. Director: Anthony Flessas. HT Narrative Feature, 72:00. Monday, Oct. 24, 9 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Slow Down, You’re Dating Too Fast

Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. Synopsis to come. 2005. Director: David Lee. Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Snap

After his parents are brutally murdered, a ten year-old boy named Cambridge must fight for his life. But when his parent’s murderer, an assassin, and two detectives, are hot on his trail, which is easier said than done. 2005. Director: Andrew Muto. Narrative Feature, 89:00. Wednesday, Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.

Son Up

Shadd Johnson returns to his dead end, rural hometown after months spent locked up in juvenile hall, and faces the emotional challenges of putting his life back together. 2005. Director: Andrew Shearer. Narrative Short, 23:00.

The Southern Jewish Store

Portrait of the last Jewish retail store in downtown Winston-Salem, the family that has owned it for generation, and the loyal customers, both black and white. 2002. Director: Donna Schatz. Documentary, 28:32. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m.

The Telling Takes Me Home

Music and memory tell the story of Guy and Candie Carawan, activists and folk singers who have carried their work from the deep South of the Civil Rights movement into today’s daunting struggle for peace. Interweaving past and present, the filmmaker integrates her own reflections on growing up in a rich musical and political landscape with her parents’ views on race relations, community organizing, and the sustaining power of song. 2005. Director: Heather Carawan (San Francisco, CA). Documentary, 28:26. Thursday, Oct. 27, 8:30 p.m.

This Is What Love in Action Looks Like

A 16 year-old Bartlett, TN teen tells his parents he’s gay. They tell him they are going to send him to a place that will make him straight. He writes in pain, in detail, about his fears about what this will do to him in his online blog. Just days later, a protest starts and suddenly the national media is quoting his fragile words on prime time TV. The true story of a modern-day message in a bottle. 2005. Director: Morgan Jon Fox. HT Documentary, 60:00. Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Travis Love

Introducing Travis Love, a southern construction worker whose calloused hands and rugged disposition only reinforce his role as the family breadwinner. Travis is a man of few words but many talents. Wheen hs wife leaves town one day, Mr. Love further reveals why he is the undisputed head of household. 2005. Director: Aaron Boyette. Narrative Short, 5:51. Saturday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 24, 6:30 p.m.

William Eggleston in the Real World

In 1976, William Eggleston’s hallucinatory, Faulknerian images were featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s first one-man exhibition of color photographs. He has been called “the beginning of modern color photography” and “one of the most significant figures in contemporary photography”. It is rare for an artist of such stature to allow himself to be shown as unguardedly as Eggleston does in this intimate portrait, filmed in Kentucky, Los Angeles and New York, with particular attention to downtime in Memphis. The film shows a deep connection between Eggleston’s enigmatic personality and his groundbreaking work, and also reveals his parallel commitments as a musician, draftsman and videographer. A sphinx-like renegade, Eggleston at age 65 has become an icon and inspiration. 2005. Director: Michael Almereyda. Documentary, 86:00. Sunday, Oct. 23, 5 p.m. Filmmaker scheduled to attend.

Youth Showcase

Program features works of Southern youth ages 18 and under. Saturday, Oct. 22, 1 p.m.

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