Great indie flicks at the Brooks

From John Beifuss' story in today's Commercial Appeal:

Indie films and "rockumentaries" will be screened this month at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art as the Overton Park institution continues its renewed commitment to movie programming.

The "rockumentary" series begins at 2 p.m. Sunday with the acclaimed documentary "Neil Young: Heart of Gold," directed by Jonathan Demme.

The series continues at 2 p.m. July 16 with "Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley," a look at the too-short life of the singer-songwriter whose intensely devoted following has continued to grow since Buckley's 1997 drowning in the Mississippi River near Mud Island.

The final film in the series is Greg Whiteley's "New York Doll," which makes its Memphis theatrical premiere at 2 p.m. July 23. The movie -- which debuted at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival -- catches up with Arthur 'Killer' Kane, a founding member of the New York Dolls who gave up glam rock for Mormonism.

The rock doc series was coordinated in conjunction with "Annie Leibovitz: American Music," an exhibition of photographs that runs through Aug. 27. The films are free with regular museum admission.

Meanwhile, the museum also will make room for overlooked independent films this summer.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, the museum will screen Rebecca Dreyfus' "Stolen," a documentary that examines the still unsolved 1990 theft of masterpieces by Manet, Rembrandt and Vermeer from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

The museum's "indieWIRE: Undiscovered Gems" series devoted to independent film continues at 7 p.m. July 25 with "Red Doors," the story of a bizarrely dysfunctional Chinese-American family in the New York suburbs. Admission to "Stolen" and "Red Doors" is $7 per person, or $5 for Brooks members.

"Dollars and Signs," a local film shot by MeDiA Co-op co-founder Brandon Hutchinson, will be shown at 8 p.m. Aug. 2 as part of the museum's "First Wednesday" program for the month. Hutchinson will introduce the film and answer questions afterward. Free with regular museum admission.

At 7 p.m. Aug. 10, the museum will host a double feature of recent romantic comedy-dramas to mark the conclusion of the annual Outflix festival devoted to gay and lesbian cinema. The movies include Q. Allan Brocka's "Boy Culture," about a professional "male escort," and Peter Paige's "Say Uncle," with a cast that includes Kathy Najimy and Gabrielle Union. Admission is $10.

Finally, at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24, the museum will host a barbecue tasting and discussion session along with the local premiere of the documentary "Whole Hog" about Middle Tennessee barbecue. Director Joe York (rhymes with pork) of the Southern Foodways Alliance and food writer Leslie Kelly of The Commercial Appeal will help host the event. Admission is $20, or $10 for museum members.