Boots Riley of Sorry To Bother You fame will attend the 21st Indie Memphis Film Festival November 1st – 5th, 2018 to deliver the keynote address at the Black Creators Forum. Riley will talk about how filmmakers can use backgrounds in other arts to make films in radical new ways. He will also present a classic film of his choice during the film festival. Sorry to Bother You is a bizarre comedy sci-fi dystopian vision of the future that is not far removed from our present.
Another special event is a live presentation by Zia Anger entitled My First Film. Anger will offer commentary on previously unseen work telling the stories behind her lost and abandoned work, including her first feature, and her struggles in an industry that’s known for being hostile to women filmmakers.
Senior Programmer Miriam Bale said, “I have attended dozens or maybe hundreds of talks about the lack of women feature film directors, an issue I care deeply about. But after awhile, they all sound the same. Zia Anger has figured out a new way to discuss these issues, in an incredibly moving, personal, and creative way. I’ve never seen anything like it!”
The Black Creators Forum at the Indie Memphis Film Festival will conclude with the Black Filmmakers Pitch Rally on Friday, November 2nd at Memphis’ Playhouse on the Square. It features a jury-selected $10K award provided by Epicenter Memphis for projects targeted for production in Memphis. To qualify production must begin in Memphis before August 1st, 2019.
Half of the pitching filmmakers have been selected from the finalists of the Indie Memphis Black Filmmaker Residency for Screenwriting program. The remaining six slots are available for feature films, narrative and documentary, proposing to shoot in Memphis. Applications are open through September 16th.
Passes for the film festival and more information is available on the website here.
