The complete lineup for the 2019 Indie Memphis Film Festival has been announced. This year’s edition of the fest will kick off with a screening of Cynthia Erivo-starrer “Harriet,” Kasi Lemmons’ biopic of abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman. Scheduled to take place October 30 – November 4, the fest includes many other offerings by and about women.
Women directors dominate the Narrative Competition and Spotlight: Narrative sections. The former consists of five films, four of which are directed by women. The latter includes eight titles, and six are helmed by women. Films screening in the Narrative Competition include “Lucky Grandma,” Sasie Sealy’s portrait of a grandma living in New York City’s Chinatown who finds trouble at the casino, and “Jezebel,” Numa Perrier’s story of being introduced to sex work by her sister. Chinonye Chukwu’s “Clemency,” a drama about a prison warden struggling with her conscience, and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Céline Sciamma’s period romance portraying the love affair between a countess and the woman hired to paint her portrait, are among the features in the Spotlight: Narrative program.
While the Documentary Competition section is comprised entirely of films directed by men, women filmmakers are included in the Spotlight: Documentary Section, which features Agnès Varda’s “Varda by Agnès” and Brett Story’s “The Hottest August.”
The fest will host a retrospective of writer, director, producer, and actress Sara Driver, who will be in attendance. Titles set to screen include “Boom for Real,” her doc about American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and “When Pigs Fly,” her comedy about a jazz musician and a bar dancer who get some help from ghosts.
Check out all of the sections with films directed or co-directed by women at the Indie Memphis Film Festival below.
OPENING NIGHT
HARRIET (Dir. Kasi Lemmons)
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, HARRIET tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes — freeing hundreds of slaves while changing the course of history.
2019, 125 min, Drama, English
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
JEZEBEL (Dir. Numa Perrier)
Two sisters living in Las Vegas encourage each other to explore and exploit their sexuality.Filmmaker Numa Perrier in attendance.
2019, 84 min, Drama, English
LUCKY GRANDMA (Dir. Sasie Sealy)
Set in New York City’s Chinatown, an ornery, chain-smoking Chinese grandma goes all in at the casino, landing herself on the wrong side of luck – and in the middle of a gang war.
2019, 100 min, Comedy/Drama
DE LO MIO (Dir. Diana Peralta)
Three siblings reunite in the Dominican Republic and face their demons as they let go of their last connection to their motherland. Filmmaker Diana Peralta in attendance.
2019, 74 min, Comedy/Drama
NO ORDINARY LOVE (Dir. Chyna Robinson)
Lines between romantic ideals and control become blurred in this romantic thriller through the eyes of two women, abused in different ways by their “loving” husbands — but the escape they seek may be deadly. Filmmaker Chyna Robinson in attendance.
2019, 99 min, Romance/Thriller
SPOTLIGHT: NARRATIVE
ATLANTICS (Dir. Mati Diop)
Part drama, part ghost story, Director Mati Diop harnesses fantasy and social relevancy in this haunting tale of love.
2019, 104 min, Drama, French with English Subtitles
CLEMENCY (Dir. Chinonye Chukwu)
Bernadine (Oscar-nominee Alfre Woodard) is a stoic prison warden, but two back-to-back executions put a strain on her marriage, career and convictions. Co-starring Danielle Brooks (“Orange is the New Black”), Richard Schiff (“The West Wing”), and Wendell Pierce (“The Wire”).
2019, 104 min, Drama, English
I WAS AT HOME, BUT… (Dir. Angela Schanelec)
After a 13-year-old disappears for a week and suddenly reappears, his mother and teachers are confronted with existential questions that change their whole view of life.
2019, 75 min, Drama, German with English Subtitles
LITTLE JOE (Dir. Jessica Hausner)
Alice (Emily Beecham, HAIL CAESAR!), a single mother, is a dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. Against company policy, she takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe (Kit Connor, ROCKETMAN). With Emmy-winner Ben Whishaw (A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL).
2019, 105 min, Drama/Sci-Fi, English
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (Dir. Céline Sciamma)
In 1770 the young daughter of a French countess develops a mutual attraction to the female artist commissioned to paint her wedding portrait.
2019, 119 min, Drama, English
SELAH AND THE SPADES (Dir. Tayarisha Poe)
In the closed world of an elite Pennsylvania boarding school, the student body is run by five underground factions. One of these groups is the Spades, which includes Selah (Lovie Simone), Maxxie (Jharrel Jerome), and possibly new student Paloma (Celeste O’Connor).
2019, 97 min, Drama, English
SPOTLIGHT: DOCUMENTARY
VARDA BY AGNÈS (Dir. Agnès Varda)
An unpredictable documentary from a fascinating storyteller, Agnès Varda’s new feature documentary sheds light on her experience as a director, bringing a personal insight to what she calls “cine-writing.”
2019, 115 min, Documentary, French with English subtitles
THE HOTTEST AUGUST (Dir. Brett Story)
A film about climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.
2019, 95 min, Documentary, English
SOUNDS
Films That Celebrate Music
THE UNICORN (Dir. Isabelle Dupuis & Tim Geraghty)
Peter Grudzien, creator of The Unicorn LP, the first openly gay country psychedelic album, navigates mental illness and the chaos of his family to ultimately find refuge in the creative world of music. Filmmakers Isabelle Dupuis & Tim Geraghty in attendance.
2019, 92 min, Documentary, English
HOMETOWNER FEATURES
Films by Memphis Filmmakers
THIS CAN’T BE LIFE (Dir. Jessica Chaney) – World Premiere
Three 30-something sister-friends grapple with making sense of life. Amid career and personal highs and lows, life doesn’t turn out as expected.
2019, 60 min, Drama, English
SPECIAL EVENTS
“Sprout Wings and Fly” (Dir. Les Blank, Cece Conway, & Alice Gerrard)
A short documentary film about the life of old-time fiddler and banjo player, Tommy Jarrell, a fiddler from North Carolina. (Co-directed by Alice Gerrard, subject of the documentary screening separately, YOU GAVE ME A SONG).
1983, 30 min, Documentary, English
SARA DRIVER RETROSPECTIVE
All films with Sara Driver in attendance!
BOOM FOR REAL (Dir. Sara Driver)
Sara Driver explores the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and ’80s shaped his vision.
2018, 89 min, Documentary, English
SLEEPWALK (Dir. Sara Driver)
A group of Chinese tales have a strange effect on the life of a New York City office worker, when he takes a job translating the old manuscript.
1986, 78 min, Drama/Fantasy, English
WHEN PIGS FLY (Dir. Sara Driver)
Two ghosts help an unwed jazz musician (Alfred Molina) and a bar dancer (Maggie O’Neill) reverse their bad fortune.
1993, 98 min, Comedy, English
YOU ARE NOT I (Dir. Sara Driver)
Sara Driver’s directorial debut — a young woman escapes from a mental hospital during the chaos of a nearby car accident and is driven to her sister’s house in this haunting adaptation of a 1948 short story by Paul Bowles.
1981, 48 min, Drama, English
