Indie Memphis 2021 Winners

This past week the winners of the 2021 Indie Memphis Film Festival were announced. Yoshi James, Annie Berman, and I made up the jury for the Hometowners category (films produced in Memphis). We deliberated via Zoom on Monday. We had three categories we needed to decide on: Feature film (narrative or documentary), and then shorts – one for narrative and one for doc. (A “perk” of this whole process, personally, is meeting two really cool people.) I was a juror in this particular category in 2018, and I love it because what we get to see are people’s passion projects, new filmmakers, people really out on a limb, these films represent, in some cases, years of prep work. It’s so great to see all the new talent out there. As a matter of fact, the 2018 winner of Hometowners Feature was Memphis local Brett Hanover’s Rukus, a unanimous choice for us. It was the only clear winner. I ended up interviewing Brett for my Film Comment column. You have to try to use your power for good, ya feel me.

So many of the films impressed us this year, but we were able to narrow things down – and in one case, we were unanimous in the first “round”, i.e. we all said “This is my favorite in the group”. It’s pretty cool when that happens (which isn’t often).

Winners:

A couple words on these films:

Feature: Black Ice

Reel Rock: Black Ice, directed by Zachary Barr and Peter Mortimer, is about a group of Memphians who established a rock-climbing gym called Memphis Rox in Memphis’ Soulsville neighborhood. These passionate rock-climbers had a vision: to pass on their love to the next generation, especially since rock-climbing is predominantly a white activity – but also to create a community center, not just a gym. South Memphis is gutted, decimated by poverty, by no social services, by no gyms or rec centers or after-school programs or YMCAs, or any of those organizations where kids can hang out after school and not just wander the streets. You get to know the founders, you get to know some of the people who have been turned onto rock-climbing. There isn’t a lot of rock-climbing around Memphis. The middle of the country is FLAT. Eventually, world-famous mountaineer/alpinist Conrad Anker gets involved with Memphis Rox, lending his expertise and support – and – which is the real trajectory of the documentary – takes a group of people up to Montana, so they can try some ice-climbing. Many of them have never left Memphis – one (a teenage kid with such a hard life it’s engraved into his face, exuding from his pores) had never been on a plane. They have to hike up into the snowy mountains, sleep in tents, do all these things they’ve never done, and challenge themselves to their most outer limits. The goal is to climb up a huge frozen waterfall. THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD. I was a WRECK. Like, sloppy joyful crying, I’m not even kidding. Black Ice really gets the job done and it’s only 56 minutes long. I cannot wait for people to get a chance to see this film. You can’t see the film yet, but here’s an interview with Malik Martin about the film and about Memphis Rox (some of this footage is from the film):

If you feel so inclined – as I did – you can donate to Memphis Rox. Memphis Rox is not-for-profit – I’ll say it again: it’s not for profit. It’s set up as “pay what you can”. It sits in one of the poorest neighborhoods in America. It runs on donations and endorsements. So. Check out the site, check out the film (I’ll keep everyone posted on Black Ice), and donate.

Narrative Short: The Devil Will Run

The Devil Will Run, directed by Noah Glenn, really stood out in the narrative shorts for its charm, humor, and performances. A small boy becomes convinced that a hole in his backyard is the gate to hell. His brother makes fun of him. His best friend, a little girl who lives next door, supports him. The children come up with a plan to try to deal with this scary hole to the Underworld. The Devil Will Run is really about a little boy learning how to stand up for himself but it’s told in such a creative and funny way. It’s deep but it doesn’t wear its depth on its sleeve. The kid actors are *adorable* – which speaks well of the director. It;s not easy to find/cast/direct children. We loved it. It’s already online. You can watch it here.

Documentary Short: Nuestra

Nuestra, directed by Aaron Baggett and Jordan Danelz, is a meditiative almost experimental film (visually anyway) about a man grieving the death of his teenage daughter and a teenage girl coming to terms with her own depression. There are two separate stories of two people finding a way to start the healing process in their own lives. But the way it’s told is the real standout. Nuestra has a dream-like hallucinatory poetic style, and the images have stayed in my mind. The film is viewable online!

We also gave special mentions to two other films. We felt we had to, they were such strong contenders, one a narrative short and one a documentary short. There can only be one winner in each category but we felt like we had to acknowledge these two films (it was a total coincidence that both were directed by the same guy. We only realized that after our decision. Go, Joshua Woodcock!)

Special Jury Mention: Narrative short

Main Street, written/directed by Joshua Woodcock.
A story of a homeless man and a dog. But … the film is more than its parts. I so appreciate the simplicity of how this tale is told, not to mention the original score, which adds so much to the underlying subtext of sadness, melancholy, and comfort. Beautiful film. You can view it here:

Main Street from Joshua Woodcock on Vimeo.

Special Jury Mention: Documentary short

Letter to My Son, directed by Joshua Woodcock, Brittany Butler.
Memphis activist, harassed and surveilled by the police, writes/narrates a letter to his baby son, trying to warn him about the world he is entering, but also expressing hopes that he can help make it a world where such things won’t have to happen anymore. A world safe for his son. You can view it here:

Letter To My Son – Short Film Documentary from Joshua Woodcock on Vimeo.

My pal John Beifuss wrote up the festival for the Commercial Appeal, and you can see the full list of winners there.

Always a privilege to be asked to be on the jury at a film festival, and Indie Memphis holds a place in my heart as it is, so it’s double cool to be a participant, albeit virtually.