Oscar-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt to Appear in Memphis on April 18

Cult animator and Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt will make a one-night appearance in Memphis at the Studio on the Square at 7 pm, Wednesday, April 18.

The event, “An Evening With Don Hertzfeldt,” is presented by Indie Memphis, the ArtsMemphis supported 501(c)3 non-profit organization which runs the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, celebrating its 15^th anniversary this November.

Advance tickets are available here for $10 plus service fees. Indie Memphis members may purchase their tickets at a $2 discount.

Hertzfeldt’s Memphis visit is part of a nationwide theatrical tour in support of his latest film, the 23-minute “It’s such a beautiful day,” the third and final chapter in a trilogy about a mysterious man named Bill.  In 2008 and 2009, Hertzfeldt went on a similar 22-city theatrical tour in support of the second chapter in the series, “I am so proud of you,” which screened as part of the 2009 Indie Memphis Film Festival. The April 18 event is the tour’s first stop in Memphis.

During “An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt,” the entire animated trilogy will be screened together for the first time using new 35 mm prints, along with a selection of Hertzfeldt’s earlier work.  An on-stage interview and audience chat will immediately follow the screening.

Hertzfeldt, 36, is the creator of many short animated films, including the Academy Award-nominated “Rejected.” His animated films have been presented around the world and have received more than 150 awards, including a Short Film Palm D’or nomination at the Cannes Film Festival (“Billy’s Balloon”), the Sundance Film Festival’s Jury Award in Short Filmmaking (“Everything will be OK”), and Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Fargo Film Festival (“I am so proud of you”). Before the age of thirty, his films already were the subject of several career retrospectives.

Hertzfeldt was the youngest director named in the “They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They” list of the “100 Important Animation Directors” of all time and. In 2010, he received the San Francisco International Film Festival’s “Persistence of Vision” Lifetime Achievement Award at the age of 33.

The Indie Memphis Film Festival, nationally-ranked as one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals” and “25 Best Film Festival Investments” by MovieMaker magazine, has set November 1 through November 4 as the date for this year’s 15^th annual festival. For 2012, Indie Memphis has added The Circuit Playhouse to its list of festival venues that also includes Playhouse on the Square, Malco Theatre’s Studio on the Square, and the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

AFFT Industry State Town-Hall Meeting streaming live at 1 pm

The AFFT Industry State Town-Hall Meeting at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville from 1 pm - 2:30 pm.

If you're not able to make it in person, you can watching live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/afft-meeting. A video of the meeting will also be posted on the AFFT website.

For more info, read John Beifuss' article in today's Commercial Appeal here, and the Nashville Scene's recent coverage here.

For more info, contact Jan Falk, AFFT W. TN board member at gandjfalk@comcast.net

Indie Memphis Adds Craig Brewer, Gary Lendermon to Board

Filmmaker Craig Brewer and Duncan-Williams, Inc. marketing and communications vice president Gary Lendermon, have accepted invitations to join the board of directors of Indie Memphis, the ArtsMemphis supported 501(c)3 non-profit organization which runs the Indie Memphis Film Festival and other year-round programs.

The 15^th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival – set to take place November 1-4 at the Playhouse on the Square, The Circuit Playhouse, the Studio on the Square, and the Brooks Museum of Art – is a two-time Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences grant recipient, nationally ranked by MovieMaker magazine as one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals” and “25 Best Film Festival Investments.”

“We are thrilled to have Craig Brewer and Gary Lendermon join our board of directors,” said executive director Erik Jambor of Indie Memphis. “Their experience and expertise will help our organization continue its growth and better serve the Memphis community.”

Craig BrewerOther Indie Memphis board members include Les Edwards, Erin Hagee, Kerry Hayes, Adam Hohenberg, John Hubbell, Dorothy Kirsch, Pat Mitchell Worley, Susan Murrmann, Iddo Patt and Jason Wexler.

Craig Brewer wrote and directed the critically acclaimed, Hustle & Flow, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and the Academy Award for best song for "Hard Out Here For A Pimp." He moved on to direct Black Snake Moan with Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake. His remake of Footloose, starring newcomers Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough, was released in theaters in October 2011. Born in Virginia, Craig moved to Northern California and spent his childhood summers in Memphis. He grew up writing and directing plays in school, ultimately landing at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco before moving back and settling in Memphis with his wife, Jodi. After his father's untimely death, Craig used the small inheritance to make his first feature, shot on digital video, The Poor & Hungry, which became a hit on the festival circuit. Currently, he is writing Tarzan for Warner Brothers. 

Gary LendermonGary W. Lendermon joined the firm in 2005 to oversee all facets of the growing regional firm’s internal and external communications and marketing efforts.  He has more than 30 years of experience in the marketing and communications field, having served as a divisional president for Archer Malmo, a Memphis, Tenn.-based AAAA advertising agency. He began his career in advertising with an international marketing services firm in New York and graduated at the University of Memphis with a bachelor’s of science degree. 

Film submissions are now being accepted from filmmakers who wish to hold their Memphis premiere at the Indie Memphis Film Festival this November. The festival’s “earlybird” deadline is Wednesday, March 7 with entry fees of $35 for feature films and $25 for short films; the final deadline is Wednesday, June 20 with entry fees of $70 for feature films and $60 for short films. Films made by Memphis-area filmmakers may submit their work in the Hometowner category at special discounted rates. Submissions are accepted through Withoutabox.com, with full details available at on the Indie Mephis website at www.indiememphis.com.

Awards include $25,000 in color grading and finishing services from Nice Shoes in NYC, a $1,000 cash prize for the winner of the Duncan-Williams Scriptwriting Award, and more to be announced.  Travel and lodging is provided for competition feature filmmakers participating in the festival’s “Filmmakers Asking Questions” program, funding by the Academy of Motion Art and Sciences.

Duncan-Williams, Inc., an investment banking firm headquartered in Memphis that has offices in ten states and provides financial advisory services, returns as presenting sponsor of the 2012 Indie Memphis Film Festival. With a focus on regional filmmaking from all parts of the country, the festival brings a broad range of dynamic and engaging independent features, documentaries and short films to Memphis from across the country, transforming the city into a connecting point for filmmakers, musicians, artists, and audiences.

Festival sponsorships are currently available. Those interested in joining Duncan-Williams, Inc. and other corporate sponsors, partners and patrons in supporting the 2012 Indie Memphis Film Festival should contact Indie Memphis executive director Erik Jambor by email at erik@indiememphis.com or by calling (901) 214-5171.

Dates set for 2012 Indie Memphis Film Festival; The Circuit Playhouse added as festival venue

Indie Memphis has set the dates for its annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, nationally-ranked as one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals” and “25 Best Film Festival Investments” by MovieMaker magazine. This year’s festival will take place November 1 - November 4 in four venues in midtown Memphis.

Indie Memphis, which will mark the festival’s 15^th anniversary this year, has added The Circuit Playhouse to its list of festival venues that also includes Playhouse on the Square, Malco Theatre’s Studio on the Square, and the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The Circuit Playhouse is located at 51 South Cooper, directly across the street from Playhouse on the Square and just two blocks south of the Studio on the Square.

 “We’re thrilled that the schedules of The Circuit Playhouse and Playhouse on the Square were able to align to make both venues available during our festival weekend,” said Erik Jambor, executive director of Indie Memphis. “The addition of Circuit will provide attendees with a more exciting, pedestrian-friendly community experience, and further integrate the festival’s growth with the development plans for Overton Square.”

The 2011 Indie Memphis Film Festival was the most successful in its fifteen-year history, setting a new attendance record of 8,000 attendees, welcoming Duncan-Williams, Inc. as its presenting sponsor, winning its second $10,000 festival grant from the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and having two of its award-winning films capture Oscar nominations for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. The two films currently in contention for an Academy Award are Undefeated, which won the festival’s Audience Award for Documentary Feature, and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, whose filmmakers were awarded the festival’s “Power of Film” award for their work with the Paradise Lost trilogy.

Special guests at last year’s festival included Jason Baldwin of the West Memphis Three, filmmaker Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Footloose), actress Tanya Wright (HBO’s True Blood), screenwriter Daniel Waters (Heathers), producer Mike Ryan (Junebug, Losers Take All), and actor Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock), who hosted the festival’s closing night Award Show.

Duncan-Williams, Inc., an investment banking firm headquartered in Memphis that has offices in ten states and provides financial advisory services, returns as presenting sponsor of the 2012 Indie Memphis Film Festival. With a focus on regional filmmaking from all parts of the country, the festival brings a broad range of dynamic and engaging independent features, documentaries and short films to Memphis from across the country, transforming the city into a connecting point for filmmakers, musicians, artists, and audiences.

Festival sponsorships are now available. Those interested in joining Duncan-Williams, Inc. and other corporate sponsors, partners and patrons in supporting the 2012 Indie Memphis Film Festival should contact Indie Memphis executive director Erik Jambor by email at erik@indiememphis.com or by calling (901) 214-5171.