Indie Film Fest -- the lowdown

On Friday, October 13 the ninth annual Indie Memphis Film Festival, a project of Delta Axis, opens at Muvico 22 Theaters in Peabody Place and runs through Thursday, October 19. Just under 100 films will be screened at the weeklong event, which celebrates hometown filmmakers and southern film.

Note: Due to the film festival there will be no Indie Memphis Micro Cinema Club in October. Micro Cinema Club will resume on Wednesday, November 1st at 7:30 at Power House.

Highlights of the 2006 Soul of Southern Film Festival include:

Come Early Morning, the opening night film screening Friday, October 13 at 8 p.m. This writing and directing debut of actress Joey Lauren Adams, a native of Little Rock and known for her memorable performance in Chasing Amy, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Best Actress award, stars Ashley Judd, and was an official selection of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

Alloy Orchestra, a three-man musical ensemble performs a live soundtrack to a restored print of the 1925 silent film, Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney on Saturday, October 14 at 8 p.m. This film has a special ticket price of $15 per person. Festival and Six Pack Pass Holders are guaranteed tickets (see below for ticket information).

Phil Chambliss is a self-taught filmmaker from East Camden, Arkansas, who has written, directed, shot, edited and scored 27 films over the last three decades. Chambliss has developed a cult following from San Francisco to London. Phil Chambliss: Auteur from Arkansas features three narrative shorts and screens Saturday, October 14 at 5:15 p.m. Filmmaker will be present.

Live From Memphis Music Video Showcase screens for the second year on Saturday, October 14, at 9 p.m., featuring 24 music videos by local musicians and filmmakers.

A Reel Man, documentary by director Todd Lothery features the story and collection of Skip Elsheimer, a.k.a. the A/V Geek, a collector of a vast archive of educational films. Elsheimer will be in attendance at the festival and following the screening of his biographical documentary on Wednesday, October 18 at 8:30 p.m., will show a selection of rarely seen 16-mm films from his collection.

The 2006 Indie Memphis Film Festival is pleased to present the most Hometowner features ever presented in Festival history. Of the eight Hometown Features to be screened, narrative features Eat directed by C. Scott McCoy, The Importance of Being Russell by Sean Plemmons, and documentary feature, Nobody by Alan Spearman and Lance Murphey are sure to resonate with Memphis audiences.

Each year the Indie Memphis Film Festival presents workshops that are free and open to the public. This year’s workshops are Working with SAGIndie on Saturday, October 14 at 11 a.m. and The Personal Documentary on Sunday, October 15 at 12:30 p.m. SAGIndie will address ways for filmmakers to use SAG actors regardless of their budget and walk filmmakers through the SAG Low-Budget Agreement. The Personal Documentary brings back Indie Memphis favorite, Kelley Baker, who will discuss how to take the little moments in life and make award winning films out of them for fun and profit.

Individual tickets may be purchased through the Muvico box office and Web site, www.muvico.com, for $6.50 each. Festival passes, allowing admission to all films screened during the week are $60 per person, and Six-Pack Passes are $30 per person and allow admission to six films over the week. Passes are available at the Indie Memphis counter at the entrance to the theaters on the upper level at Peabody Place.

For more information and a full festival schedule, go here.