The Indie Memphis 2023 Film Festival is almost here! This year it returns October 24-29th, and will take place at various locations across town: Crosstown Theater, Circuit Playhouse, Hattiloo Theatre, Playhouse on the Square, Studio on the Square, and online. We’ve partnered with Indie Memphis to get you the content you really need–a queer guide to everything LGBTQ+ at the festival! Information below is broken down by film categories/blocks and includes local, independent, and international films.
Features
- May December, director Todd Haynes, a notable gay filmmaker: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
- Passages, director Ira Sachs, a notable gay filmmaker who is originally from Memphis: Tomas and Martin are a gay couple living in Paris whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas impulsively begins a passionate affair with young schoolteacher Agathe. But when Martin begins an affair of his own, Tomas must confront life decisions he may be unprepared—or unwilling—to deal with.
- Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directors Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson. A look at the life of notable lesbian poet Nikki Giovanni.
- Even Hell has its Heroes, director Clyde Peterson is a trans filmmaker: Seattle’s swampy rivers and wild forests set an atmospheric scene for the tale of Earth – the slowest metal band on earth – which created the drone metal genre, was an inspiration to the grunge rock scene and had an unfortunate hand in Kurt Cobain’s death.
Hometowners
- HT Documentary Short Competition: Intersectionality, director Naima Overton; Indie Memphis LGBTQ+ Grant Recipient, (World Premiere): A short film exploring the lives of nine Memphians who are navigating the black & queer experience in the South.
- HT Showcase: Squirrel Meets Boris, director Mark Jones: It’s a red letter day when a closeted gay teenager learns that the new Baptist Minister has a secret life.
National Shorts
- Seeking Sincerity Shorts: Polywood, director Alessio Mineo: After a disastrous first date with socially anxious twink Clayton, August second-guesses the validity of his polyamorous relationship and the ethics with which he pursues other men.
- Seeking Sincerity Shorts: This Was Supposed to Be A Film About You, director Juan Barquin: A film about making a film or not making one, I guess.
- Kinship Shorts: Funny Face, director Jude Hope Harris: Director Jude Hope Harris recreates the time her brother and girlfriend first met in this autobiographical dramedy where her family plays versions of themselves. Sophie arrives home from 10 hours of facial feminization surgery in a haze of pain and anesthesia. Waiting for her are Morgan, her queer actor girlfriend, and Randy, her country singer brother – both just starting to get to know each other. As Sophie recovers, Morgan and Randy unite against a tragically unhelpful home nurse Donna, their common enemy on a difficult night made bearable with humor, love, music, and weed.
- After Dark Shorts: Be Thyself, director Daniel Rosendale (World Premiere). Playing in-person in the National Spotlight Shorts screening, but virtually in the After Dark block: Alan, a newly deceased queer man, tries to escape Final Judgment, a game show hosted by God.
- Doc Shorts Showcase: House of Tulip, director Cydney Tucker: Two Black trans activists run for office and work to build Louisiana’s first housing refuge that provides residency for trans and gender non-conforming residents.
- 默 (TO WRITE FROM MEMORY), director Emory Chao Johnson. Playing in-person in the National Spotlight Shorts screening, but virtually in the National Doc Showcase block, was nominated for a Teddy Award at the Berlinale: Opaque memories seep into a quotidian flow despite efforts to move onward.
- Here, Hopefully, director Hao Zhou: Zee, a nonbinary aspiring nurse from China, strives to build a life in rural Iowa. After graduating from nursing school, they work tirelessly to pass their licensure exam in hopes of obtaining a work visa.
- Where Is the Friend’s Home?, director Amina Maher: In the process of honest self-exploration, two friends share the most personal moments and break the silence, seeking to confront unspoken desires.
