FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: Karl Jacobs ‘s COLD NOVEMBER, FOR AHKEEM lead The 20th Annual Indie Memphis announces award winners taking the top jury prizes

Karl Jacobs ‘s COLD NOVEMBER, FOR AHKEEM lead The 20th Annual Indie Memphis announces award winners taking the top jury prizes

The 2017 Indie Memphis Film Festival presented by Duncan-Williams, Inc., announced their filmmaker awards during a celebratory ceremony at the Circuit Playhouse (51 Cooper Street) on Saturday night (November 4), and their Audience Awards at the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum (225 S. Main Street) last night. Karl Jacob’s COLD NOVEMBER won the jury award (and a $1000 cash prize) for Best Narrative Feature, Landen Van Soest and Jeremy Levine’s FOR AHKEEM took home the jury award (and $1000 courtesy of Classic American Hardwoods) for Best Documentary Feature, and Laura Jean Hocking and Melissa Sweazy’s GOOD GRIEF received the nod (and a $1000 cash prize) as Best Hometowner Feature.

Mark Webber’s FLESH AND BLOOD, and Scott Rosenbaum’s SIDEMAN took home the Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, and Best Documentary Feature, respectively, while Hocking and Sweazy’s GOOD GRIEF added to their haul with the Audience Award for Best Hometowner Feature.

The festival’s coveted $13,500 IndieGrants awards went to Aisha Raison, for her film project, DANCIN IN THE BLUE MOON, and Morgan Jon Fox for his film project, THE ONE YOU MAY NEVER FORGET, with each receiving $13,500 cash-equivalent rentals from Firefly Grip & Electric, LensRentals,  Music + Arts Studio, and VIA Productions. The winners were selected from applications by 30 filmmakers living in Tennessee’s Shelby County, Mississippi’s DeSoto County, or Arkansas’s Crittenden County.

Indie Memphis executive director Ryan Watt, said, “Our 20th anniversary Indie Memphis Film Festival was full of great films, eclectic characters and unforgettable moments. Audiences responded to each new addition, such as taking over Cooper Street with our big Indie Memphis tent and screen, bringing filmmakers in from as far away as Saudi Arabia, and honoring one of our city’s historic milestones with our MLK50 program by turning out in record-breaking numbers. Now we ramp up our weekly film series again to bring premieres each week to Memphis, supporting filmmakers and entertaining audiences year-round.”

The Duncan-Williams, Inc. Scriptwriting Award (and a cash prize for $1000) was given to screenwriter/director Theodore Collatos for his film, TORMENTING THE HEN. In the documentary category, Kimi Takesue’s 95 AND 6 TO GO received a Special Jury Mention. 
Additional Hometowner awards, which highlights films made by Memphis-area filmmakers, included two awards for Matteo Servente, with WE GO ON, taking the award for Best Hometowner Narrative Short Film, and AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING named as Best MLK50 Short Film. Graham Uhelski’s BLACKOUT DAY was named Best Hometowner Documentary Short Film.

In the Sounds and Departures categories, Brett Whitcomb’s A LIFE IN WAVES took the award for Best Sounds Feature, and the nod for Best Hometowner Music Video went to Quintin Lamb’s “I’m A God” featuring Telisu, with a Special Jury Mention going to Lawrence E. Matthews III’s “Habor Hall” featuring Don Lifted. James M. Kienitz-Wilkins’s COMMON CARRIER won Best Departures Feature, while Josh Yates’s THIS IS YATES was named Best Departures Short.
Festival awards (chosen by the Indie Memphis programming staff) included; THE PRICE director Anthony Onah receiving the Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award (given to a first-time filmmaker that exemplifies the DIY spirit), MARVIN BOOKER WAS MURDERED director Wade Gardner named as this year’s Soul of Southern Film Award recipient (which celebrates Indie Memphis’s origins as “The Soul of Southern Film”), and THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP director Erik Jeung receiving the Ron Tibbett Excellence in Filmmaking Award, which honors the memory of Indie Memphis’s friend and mentor, who was an award-winning filmmaker, as well as a founder/director of Indie Memphis. Robin Comisar’s GREAT CHOICE was named Best After Dark Short.

The film festival’s Indie Award, given to a crew member that has impressed the Indie Memphis staff with the breadth and scope of their work behind the camera on numerous films, was Jordan Danelz, who has served as a gaffer, grip, cinematographer, producer, and seemingly every other job on countless film sets in Memphis the last few years. The Indie Memphis Vision Award, given to someone that has made a permanent impact on the legacy of the Indie Memphis Film Festival, was fittingly presented to Les Edwards and Emily Trenholm, two of the Indie Memphis original founders and directors of the film festival. In his acceptance speech, Edwards remarked that seeing how much the film festival has grown since those early days is like “seeing your child not simply grow up, but grow up to be a rock star.”
Jury Prize winners in the Short Film category included Eimi Imanishi’s ONE UP (Best Narrative Short), Veena Rao’s REBUILDING IN MINIATURE (Best Documentary Short), and Ashely S. Brandon’s MICKEY’S PETS (Documentary Short Special Jury Prize). The Indie Memphis Jury Prize for Best Poster Design was given to FLESH AND BLOOD, with GOOD GRIEF’s poster (designed by Lauren Rae Holtermann) taking the Audience Award.
Additional Audience Awards were received by Chris Osborne’s TRUE BLUE (Narrative Short Film), Maris Curran’s MAN IS THE MUSIC (Documentary Short Film), Nathan Ross Murphy’s MUDDY WATER (Hometowner Narrative Short Film), Lauren Squires Ready’s BIKE LEE (Hometowner Documentary Short Film), and Katori Hall’s ARKABUTLA (MLK50 Homeowner Short Film).
The awards ceremony for the jury awards was produced by Savannah Bearden with a theme (highlighted by audition clips) of casting a host to embody a merging of the style of the “Beverly Hills 90210” show with the spirit of Indie Memphis. The “audition” clips included Rainn Wilson, the star of the Opening Night Gala selection THOM PAIN, Indie Memphis Executive Director Ryan Watt, outgoing Program Director Brandon Harris, Shorts Programmer Brighid Wheeler, among others. The Audience Awards were announced by Executive Director Ryan Watt during the closing night reception at the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum (225 S. Main Street) on Monday, November 6.

 
The 2017 Indie Memphis Film Festival Filmmaker Awards:
Narrative Features:
Best Narrative Feature: COLD NOVEMBER (Director: Karl Jacob) – $1,000
Duncan-Williams, Inc. Scriptwriting Award: TORMENTING THE HEN (Director and Screenwriter: Theodore Collatos) – $1,000
 
Documentary:
Best Documentary: FOR AHKEEM (Directors: Landen Van Soest, Jeremy Levine) – $1,000
Special Jury Mention: 95 AND 6 TO GO (Director: Kimi Takesue)
 
Shorts:
Best Narrative Short: ONE UP (Director: Eimi Imanishi) – $500
Best Documentary: REBUILDING IN MINIATURE (Director: Veena Rao) – $500
Documentary Shorts Special Jury Prize: MICKEY’S PETS (Director: Ashley S. Brandon)
 
Hometowner Awards:
Best Hometowner Feature: GOOD GRIEF (Directors: Laura Jean Hocking, Melissa Sweazy) – $1,000
Best Hometowner Narrative Short: WE GO ON (Director: Matteo Servente) – $500
Best Hometowner Documentary Short: BLACKOUT DAY (Director: Graham Uhelski) – $500
Best MLK50 Hometowner Award: AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING (Director: Matteo Servente)
 
IndieGrants $13,500 Package Winners:
DANCIN IN THE BLUE MOON:  Aisha Raison
THE ONE YOU MAY NEVER FORGET: Morgan Jon Fox
 
Sounds:
Best Sounds Feature: A LIFE IN WAVES (Director: Brett Whitcomb) – $500
Best Hometowner Music Video: “I’m A God” featuring Telisu (Director: Quintin Lamb)
Special Jury Mention: “Harbor Hall” featuring Don Lifted (Director: Lawrence E. Matthews III)
 
Departures:
Best Departures Feature: COMMON CARRIER (Director: James M. Kienitz-Wilkins) – $500
Best Departures Short: THIS IS YATES (Director: Josh Yates)
 
Best Poster Design:
FLESH AND BLOOD
 
FESTIVAL AWARDS:
Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award:
Anthony Onah for THE PRICE
 
Soul of Southern Film Award:
MARVIN BOOKER WAS MURDERED
Director: Wade Gardner
 
Ron Tibbett Excellence in Filmmaking Award:
THE BLOOD IS AT THE DOORSTEP
Director: Erik Jeung
 
Best After Dark Short:
GREAT CHOICE (Director: Robin Comisar)
 
The Indie Award:
Jordan Danelz
 
Vision Award:
Les Edwards and Emily Trenholm
 
 
Audience Awards
Narrative Feature:
FLESH AND BLOOD
Director: Mark Webber
 
Documentary Feature:
SIDEMAN
Director: Scott Rosenbaum
 
Narrative Short Film:
TRUE BLUE
Director: Chris Osborne
 
Documentary Short Film:
MAN IS THE MUSIC
Director: Maris Curran
 
Hometowner Feature:
GOOD GRIEF
Directors: Laura Jean Hocking, Melissa Sweazy
 
Hometowner Narrative Short Film:
MUDDY WATER
Director: Nathan Ross Murphy
 
Hometowner Documentary Short Film:
BIKE LEE
Director: Lauren Squires Ready
 
MLK50 Hometowner Short Film:
ARKABUTLA
Director: Katori Hall
 
Best Poster:
GOOD GRIEF (designed by Lauren Rae Holtermann)
 
The 2017 Indie Memphis Jury Members:

Karl Jacobs ‘s COLD NOVEMBER, FOR AHKEEM lead The 20th Annual Indie Memphis announces award winners taking the top jury prizes