The Indie Memphis Film Festival will return this year with a slate of 50 feature films that "speaks urgently to our fractured present," according to the event's artistic director.
A highlight will be the Nov. 8 regional debut of "The Man I Love," the new movie from Memphis-born-and-raised writer-director Ira Sachs, who for 30 years has created expressive and ethical feature films that demonstrate a deep appreciation for both the pleasures of classic-era Hollywood and the innovations of American independent and European and Asian arthouse cinema.
Described by Variety as "a musical fantasia of a city under duress," "The Man I Love" had its world premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was in competition for the top prize, the Palme
d'Or (arguably the most prestigious award in cinema).
The movie stars Rami Malek — winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of singer Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" — as an actor with AIDS in 1980s New York whose struggles are hardly less immediate for being set in the past. Sachs — whose previous nine feature films (including two shot in Memphis) have showcased such performers as John Lithgow, Isabelle Huppert and Pierce Brosnan — will attend the screening at the Orpheum's Halloran Centre, and participate in a public question-and-answer session after the film.
Sachs' sister, filmmaker Lynne Sachs, also will be at the festival, with her latest experimental documentary, "Every Contact Leaves a Trace." Both Ira and Lynne Sachs have a long association with Indie Memphis, with Ira Sachs giving four of his previous features — "Keep the Lights On" (2012), "Little Men" (2016), "Frankie" (2019) and "Passages" (2023) — their regional debuts at the fest.
Other notable Indie Memphis guests will include actor Vondie-Curtis Hall, a veteran of the TV shows "Chicago Hope" and "Daredevil," who will be here with indie filmmaking stalwart Alexandre Rockwell to screen their new movie, "The Projectionist"; "Billy Madison" director Tamra Davis, who brings "The Best Summer," an archival music-festival documentary featuring Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys, Bikini Kill, the Foo Fighters, Pavement, Beck and others; blues legend Bobby Rush, whose 93rd birthday will occur four days after the Nov. 6 screening of "Bobby Rush: King of the Chitlin Circuit"; Memphis' Vivian Gray, production designer on this year's surprise box-office smash hit "Obsession"; and actor Seth Green ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and his Memphis-born spouse, actress Clare Grant.
Brandon Harris, Indie Memphis artistic director and head programmer, said this year’s festival represents “the culmination of a year of community coming back together,” after the previous two years, in which the festival was greatly reduced and then canceled — or put on “pause,” in the words of a festival press release — to reorganize its finances and its mission.
Said Harris: “We wanted to bring back what we all felt was uniquely special in our lives and in the firmament of the Memphis cultural scene — and, really, in the firmament of independent film in the South.”
"The Man I Love" will be the closing-night feature of the Indie Memphis Film Festival, which runs Nov. 5-8 at the Halloran and at the Powerhouse Cinema Grill, Malco's Downtown multiplex. "Encore" screenings of some films will be Nov. 9-10 at the Malco Studio on the Square.
The Indie Memphis lineup includes dramas, documentaries, music films, "Hometowner" films (created by Memphians and Mid-Southerners), experimental films, revivals, and numerous short films.
The emphasis is on American movies, to reaffirm — in its 28th year — the festival's status as "a bulwark of regional American independent filmmaking," Harris said.
The opening-night feature, as previously announced, is director Sam Pollard's "The Lorraine," a documentary that examines the history and significance of the famed Memphis hotel that was a haven for Black travelers and artists before being branded as the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Like Sachs and many other filmmakers whose work will be screened at the festival, Pollard and producer Alvin Hall will be in town, to discuss their movie with the audience.
Other likely festival highlights include "Once Upon a Time in Harlem," constructed with footage director William Greaves shot at a 1972 party in Duke Ellington's townhouse, where the guest list included painters, poets, musicians, actors, novelists and other giants of the Harlem Renaissance; Jon Brick's "Ronzo," a documentary about the fearless Oxford, Mississippi, "cultural ambassador" and eccentric, Ron Shapiro; and "Riptides," described as a "tropical comedy," directed by distinctive character actor Alex Karpovsky ("Girls").
The festival lineup was announced Wednesday, Sept. 30, during an early-evening public "preview party" at the Metal Museum, which relocated in September from its longtime riverside location to Overton Park.
"After a year away, we knew we couldn't just come back with a standard program; we had to return with a slate that speaks urgently to our fractured present," said Harris, in a statement. "I've programmed this year’s festival to reflect the restless, boundary-pushing spirit of independent cinema, looking for films that possess a certain southern grit, a formal audacity, and an unflinching eye for the immense complexities of modern life."
Many of the films also are quite topical, including "Uncommitted" (about Muslim-American grassroots political organizers in Michigan), "A City in the Forest" (environmental activism), and "The Great Experiment" (described as "a visual poem" that incorporates footage of border crossings, Confederate statue protests and the Jan. 6 riots).
An author, filmmaker, former Amazon Studios development executive and veteran festival programmer, the Los Angeles-based Harris, 42, previously served as lead Indie Memphis programmer in 2016 and 2017. He said his return "feels like coming home to a city that simply refuses to be ignored or categorized."
Although the festival will feature panels, parties and other events, as expected, one tradition will be absent: There will be no awards ceremony or even juried awards for films and filmmakers (although filmgoers will be asked to vote on their favorites, so that the winners of "Audience Awards" can be announced). Harris said this was an intentional strategy, "to celebrate the films in a way that is non-competitive," as happens at such events as the famed New York Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival, which also eschew juried awards.
Hired by the Indie Memphis board earlier this year, Alicia George and Joseph Carr — the nonprofit organization's new co-executive directors — hope the 2026 festival can galvanize interest in the event and in local cinema culture, in the wake of financial losses incurred by the COVID shutdown and other challenges.
In 2025, Indie Memphis put its festival and programming on "pause," to reorganize its leadership and financing, and to renew its commitment to its mission statement: Indie Memphis "celebrates the power of independent film to bring people together and inspire meaningful connections," and works "to create community through independent film and support the development of filmmakers."
Indie Memphis presented a truncated festival in 2024, cutting the event down from six to four days. By that time, compromised festivals were familiar: The 2020 festival was "virtual," with movies offered online, with the exception of a few public outdoor screenings; and the 2021 fest was a somewhat clumsy hybrid of online and in-person screenings, with limited seating.
This year's festival was planned to be relatively modest, but, in fact, Harris has curated an ambitious program. He said he scheduled 50 films for the four days because he discovered "an embarrassment of riches" while at film festivals this year. Movies he recruited for Indie Memphis previously played at Sundance, Slamdance, Telluride, SXSW and other key fests.
After the festival, Indie Memphis will again start screening films throughout the year, on a regular basis. Said Harris: "This is just the beginning of the Indie Memphis comeback."
For festival passes, tickets and a full schedule, visit indiememphis.org.
John Beifuss is an entertainment writer at The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at john.beifuss@commercialappeal.com.
2026 Indie Memphis Film Festival lineup
Opening Night
"The Lorraine" (Sam Pollard, 87m)
Closing Night
"The Man I Love" (Ira Sachs, 96m)
Departures
"Aanikoobijigan" (Adam & Zach Khalil, 85m)
"Chronovisor" (Kevin Walker & Jack Auen, 100m)
"A City in a Forest" (Nolan Huber & Lev Omeichenko, 98m)
"Clay" (Kevin Jerome Everson, 62m)
"Every Contact Leaves a Trace" (Lynne Sachs, 83m)
"Feelings" (Jeanetta Rich, 70m)
"Humboldt USA" (G. Anthony Svatek, 89min)
"Sour Minnows" (Harrison Atkins, 83m)
Documentary
"All of the Above" (Allison Walsh, 85m)
"Bucks Harbor" (Pete Muller, 96m)
"Cheyenne" (Taimi Arvidson, 105m)
"Fears of a Clown" (Bart Vanderver, 90m)
"The Great Experiment" (Eric Daniel Metzgar, 100m)
"Jane Elliott Against The World" (Judd Ehrlich, 90m)
"Malama Makua" (Michael Inouye, 48m)
"Once Upon a Time in Harlem" (William Greaves, 100m)
"Possum Town" (Daniel Christian, 99m)
"TheyDream" (William D. Caballero, 89m)
"True North" (Michele Stephenson, 96m)
"Uncle Roy" (Keri Pickett, 90m)
"Uncommitted" (Razi Jafri, 88m)
"When a Witness Recants" (Dawn Porter, 112m)
"Who Killed Alex Odeh?" (Jason Osder, William Youmans, 84m)
"Who Moves America" (Yoni Golijov, 87m)
Hometowner
"Hallelujah Station" (Christian Walker, 45m)
"Hoop Street" (Princeton James, 91m)
"Outside Ain't Free" (Malik Martin, 50m)
"Safe & Sound" (Glenn Payne, 102m)
Narrative
"Act One" (Sophia Takal, 104m)
"Assets & Liabilities" (Zach Weintraub, 62m)
"Bagworm" (Oliver Bernsen, 96m)
"Inter-State" (Sam Gorman, 90m)
"Mother Future Self" (Tori Lancaster, Runtime unlisted)
"Ponderosa" (Rob Rice, 90m)
"The Projectionist" (Alexandre Rockwell, 94m)
"Revelations of Divine Love" (Caroline Golum, 73m)
"Riptides" (Alex Karpovsky, 80m)
"Take Me Home" (Liz Sargent, 91m)
"What Can't Be Mentioned" (Dan Sallitt, 61m)
Sounds
"The Best Summer" (Tamra Davis, 84m)
"Bobby Rush: King of the Chitlin Circuit" (Al Warren, 84m)
"Figaro Up, Figaro Down" (Javid Soriano, 75m)
"Joybubbles" (Rachael Morrison, 79m)
"Ronzo" (Jon Brick, 75m)
Throwbacks
"Curse of the Seven Jackals" (Chris Jolly, 60m, 2001)
"Embalmer" (S. Torriano Berry, 90m, 1996)
"Junebug" (Phil Morrison, 106m, 2005)
"Police Beat" (Robinson Devor, 81m, 2006)
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Indie Memphis Film Festival returns with 50 feature films over 4 days
