Indie Memphis Film Festival: ‘Minari,’ ‘One Night in Miami’ are Centerpiece and Closing Night films
Courtesy of Sundance Institute 
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Screenings of David Cronenberg’s CRASH (1996) and Ephraim Asili’s THE INHERITANCE Also Added to the Festival Roster
Indie Memphis Film Festival, presented by Duncan-Williams, Inc., has announced the addition of this year’s Centerpiece and Closing Night films to the fest’s 2020 incarnation, spanning from October 21st – October 29th, 2020. Adjusting to the changing landscape, this year’s festival will be “Online and Outdoors” as film lovers from all over the world will participate in the virtual screenings and events. Memphis audiences will also enjoy in-person screenings at the Drive-In and outdoor lawns.
The upcoming A24 release MINARI, written and directed by Korean-American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung (LUCKY LIFE), will be this year’s Centerpiece Film. MINARI follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. “The Walking Dead” and BURNING’s Steven Yeun stars as the family patriarch in a film that serves as Chung’s love letter to his own immigration story and his beloved family.
In addition, Indie Memphis is very excited to announce that Regina King’s feature directorial debut ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI will be the fest’s Closing Night film. ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, “High Fidelity”), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom, Jr., HAMILTON), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge, HIDDEN FIGURES) gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the ‘60s.
“We’re thrilled to add these titles to the Indie Memphis line-up, continuing our goal of showing the best films of the year, both new discoveries and festival highlights,” said Artistic Director Miriam Bale.
Additional newly announced titles include a drive-in repertory screening of David Cronenberg’s unsung NC-17-rated masterpiece CRASH (1996), starring James Spader, Elias Koteas and Holly Hunter as an underground group of people who are sexually aroused by car crashes. In keeping with Cronenberg’s fascination with body horror, the film delves into the “new flesh,” fusing the human body with the machine. Based on the pulp novel by J.G. Ballard, the film won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes “for originality, for daring, and for audacity.”
Ephraim Asili’s THE INHERITANCE is now also a part of the festival. The drama weaves histories of the West Philadelphia–based MOVE Organization, the Black Arts Movement, and dramatizations of the life of the filmmaker when he was a member of a Black activist collective.
Passes to the Public are Available on the Indie Memphis website here
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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