Boots Riley to pick Indie Memphis screenwriters
Boots Riley, the filmmaker and hip-hop artist whose droll and impassioned political science-fiction satire “Sorry to Bother You” remains one of the more noteworthy movies of the past few years, will select the recipients of this year’s Indie Memphis screenwriting grants for black filmmakers.
Riley’s participation marks the second year in a row that a significant filmmaker has been a partner with Indie Memphis in its black filmmaker fellowship program.
The current screenwriting fellows – Jamey Hatley of Memphis and Raven Jackson of New York – were selected by Barry Jenkins, the director of “If Beale Street Could Talk” and the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 2016, “Moonlight.”
In the words of an Indie Memphis press release sent out Wednesday:
“During these crazy times, Indie Memphis is proud to cut through the noise of fear and uncertainty by offering up a bright spot of good news and excitement ... through our continued mission to champion black filmmakers.” Riley already had established a relationship with Indie Memphis, having been a guest at the 2018 festival, where he presented “Sorry to Bother You” and gave various talks, including the keynote address at the festival’s Black Creators Forum.
The first grant supports a “Black Filmmaker Residency for Screenwriting,” for an out-of-town writer interested in creating a feature-length film to be shot in Memphis.
The second grant is for a “Black Filmmaker Fellowship in Screenwriting,” to enable a Memphis-area resident create a screenplay for a feature film. The deadline to apply for either award is April 12.
Also, Indie Memphis has announced the return of its popular “Indiegrants” program, which provides up to $39,000 in various film production grants. The application deadline is Aug. 2.
The screenwriting grants were made possible by contributions from the Remembering George Riley Fund (established to honor the memory of the late Memphis-born social justice lawyer — no relation to Boots Riley) and the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation.
For complete details and more information, visit the redesigned Indie Memphis website at indiememphis.org (which, unfortunately, currently features an empty calendar of events, due to coronavirus-caused cancellations).