Southern Arts Independent Film Series coming to Greensboro

Myrna+the+Monster+is+one+of+the+films+showing+in+Greensboro+through+the+Southern+Arts+Independent+Film+Series.+

Courtesy of "Myrna the Monster"

Myrna the Monster is one of the films showing in Greensboro through the Southern Arts Independent Film Series.

Forget about “Avengers” and its disappointing romantic subplots and come experience the most innovative indie films of the year.

Guilford College students have the chance to support fledging filmmakers with the Southern Arts Independent Film Series. The series, coming to the Carolina Theatre this fall, is bringing a string of new indie films in the region to Greensboro.

“Not well known filmmakers get to show what they’ve worked so hard on to a willing audience,” said sophomore Donnie Gardner on the importance of showcasing independent films. “Most people who go see independent films are more open minded than the general public.”

First to premiere at the Carolina Theatre is “Myrna the Monster and Other Short Films.” The films will be shown on Sep. 15.

The night’s lineup includes four short films: “Myrna the Monster, “ “Caterwaul,” “The Eyes and the Ice” and “Nancy and the Dapper Toad.”

The headlining film, based on a unique Claymation style of animation, was both written and directed by filmmaker Ian Samuels who has been recognized at Sundance, South-by-Southwest, Telluride Film Festival and Slamdance. He was also described as one of the Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2015.

Other films to visit include “Movement and Location,” “Orion: The Man Who Would Be King” and “Almost There.”

“Movement and Location,” directed by Alexis Boling, who has experience directing music videos with bands such as Vampire Weekend, is based on a time-traveler from the future who starts fresh in present-day Brooklyn.

The film won awards at several festivals, including the Brooklyn Film Festival, the Indie Memphis Film Festival, the Chesapeake Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival and more. “Movement and Location” will be shown on Oct. 13.

“The husband and wife team of Alexis and Bodine Boling have collaborated on the tender, touching drama Movement and Location,” said Mark Rifkin, a writer for This Week in New York, on the film. “Despite its sci-fi plot, Movement and Location is a gently paced, well-acted and honest depiction of relationships and responsibility in modern-day Brooklyn.”

The third film of the season, slated for Nov. 3, delves into the conspiracies surrounding Elvis’ death, and tells the true story of Jimmy Ellis, who took advantage of the situation and pretended to be Elvis following his death.

“Our story revels in the manipulative schemes of the music industry, the truth and lies at the heart of the story, the allure of fantasy and the eternal search for identity,” said Jeanie Finlay. “Orion proves that fact is indeed ‘stranger than fiction’. This is the story behind that story. Who was that masked man?”

Indie films from the series will continue to be shown until April 12, with the final film “Ghost Town to Havana.”

“South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective,” according to the mission statement of South Arts, the group which organizes the South Arts film series.

“We offer a portfolio of activities designed to address the issues important to our region and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts.”

Indie films are vastly unconventional and fresh compared to studio films due to extreme budget differences and the influence that producers and studios hold over the script, casting and other major aspects of Hollywood blockbusters. Students have the unique opportunity to experience and appreciate the differences of this art form.

“You never know when a person will go to (a film festival) and be creative and inspired in a way that will make them successful, no matter what that means; monetary or entertainment or personally,” said first-year Daniel Nelson-Rembellas.  “And they’ll say, well I went to this one festival out of nowhere and I got inspired.”

Many worry that the spirit of independent film is waning, but the many celebrated film series and festivals such at the South Arts Circuit may prove them wrong.