Dr. Trimiko Melancon, associate professor of English and Africana studies, and Karl Erickson, assistant professor of art and art history, will have their films featured at the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival to be held Oct. 21-29.
In its new form, the film festival will feature virtual screenings and outdoor screenings at venues including Shelby Farms, Levitt Shell, The Grove at GPAC, Stax Museum parking lot, and the Downtown Riverfront.
Melancon’s documentary What Do You Have to Lose? will be featured on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at both an outdoor screening at the Levitt Shell and a virtual screening. What Do You Have to Lose? explores the history of race and the current political and racial climate—from the rise of the alt-right to Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd—to show the complex dynamics that account for how we got here and why it matters.
Melancon’s teaching and research interests include African American and American literary studies, race and African American studies, gender and sexuality studies, popular culture, and cultural production.
Erickson uses techniques of motion graphics and the aesthetics of abstract painting in his videos to engage viewers on a sensory level. His video titled Talk to Your Plants About Uplift Experiences is about “a multispecies dance as an imploration for humankind to acknowledge the experiences of other lives.” It is part of the virtual Animated Shorts screenings that will become available at 12 a.m. on Oct. 21.
Rhodes alumni Emily Burkhead ’20 and Ethan Garland ’20, who Erickson has worked with in the past, also will have their works shown in the Hometowner Shorts screenings. Burkhead’s film is She Is More, and Garland’s video is Quarantine.
For more details and festival ticket information, visit the Indie Memphis Film Festival site.