By: Wade Sellers
It’s Friday, April 17th- day three and hump day for Indie Grits 2015. The schedule is packed, from 11am until well past midnight. If you don’t have anything pressing at the office, why are you even considering clocking in today?
Two feature films headline the festival’s evening slate.
The documentary American Cheerleader focuses on the world of competitive cheerleading. The film follows the journey of two high school teams- from Burlington, New Jersey and Southwestern, Kentucky, who compete for the National High School Cheerleading Championship. The twenty-four women from both teams revise the preconceived notions of femininity and sportsmanship that hang over the world of cheerleading. Check out our interview with one of the filmmakers here. - The Nickelodeon, Upstairs Theater- 6pm.
Female Pervert, from Atlanta director Jiyoung Lee, follows a lonely video game designer, Phoebe, as she tries to make emotional connections in the modern world. She attempts many changes in her life but as she endeavors to self-improve her interests turn towards a darker more perverted path. Will she be able to change? Or will she accept her fate as a female pervert? Check out interview with the director here. - The Nickelodeon, Downstairs Theater- 7:30pm
If you must work, but have a lunch break downtown, head to the CMA and Boyd Plaza and check out the Mini Cine. Screenings are free and will rotate between a block of short titled Future Perfect Shorts and a curated program of archival footage from the University of South Carolina’s Moving Image Research Collection titled "Past Hopes for Perfect Futures."
The Indie Bits Showcase starts at noon in the Skyline Room at Tapp’s. Don’t miss out on the chance to play indie games that are in competition from across the southeast.
Heritage in the Drift is a group of experimental shorts playing early in the day. - The Nickelodeon, Upstairs Theater- 1:30pm
Burdens of the Past features a group of documentary shorts with subjects ranging from a street preacher, an openly gay young man in South Carolina, the 1993 killing of Chicago blues musician Boston Blackie and psycho-geographer and convicted sex offender, Denis Wood. The Nickelodeon, Downstairs Theater- 3pm
Brothers Bill and Turner Ross, and Indie Grits alums, screen their Sundance Award winning film Western this afternoon. “What would a nonfiction western look like? If you can find John Wayne, what does he look like, what’s he doing?” Find out at The Nickelodeon, Upstairs Theater- 3:30pm
Finders Keepers tells the almost unbelievable story of Shannon Whisnany, a North Carolina bargain hunter, who refuses to return amputee John Wood’s embalmed leg after he finds it in a used grill at an auction. The Nickelodeon, Upstairs Theater- 8:30pm
There is plenty of evening and late night fun with the Stairwell Concert, the Spork in Hand PUPPET SLAM at 1216 Taylor St., and Weekly Revue at the Big Apple.
Need more? Head to Hunter Gatherer at 11pm for live music or The Whig for a Friday night Taco Party.