Hoop Street took home the Hometowner Feature Film Award at the 2026 Indie Memphis Film Festival. Written and produced by Teresa Dickerson and directed by Princeton James, Hoop Street is the story of a Memphis teenager who must decide between a life on the streets and the possibilities of a career on the court. You can read an interview with James in this week’s Memphis Flyer cover story. Hoop Street will have an encore screening 8 p.m. tonight (Monday, November 9th) at Studio on the Square.
The Indie Memphis Film Festival returned last weekend after a year’s hiatus with a successful festival featuring many sold-out screenings Downtown at the Orpheum’s Halloran Centre and Malco’s Powerhouse Theater. This year, the festival organizers did not convene a jury, so all awards were voted on by the audience in attendance. The Best Hometowner Narrative Short award went to “Tin Soldiers” by director Aris Federman. Best Hometowner Documentary Short was awarded to “Come On, Boy” co-directed by Sarah Fleming and Laura Jean Hocking. Best Hometowner Music Video went to “Lead to Steel” by Sàngkofi Jones, who also wrote and produced the song.
In the National categories, The Projectionist by veteran indie film director Alexandre Rockwell won Best Narrative Feature, while Jane Elliot Against The World by director Judd Ehrlich will add the Best Documentary Feature trophy to their award shelf. The Sounds feature award, which goes to a music-themed movie, went to King of the Chitlin Circuit, the biography of Bobby Rush by director Al Warren. In the Departures category, which recognizes experimental films, the documentary A City In The Forest by Lev Omelchenko and Nolan Huber reigned supreme.
In the National Shorts, “Black Soil” by Nicholas Weissman and Caitlin Ochs took home the Documentary prize, and “Method Cowboy” by writer/director Carlos Valdivia won the Narrative competition.
Encore screenings will happen at Studio on the Square in Midtown on Monday, November 9th and Tuesday, November 10th, including The Projectionist, Christian Walker’s Hallelujah Station, Sam Pollard’s opening night doc The Lorraine, Jane Elliot Against The World, and the Hometowner Narrative Shorts 2 film bloc. For the full encore schedule, see the Indie Memphis website.
