Pictured left to right: Director/Screenwriter Raven Jackson; still from ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT
2023 Indie Memphis Film Festival to Open with Alumna Raven Jackson’s ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT
(September 12, 2023 | Memphis, TN) Indie Memphis Film Festival, presented by SouthState | DuncanWilliams and Duncan Williams Asset Management is thrilled to announce the Opening Night Film for this year: Raven Jackson’s heralded ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT, with Jackson in-person. The A24 title, which had its World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, will screen on October 24th at the Crosstown Theater, preceded by an Opening Night reception.
ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT is coming home to Indie Memphis, as Jackson was awarded the 2019 Indie Memphis Black Filmmaker Residency for Screenwriting. The Residency, which began in 2018, provides the opportunity for under-represented artists in filmmaking to develop bold storytelling and connect with fellow writers, artists, and other industry professionals in Memphis. Jackson’s script was selected by MOONLIGHT filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who later signed on to produce – and things exploded from there.
Raven Jackson says, “Coming back to Indie Memphis to screen All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a moving full circle moment. I spent such important time developing the script there, and I’m beyond excited to share the completed film at the festival.”
The film, Jackson’s feature debut, is a lyrical, decades-spanning exploration of a Mississippi woman’s life, touching on the people, places, and moments that shape us; Jackson both wrote and directed. Tennessee-native Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker, poet, and photographer and her feature is a culmination of all her finely-tuned oeuvres.
Indie Memphis Executive Director Kimel Fryer says about the film, “As someone who grew up in rural Tennessee, my breath was taken away by All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. Raven Jackson captured Black stories in a visually stunning way that felt like home. We are honored to be able to open the 26th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival with this magnificent film. Additionally, this is a testament to the success of the Black Creators Forum and to the Indie Memphis staff and sponsors who continue to support the program.”
The 2023 Indie Memphis Film Festival will run from October 24th through the 29th in-person [and virtually] in the historic Memphis, TN. The full festival program will be announced in the coming weeks; more info is available at https://www.indiememphis.org/imff23.
About Raven Jackson: Raven Jackson is an award-winning filmmaker, poet, and photographer from Tennessee. Her work often explores landscapes of indefinable experiences and emotions, as well as the body’s relationship to nature. Jackson’s debut narrative feature, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, made in partnership with Maria Altamirano, PASTEL, and A24, world-premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film has received support from Cinereach, SFFILM, the Gotham, Film Independent, Tribeca Film Institute, New Orleans Film Society, Ikusmira Berriak, Indie Memphis, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Westridge Foundation.
Her short films Nettles and A Guide to Breathing Underwater are currently streaming on the Criterion Channel. She is a Cave Canem fellow and holds MFAs from New York University's Graduate Film Program and the New School's Writing Program. Her chapbook of poetry, little violences, is available from Cutbank Literary Magazine.