Five Things To Do This Weekend in Memphis: January 29th-31st

Focus on film and music this weekend — Sundance Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, Clarksdale Film & Music Festival, and an Elton tribute plus a STEAM exhibit.

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Morris and Mollye Fogelman International Jewish Film Festival featuring Breaking Bread and On Broadway

Online from Memphis Jewish Community Center, jccmemphis.org

Opened Wednesday, January 27, screenings through March 3

International film fans will be pleased to know that the Memphis International Jewish Film Festival will go on this year — virtually. The festival is in its eighth year and will feature nine films ranging from features to documentaries and comedy to drama. The films are diverse and engaging. There is something for everyone.

The opening film, Breaking Bread, closes on Friday. The documentary features a menu of exotic cuisine with a side of politics as Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s Master Chef television competition, cooks up social change through food.

Next up is On Broadway. The comedic documentary streams Saturday-Monday. An all-star cast tells the inside story of the Broadway theater and how it came back from the brink thanks to innovative work, new attention to inclusion, and a sometimes uneasy balance between art and commerce. Legends of the stage and screen including Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, Hugh Jackman, and Ian McKellen take us behind the scenes of Broadway’s most groundbreaking and beloved shows.

Look for more offerings through March 3rd.

Sundance Film Festival

Malco Summer 4 Drive-In, 5310 Summer 

Thursday, January 28-Tuesday, February 2

Sundance Institute is bringing the Sundance Film Festival to Memphis in 2021. Our own Indie Memphis has been selected as an official Sundance Satellite screen at the Malco Summer Drive-In.

All new films will be shown and opening night will feature Strawberry Mansion by Memphis’ hometown filmmaker, Kentucker Audley. You can read more about his incredible journey from Memphis to Sundance in Chris McCoy’s film feature in the Memphis Flyer.

You can also get the full screening schedule from the Indie Memphis website.

Clarksdale Film & Music Festival

Various locations in Clarksdale, Mississippi

Friday-Sunday, January 29-31

For something closer to home, the Clarksdale Film & Music Festival has accommodated its annual event for the health and safety of participants. Specializing in blues/roots-music and Mississippi-connected films, the pandemic edition features both in-person and virtual activities.

Live blues music, panel discussions, special guests, and more will be either live-streamed from Facebook or held at various independent venues in small crowd settings. Films will be shown in the Pop-Up Drive-In Theater located in Downtown Clarksdale, Third Street and Issaquena, or in the Pop-Up Indoor Theater, East Second and Yazoo.

A professional drive-in production company will erect a large inflatable screen and broadcast the audio through your car’s FM receiver for the Drive-In. You can stay safe and warm inside your vehicle with some carryout or curbside eats from nearby restaurants.

Remember When Rock Was Young: The Elton John Tribute 

Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center, 3663 Appling

Saturday, January 30, 4 p.m.

I guess I’m not the only one who wore the grooves off one of my favorite albums by Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, in the ’70s. Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center had to add a second Elton John Tribute show to their lineup featuring Elton John look-a-like Craig Meyer.

Throughout Meyer’s career, he was repeatedly approached about his striking resemblance to Elton John and his uncanny ability to sound like the rock-and-roll legend. Meyer was eventually persuaded to expand his repertoire and began impersonating Sir Elton John.

Meyer is one of those unique performers who is truly comfortable on the stage, no matter the role. Craig has had television, film, and stage roles, but they pale in comparison to his depiction of Sir Elton John. Craig’s powerful voice and undeniable stage presence make this a show worth catching.

I would venture to say that if you go, “Saturday Night’s Alright” for getting a little action in.

“Dinosaurs in Motion”

Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central

Opens Saturday, January 30, continues through May 2

The Pink Palace Family of Museums shuttered its doors on December 23. One month later the Museum of Science and History is opening back up in a big way — with dinosaurs.

The Museum’s new “Dinosaurs in Motion” exhibit opens January 30th and will get the temporarily extinct dinosaur season reanimated. This new exhibit is an interactive STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) experience built for visitors of all ages. As a STEAM-minded exhibit should, it will engage and educate visitors with 14 magnificent, fully interactive, recycled metal dinosaur sculptures. The sculptures feature exposed mechanics inspired by actual fossils. An amazing blend of art, science, and innovation, the exhibit weaves in sketching, sculpting, kinetics, biomechanics, observing, and experimenting. Every piece is interactive for visitors to touch and learn.

The moving, human element to the exhibit lies in the story of the artist, John Payne. Through video and interactive touch, visitors of all ages will walk away with Payne’s inspiring message, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” The exhibition is one that inspires guests to learn, discover, and create.

Get to the Museum before the exhibit’s ex-STEAM-tion on May 2 or you’ll be really saur.

For a full list of what’s happening this weekend in and around Memphis, check out our calendar of events.  Also, be sure to tag your favorite Instagram photos of Memphis while you are out and about with the #memphismagazine hashtag. I hope you have a great weekend.