This blog was written by Chad Allen Barton
The last time I wrote for Choose901, I talked about some of the films and projects I’d been working on and about the fact that my son and I had started making films together.
A lot has happened since then.
Over the last few months, I’ve launched a children’s show with a puppet named Kevin, continued documenting Memphis musicians and nonprofits, completed a 45-minute documentary about Memphis Armored Fight Club, and traveled to Los Angeles to interview actors for a documentary about the connections between Memphis and Star Trek.
One of the things I’ve always loved about filmmaking is how many different places it can take you. Every project gives me a chance to meet people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise, spend some time in their world, and figure out the best way to tell their story.
And Memphis has a lot of stories to tell.
StoryTime
One of the projects I’m happiest to finally have out in the world is StoryTime, an original children’s show I created for The Library Channel at Memphis Public Libraries.
The show follows Kevin, a Floppy from Floppyland, who accidentally falls through a portal and winds up in Memphis. He eventually finds himself at the Memphis Public Library, where he discovers something he’s never encountered before: books.
Kevin becomes so fascinated with them that he builds the Imagination Room, a place where the illustrations in a book can come to life all around him. From there, local children’s authors join Kevin to read their stories and take him on new adventures.
The first episodes are available now, and we have a lot more planned. Kevin has already started venturing beyond StoryTime, including doing interviews of his own, and he’ll be appearing live at the Cooper-Young Festival.
A Few of My Favorite Things
On the documentary side, I created A Few of My Favorite Things for The Library Channel as a way to spend some real time with people, places, and communities around Memphis that I find interesting.
Each installment is a long-form documentary of around 45 minutes, which gives us the opportunity to really dig into a subject.
The latest takes us inside Memphis Armored Fight Club.
If you’ve never seen armored combat up close, it’s impressive. These are people putting on full suits of armor, stepping into a ring, and competing in a sport that most people probably don’t realize has a community right here in Memphis.
We spent time getting to know the people involved, learning why they do it, and capturing what it actually feels like to be around the sport. We’re now working toward premiering the finished documentary at the Pink Palace Museum before making it available to a wider audience.
The series has also taken us to places like Edge Motor Museum, and there are plenty more subjects I’d like to explore.
From the Bookstore
Music continues to be another big part of what I’m doing at The Library Channel.
I created From the Bookstore as an intimate performance series filmed inside the Memphis Public Library. The setup is simple: put talented musicians in a great space, make it look and sound as good as we possibly can, and let them perform.
We’ve worked with artists including Kia Shine, Blvck Hippie, North Mississippi Allstars, Hope Clayburn and Soul Scrimmage, Louise Page, HEELS, Singa B, and others, with more performances on the way.
Memphis obviously doesn’t have a shortage of musical history. What interests me is documenting the people who are making Memphis music right now.
Memphis Makers
Memphis Makers gives us the opportunity to tell the stories of organizations making an impact throughout Memphis.
So far, we’ve produced episodes featuring Memphis Music Initiative, Memphis Union Mission, and Community Legal Center. Next up is MIFA.
With each episode, we spend time with the organization and the people behind it, learning about its mission and giving them the opportunity to tell their story in their own words.
Memphis and Star Trek
The Star Trek documentary actually began with Wayne Dowdy, head of the history department at Memphis Public Libraries.
Wayne brought me the story of Charles Washburn, a Memphian with a fascinating connection to Star Trek. Once I started looking into it, I discovered that Washburn was far from the only connection. There are countless threads connecting Memphis and Memphians to the Star Trek universe, and that became the foundation for the documentary.
The project recently took me to Los Angeles, where I interviewed Randy Oglesby and Jason Liles, two Memphis creatives who went on to build successful careers in the film and television industry, and Larry Nemecek, a Star Trek historian, podcaster and author. Randy has had an impressive film career, working with Clint Eastwood, Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay, Tom Shadyac, and many more. Recently you may have seen him in Wandavision, Spider-Noir, For All Mankind, or the Burbs series. Jason’s motion capture and creature performances have ranged from working with The Rock on Rampage to being the middle head of Ghidorah in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, to The Chatterer in Hellraiser (2022). Both of them show the generational talent exhibited on the world stage by Memphians.
I’m keeping plenty of the documentary under wraps for now, but I came home with some great interviews and a lot of material to work with. There’s still more to shoot and more of the story to tell.
Keep Watching Local Work
All of this exists alongside my independent filmmaking, which I’m continuing to pursue outside of The Library Channel.
My recent shorts How Deep Is Your Love and Follower are both available to watch on my YouTube channel. Follower was made as part of the Neptune 53 Hour Film Competition.
I recently made another short called Silhouette Prayer, which I directed and my son filmed. He did great for his first outing as a cinematographer. Shannon Walton stars in that one and she’s amazing to work with. That film was a ton of fun to make. Since it’s a spooky one, it’s coming out this October. Keep an eye out.
I make films because I want people to see them. So if you want to support somebody making things in Memphis, watch their stuff.
If you like it, share it. Send it to somebody. Talk about it.
That support costs nothing, but it matters more than people probably realize.
Fortunately, Memphis doesn’t seem like it’s going to run out of stories anytime soon.
About the Author
Chad Allen Barton is a producer at The Library Channel, the Memphis Public Library’s TV station. He writes and directs his own films that he makes in Memphis.
