Chicago outsider artist Willis Earl Beal will star in a film called Memphis that’s directed and written by Tim Sutton. The Dissolve shared a trailer for the film today and described the character that Beal will portray a character described as someone “surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold-hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolfpack of kids” and who is “working less on his music and more on the state of his soul.” Aside from Beal, the rest of the actors are local residents of Memphis, not well-known celebrities or even actors.
Memphis is funded by a grant from Venice Biennale Cinema College and will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 31. Sutton is just off the success of another acclaimed film entitled Pavilion. Watch the trailer below and check out a new tracks from Beal called “Too Dry To Cry” and look for his sophomore album Nobody knows. out through XL on September 10.
