"Humpday," the edgy and acclaimed new film from Seattle director Lynn Shelton, makes its Memphis debut at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31 in a free "members only" screening at the Malco Studio on the Square, sponsored by Indie Memphis.

Shelton currently is shooting "$5 Cover: Seattle" in her hometown for MTV New Media and executive producer Craig Brewer. The Web series is the follow-up to Brewer's Memphis-made "$5 Cover," and the first attempt to transform the concept of a city-based musical serial drama into a franchise.

The "Humpday" screening is intended to be a sort of "thank you" to those who helped Indie Memphis recently meet its ArtsMemphis challenge grant. By raising $20,000 by the end of June, Indie Memphis received an additional $20,000 from ArtsMemphis. Indie Memphis promotes local and independent cinema and organizes an annual film festival in October.

The successful fundraising campaign comes at a tough time for other arts organizations. Power House Memphis, a cutting-edge Downtown art gallery and venue, is shutting its doors on Aug. 31 because of funding woes. Ironically, Power House was a project of Delta Axis, a nonprofit visual arts group that supported Indie Memphis, until the film festival was strong enough to spin off on its own.

A "bromantic" comedy that bridges the worlds of Judd Apatow and the low-budget, improvisational "mumblecore" movement, "Humpday" stars Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard as longtime heterosexual buddies who find themselves in a bind after they drunkenly agree to appear together in a pornographic short film. Roger Ebert called the movie "funny, but also observant and thought-provoking," while Time magazine reported that "taking a hilarious premise and making it feel real, like this film does, is the greatest trick in comedy."

Those who are not already Indie Memphis members and want to attend the screening can join online at indiememphis.com or at the Studio on the night of the show.

Shelton was a juror for last year's Indie Memphis Film Festival, where her previous feature, "My Effortless Brilliance," was screened.

'Intruder' returns to Oxford area

Oscar-winning actor Claude Jarman Jr. will be in Oxford, Miss., on Oct. 2 for a 60th anniversary screening of the film "Intruder in the Dust," shot in the Oxford area in 1948 and '49.

The screening will take place at the Lyric Theater, where the movie had its world premiere on Oct. 10, 1949. The print that will be screened is on loan from MGM.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for a cocktail party. A documentary about Oxford memories of the film begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by the movie. The Nashville-born Jarman, now 74, who was awarded a special Oscar in 1946 after his performance in "The Yearling," will lead a public discussion after the screening.

Adapted from the novel by Oxford's own William Faulkner and directed by MGM stalwart Clarence Brown, who was known for his work with such glamorous stars as Greta Garbo ("Anna Karenina") Joan Crawford ("Sadie McKee") and Elizabeth Taylor ("National Velvet"), "Intruder in the Dust" was a controversial story about a strong-willed black man (Juano Hernandez) accused of the murder of a white man. Jarman portrayed a boy who befriends the defendant.

Tickets for the event are $35 each, and may be purchased at the Lyric box office or online at thelyricoxford.com. The event is a fundraiser for the next Oxford Film Festival, to be held Feb. 4-7.

John Beifuss: 529-2394