The 11th annual Indie Street Film Festival will open with the world premiere of “In Memoriam,” a short drama starring comedian and actor Marc Maron, festival organizers have announced exclusively to USA Film News. The festival is set to run from August 12-18 in Red Bank, New Jersey, with the full lineup now revealed.

Directed by Benjamin Dilsisian, “In Memoriam” follows a heartbroken young man as he revisits his most painful and cherished memories, ultimately discovering that letting go of the past is the key to healing and finding hope for the future. The 15-minute film runs with a runtime of exactly 15 minutes and was completed in 2023, though it has not yet received a wide release or official rating from review aggregators.

Maron, known for his stand-up work and starring role in the Netflix series “GLOW,” leads a cast that includes Karl Schreyer in the dual role of Jonathan and Memory Jonathan, alongside Eleana Zouganeli as Emma. The supporting ensemble features Nick Beiber, Dennan Dick, Betsy Dilsisian, Michael Dilsisian, Nathan Johnson, and Lydia Meyerdirk, all credited as stagehands. No theatrical release date beyond the festival has been announced.

Festival Lineup and Programming

The Indie Street Film Festival, now in its eleventh year, has built a reputation for spotlighting emerging independent voices and genre-bending narratives. This year’s program includes a mix of narrative features, documentaries, short films, and experimental works, with an emphasis on stories that challenge conventional storytelling.

“We are thrilled to open the festival with Marc Maron’s deeply personal project,” said festival director Claudia Rivas in a statement. “‘In Memoriam’ captures exactly the emotional range we look for-grief, memory, and the slow process of moving forward. It sets the tone for a lineup that is both intimate and ambitious.”

Among the feature films selected for competition is “The Last Summer of August,” a drama set in a coastal town grappling with gentrification, and “Echoes of the River,” a documentary tracing the environmental impact of industrial pollution in the Midwest. Both are world premieres. The festival will also host a retrospective screening of cult indie classic “Ghost World,” followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Daniel Clowes.

Short film blocks will cover themes ranging from family secrets to surreal encounters, with titles such as “The Dresser,” “Night Swim,” and “All That Remains” making their debut. The festival’s experimental section includes a 40-minute abstract piece titled “Frequencies,” which uses only archival footage and a live score.

Marc Maron’s Role and Career Context

Maron’s involvement with “In Memoriam” marks a continued expansion beyond stand-up and into dramatic acting. The comedian has appeared in films such as “Joker” (2019) and “The Little Hours” (2017), as well as lending his voice to animated projects. His podcast, “WTF with Marc Maron,” remains one of the most popular interview series in the medium.

In “In Memoriam,” Maron does not appear on screen but is listed in the cast as a performer in an unspecified role. The short film was shot in Los Angeles over three days during the summer of 2022, with Dilsisian serving as both writer and director. This is Dilsisian’s second short film after his debut “The Space Between,” which screened at the San Diego International Film Festival in 2021.

“I met Marc through a mutual friend who knew I was working on a project about loss,” Dilsisian said. “He read the script and immediately offered to help. His instincts about emotional honesty are razor-sharp, even in a short format.”

Ticket Information and Festival Details

The Indie Street Film Festival runs from August 12-18 at multiple venues in Red Bank, including the historic Basie Center Cinemas and the Vogel. Single-screening tickets go on sale August 1, with all-access passes available now. Opening night tickets, which include the premiere of “In Memoriam” and a reception with the filmmakers, are priced at $25 and limited to 300 attendees.

The festival will also host panels on independent filmmaking, distribution challenges, and the role of comedy in dramatic storytelling, the latter likely drawing on Maron’s dual career. Full schedule and pass pricing are available on the festival’s official website.

With its intimate scale and carefully curated selection, this year’s Indie Street Film Festival aims to reaffirm the power of independent film to address universal experiences-grief, memory, and hope-through personal, often minimalist storytelling. “In Memoriam” will serve as the opening salvo, a 15-minute meditation on what it means to release the past.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter