Bama Girl Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Tax day can be stressful -- trust me, I feel your pain -- so Indie Roundup is here to make you feel better with soothing news of the adventurous indie film community.

Touring. Rachel Goslins' acclaimed doc 'Bama Girl got underway on its so-called "Southern Circuit Tour" this week, barnstorming across the South at a variety of venues through April 24. The doc revolves around a woman who wants to become the first African-American Homecoming Queen at her university, despite the nefarious efforts of a secret society determined to keep the crown lily white. Jette Kernion called it "one of the most entertaining movies" she saw at SXSW last year. More information is available at the official site; Ms. Goslins is also blogging about her adventures.

Box Office. Over the weekend, two docs outdrew Hannah Montana on a per-screen basis. Mark Cowen's Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, re-released in four IMAX theatres, took in $15,845 per screen, per Box Office Mojo. Produced and narrated by Tom Hanks, the 40-minute film was originally released in 2005. Sacha Gervasi's Cinematical-approved heavy metal doc Anvil! The Story of Anvil, pulled in $11,550 per-screen at three severely-rocking cinemas. The never-say-die original band members are terribly appealing; check out the trailer embedded below for evidence.

Deals. Two films have been acquired for distribution today, according to indieWIRE. Regent Releasing and Here Media picked up Robert Young's docudrama Eichmann and will release it theatrically in October. The film stars the generally terrific Thomas Kretschmann in the title role and Franka Potente as the wife of Eichmann's interrogator after Hitler's architect of "the final solution" was captured in Argentina.

After the jump: Today's other deal -- for The Horse Boy; plus news on the Atlanta and New York film fests.

I can't believe I saw two movies about racial politics in Alabama at SXSW this year -- not what I would have expected. Both approached the issues in different ways, and both films were good. While The Order of Myths (which I reviewed already) focused on Mardi Gras in the Gulf Coast city of Mobile, the documentary Bama Girl takes us further north to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa to examine a tradition popular at many American universities: the selection and crowning of the Homecoming Queen.

Bama Girl focuses primarily on Jessica Thomas, a senior at the university who is determined to win Homecoming Queen. The problem is that a number of the white fraternities and sororities plus other unnamed organizations have formed a covert group known on campus as The Machine. The way in which the Homecoming Queen is elected on campus favors The Machine, which is why no African-American woman has won the crown since the rules change. This all sounds like paranoid fantasy and crazy student rumors, but when you see a staff member in the Dean of Students office talking seriously about The Machine, you start to wonder. Anyway, Jessica isn't going to let any secret society keep her from what she wants. She and her sorority sisters get to work to get her elected.