Twenty years ago — Jan. 29, 2005 — was perhaps the greatest day in the history of Memphis movies, with a pair of made-in-Memphis films taking the top two prizes at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

The most notable new wide-release film opening in Memphis this week is the mysterious “Companion,” a comedy-thriller that’s gotten positive early buzz. 

The nominations for the 2025 Academy Awards will be announced Thursday, Jan. 23, and “The Brutalist” will probably figure prominently.

Paintings ranging from the unknown to Picasso and Basquiat are on display at the Dixon through January 26. The museum’s director, Kevin Sharp, talks about the exhibits with Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

David Lusk simultaneously hosts the same artist at its Nashville and Memphis galleries, and two St. Mary’s alumna reunite for the Buckman Center’s ‘Spirit of 74’ show.

This year’s list gives us strippers, tennis players, boys, daughters, jurors and hundreds of beavers. Plus, there are “Special Jury (of One)” prizes.

“I just feel a tug to continue it somehow,” said Kristina Tubinis, an Arrow artist and retail and events associate.

The nonprofit, known for Memphis Fashion Week and its Holiday Bazaar, will close its doors at the end of the year. But officials with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art plan to keep the fire alive.

December art shows in Memphis feature collage, “eye-poems,” photography, abstract paintings and murals. 

This pre-Thanksgiving weekend brings a couple of prestige-oriented films to the big screen, alongside stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal. 

The Memphis Police Department is hosting a new local TV show to showcase its efforts in curbing crime in the city.

Casts created in hollowed-out spaces of volcanic ash and other artifacts from the frozen city of Pompeii, which was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., are on display at Graceland starting this week. 

The collaboration continues a long cultural exchange between Memphis and the small Italian town.

The 27th annual Indie Memphis Film Festival starts Thursday with potential sleeper hits, films of local interest and movies you may not see anywhere else. 

A version of the “beauty and the billionaire” fairy tale, “Anora” won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this summer and is now being touted as a top contender for a much more mainstream prize: The Oscar. 

A new show at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens offers visitors the chance to see works by some of the most important visual artists from the past 150 years — for free.

CBU and U of M have new art exhibitions in November, as does Tops at Madison Avenue Park, Marshall Arts, David Lusk Gallery, and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens.

“Godzilla Minus One” works as action and drama, as monster-movie and as a metaphor for the nuclear anxiety of postwar Japan. It’s just a terrific movie, according to Chris Herrington. 

The festival will include screenings of four short films. Attendees can vote for which one should receive a $10,000 prize.

Growing from a four-week summer camp, Contemporary Arts Memphis’ official headquarters provides a student gallery area and room for art instruction. 

In the documentary five Memphis women are interviewed about their mental health — specifically anxiety — and how they deal with challenges.

This week’s recommendations are very much in “proceed with caution” territory. Plus, “Conclave” joins the Oscar race.

The Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis hotel, just up the bluff from Riverside Drive at Beale Street, will open a new exhibition Saturday, Oct. 19.

When a comedian and a playwright discovered they were dating the same guy, it was only logical they would write a screenplay about it.