Friends,
We kick off the next phase in the lead-up to the 15th annual Traverse City Film Festival tomorrow (Saturday) when tickets go on sale to the general public! That means you should tell Linda you’ll be late for pickleball, cause you have a date with the box office.
You can join us in person starting TOMORROW at our new ABOVE GROUND(!) Main Box Office (now located at 120 Park Street, across from the parking deck), starting at 10 am. And as a special festive touch for Opening Day, everyone who comes down on Saturday to purchase their tickets will receive a voucher for a Free large popcorn to enjoy anytime at the festival.
Or if getting it done online is your thing, you can visit tcff.org starting at 6 pm. And if you have any trouble online, you can always give the box office a call (231-242-3456).
Tickets for our Parties and our ever-popular Around the Bay screenings from Frankfort to Harbor Springs are available now for everyone.
Before I get into my favorite “under the radar” film suggestions for you, I want to announce that I’ve filled in some of those “TBA” slots on the calendar with some of our most popular films and events. More announcements to fill the remaining TBAs to come.
We’ve Added:
KATHY GRIFFIN: A HELL OF A STORY: Thursday, August 1 at 6 pm at the City Opera House
WITH A SPECIAL SIMULCAST Q&A featuring yours truly and Ms. Griffin beamed Live from the State Theatre stage!
GUEST ARTIST: Saturday, August 3 at 3 pm at Milliken
Everyone is feeling the love for this Michigan-made gem from TCFF Board Member Jeff Daniels and fellow Michigander Timothy Busfield.
Now onto to those cinematic insights I mentioned that might be helpful to all of you feeling overwhelmed by this year’s bounty of choice!
AMERICAN FACTORY: The first film to be released by Michelle and Barack Obama’s new production label is an incredible portrait of the working class that follows the culture clash after a Chinese billionaire reopens a shuttered GM factory in Ohio. Directors Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar will be joining us in person for this can’t miss festival event.
THE PURITY OF VENGEANCE: If you’ve enjoyed any of the previous Department Q mysteries we’ve brought to the fest, or even if you have not, you won’t want to miss this cold case thriller — the highest grossing film in Danish history!
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS SINCE WOODSTOCK: Peace. Love. And Movies? Hard to believe it’s been 50 years since rock’s iconic event and we have a pair of special screenings marking the occasion: a new doc with incredible never-before-seen footage, WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION (Friday, August 2 at 12 noon at the State Theatre), AND Michael Wadleigh’s original Oscar-winning rock doc WOODSTOCK, playing out at the Open Space Thursday night of the fest!
SLAY THE DRAGON: A movie of this moment — this urgent and chilling doc about Gerrymandering traces the roots of how so much went wrong in our fair state of Michigan (Flint Water Crisis) and how the people are taking a stand. With the heart of the film following Michigan’s “Voters Not Politicians” group and the historic Proposal 2 2018 campaign, this is a film every voter (or nonvoter) should see. We learned last November there is one true way to get out the vote: ballot measures! The secret of how to win in 2020 is conveyed right in this movie!
AFTER PARKLAND: I had the privilege of getting to know some of the Parkland students last year and this amazing film tells their powerful story. Instead of sinking into their justifiable despair, the Parkland kids decided to rise up and fight back.
THE INFILTRATORS: If you’re as enraged as I am about what’s happening at the border, you shouldn’t miss this riveting doc hybrid that takes you inside a for-profit ICE transitional center.
CHAPO TRAP HOUSE LIVE: One of country’s funniest and most audacious podcasts broadcast live from Brooklyn each week is coming to our film festival! Their mix of politics, satire, and millennial socialism is not to be missed. They call themselves “The Voice Of the Dirtbag Left.” I call them brilliant. For saying that, I get to be their on-air guest in TC!
So as you finalize your plans and picks, let me offer this last word of advice, you definitely won’t regret adding another film to your cart.
And if you have any questions about the films, don’t hesitate to reply to this email.
Yours,
M
