Friends,

In less than 24 hours, you and the rest of the public can buy your tickets to the fine films of the 14th Annual Traverse City Film Festival!

Ticketing for the general public begins Saturday, July 21 at 10 am at the Main Box Office (121 E. Front in the ECCO Event Space), and at 6 pm at tcff.org.

The demand for films has been huge this year and we’ve added more screenings of some of the most popular titles. And we’ve also been busy adding and confirming dozens more special guests. So read on below and also check out the website for the most updated list of screenings featuring Q&As with filmmakers and subjects.

Around this time every year we hear from people worrying they won’t be able to snag tickets to the films they want. But this year with The Kubrick at Central Grade back in action (formerly known as Hockstad Auditorium) and Central High School staying around, we have more seats than ever before which gives you more chances than ever to see the films you want.

Thanks to record tickets sales this week to those who are members of “Friends of the Film Festival,” more than two dozen screenings are already sold-out. But don’t despair, even the most popular films still have ticket availabilities at another time slot. (See the list of films with a sold-out screening that still have tickets available HERE!)

And remember those “By Popular Demand” slots on the schedule grid? Well the people have spoken, we’ve heard them — and we’ve added extra screenings of two of your favorite films.

  • “Jane Fonda in Five Acts” – You’ve got another chance to catch the incredible documentary about this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree. Thursday, August 2 at 3 pm Central High School
  • “Burden” – In a TCFF first, we are making this year’s amazingly powerful Closing Night film available in a special spillover screening. This additional presentation is the film only, and filmmakers will not be in attendance. Tickets $15. Sunday, August 5 at 6 pm at Milliken Auditorium.
  • “The Sentence” –  Our final “Back by Popular Demand” slot is reserved for this impossibly moving documentary that won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festivak. With several of the subjects and the filmmaker in person, this is going to be an unforgettable screening of this Michigan-based story. We know word-of-mouth is going to be huge on this film, s get your ticket now Sunday, August 5 at 9 am at The Kubrick.

Now that leaves just one slot on the schedule that’s unaccounted for. It’s the “Founders Winner” screening on Sunday, August 5th at 3pm at Central High School. Though I won’t be revealing the title until the Filmmaker Party the night before, you can get your seat in advance for this year’s top prize-winning film. Buy at ticket, and you’re guaranteeing that you’ll see the best of the fest.

Don’t miss out! Tickets for all the screenings are on sale right now for Friends of the Festival at tcff.org. Ticketing for the general public begins TOMORROW Saturday, July 21 at 10 am at the Main Box Office, and 6 pm online at tcff.org.  

Your ticket purchases have enabled the nonprofit Traverse City Film Festival to bring great films and filmmakers to Traverse City for 14 years. And ensure that each and every screening takes place in a state-of-the-art environment where you’ll see great picture and hear great sound from every seat in the theater.

Check the blog for curatorial hints directing you to films you may have overlooked. There’s still time to plan your perfect festival schedule! 

Happy Movieing!

Michael Moore

P.S. You don’t have to wait to buy tickets to our glorious Around the Bay screenings July 22 – July 26. You can buy your tickets now. These include some theaters around or near Grand Traverse Bay that I have helped to rebuild or consulted on since we reopened the State so that neighboring towns would also have the chance to see great movies in great classic cinemas.

Each year, the week before the festival, we do a sneak peek of TCFF films in these neighboring theaters. The screenings start THIS SUNDAY in beautiful Harbor Springs at the new Lyric Theatre, a theater very much inspired by the style of the State and Bijou, where you can see one of the festival’s most popular films, “The Guilty.” From there you can go down to Manistee’s Vogue Theater for “Supa Modo,” then on Tuesday to Frankfort’s Garden Theater for “Smuggling Hendrix,” continue to the Elk Rapids Cinema on Wednesday for “Bathtubs Over Broadway,” and then close out your journey at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay on Thursday for “Diane.” All great films, all great theaters, and an outing made even better set against the great beauty of Northern Michigan. Come join us around the bay for these festival kickoffs!