Archive for category: News

As you prepare to enjoy the arrival of the moveable feast of film that is the Traverse City Film Festival, let me highlight a few wonderful, hidden gems you’ll find within the guide. Very often it’s the films you’ve never heard of, the films you don’t think you’ll enjoy while you are being dragged into them, that make the most lasting impressions. I hope you will leave your comfort zone and take the risk to see a brillant movie at this year’s festival. Here are a few of my special picks– but there are many, many more! Check them all inside the guide. And I’ll see you at the movies!

BREAKING A MONSTER — An amazing doc about a group of African American kids from Brooklyn who form a heavy metal band–and what happens when the music industry gets its hands on them.

20 YEARS OF MADNESS — A charming look at some Oakland County boys who had their own cable access show in the 1990s. Now they’re grown up, hoping lightning will strike twice. Yes it’s pure Michigan.

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT — The story of an anti-abortion preacher who is devastated by the murder of an abortion doctor and decides to focus on the NRA and preventing easy access to guns.

THE STATE-MAFIA PACT — Sabina Guzzanti’s latest comes to TC: a scathing look at the connection between the Mafia and the Italian government.

THE TRIALS OF SPRING— Gini Reticker has created THE definitive film on the Arab Spring Revolution in Egypt. An amazing record of what happened as seen through the eyes of three different women.

FEAR NOT THE PATH OF TRUTH — One of the most uncomfortable films you will see at this year’s fest: a veteran of the Iraq War picks up a movie camera and decides to go see what Americans know about the war he fought in. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of it. “Thank you for your service!” Yeah, right.

THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD — The filmmaker’s dad was a Kennedy Democrat until one day, he turned on AM radio, and, um, he “changed.” It’s the universal story about a white guy in everyone’s family who has something he wants to get off his chest at Thanksgiving dinner.

(T)ERROR — Homeland Security has to stay in business, so here’s a powerful film about how they need to create “terrorists” so they’ll have someone to arrest. Whoa.

THE CHINESE MAYOR — Imagine somebody says, let’s build a US-31 bypass around TC, or build a high-speed rail line between TC and Detroit. If this was China, and the star of this film was our mayor, both jobs would be done by December. Double whoa!

THE DIPLOMAT —An intense and beautiful look at one of the most important US diplomats in modern times, Richard Holbrooke. Filmmaker David Holbrooke, his son, will be in attendance.

CHALLAT OF TUNIS — A fiction film shot in documentary style about a (supposed) assailant who targets Tunisian women who don’t dress in religious clothing. One of the best foreign films I’ve seen this year.

HOLBROOK/TWAIN — Hal Holbrook travels the country in his 90s as Mark Twain, bringing Twain’s scathing, hilarious turths to the American public– all of them still so relevant, 120 years later. Don’t miss this one!

TANGERINE — A compelling indie shot entirely on an iPhone, and it’s every bit as good as one shot for $100 million bucks.

TANGERINES — (plural) Nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award this year, and a favorite of mine!

HOT TYPE: 150 YEARS OF THE NATION — The great Barbara Kopple returns to Traverse City with her engaging film about The Nation magazine and the people who made it the top journal of the left. Staff members of The Nation will be in attendance for a lively discussion afterward.

ROSEANNE FOR PRESIDENT — A great, funny film by Eric Weinrib (the first State Theatre manager when we reopened it in 2007!). Given unprecedented access to Roseanne Barr, you will see a side of this remarkable artist never seen before anywhere. And that’s saying a lot.

LISTEN TO ME MARLON — There’s nothing like this in the festival. Marlon Brando kept an audio diary throughout his life, so he himself narrates this fascinating documentary. It’s on my shortlist for best doc of the year.

POVERTY, INC — Once you see it, you won’t look at poverty or the Third World the same way again.

—Michael Moore

Are you curious what movies will be at the Traverse City Film Festival this year when the schedule is announced on Friday, June 26? Well, so are our interns. Because of their hard work we rewarded them with a sneak preview of a potential TCFF movie. Watch the video below to meet this year’s intern class and see their reactions.

Grab some friends and a blanket, because our magical cinema under the stars will return once again to the Open Space this summer. And it wouldn’t be our free nightly movie series without our annual People’s Choice Night — the night we allow you, the people, to decide what’s shown on our 65-foot inflatable screen set against the beautiful Traverse City bayfront. 

Everyone has a favorite movie, a movie they return to again and again, year after year. Well, imagine getting to experience it like you’ve never seen it before! 

So let your voice be heard and help us pick what the community will come together to watch on Friday, July 31. This year’s choices include: “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “The Breakfast Club,” “The Hunger Games,” “Poltergeist” (1982), “Say Anything…,” and “Zoolander.” Voters can also write in their own pick. 

Voting Has Now Closed. Stay Tuned for the Results!

The People’s Choice movie, along with all films to be shown at this year’s festival, will be announced on Friday, June 26. Open Space Park, on the corner of Union St. and Grandview Parkway, is one of Traverse City’s most beautiful and treasured public gathering spaces, an ideal venue to enjoy a free outdoor movie as well as the very best summertime fun Northern Michigan has to offer.

The Traverse City Film Festival is seeking awesome, fun-loving people to join our team as Volunteer  Managers for the 2015 festival! Please stop by our Volunteer Manager Open House on Wednesday, June 24 at 6 pm in the Basement Conference Rooms of the Park Place Hotel (300 E. State Street). We would love to meet you! If you can’t make it, please call 231-392-1134 or email volunteer@tcff.org. Interested parties should also feel free to email volunteer@tcff.org in advance of the Open House. We would love to get you on board now! 

Why Be a Manager?

TCFF volunteer managers are the core of our amazingly talented, incredibly devoted, and super fun festival family. The festival couldn’t run without the many managers who spend part of their summer in the most beautiful place on earth working with the best team on planet. Friendships forged under fire last forever! Create something meaningful for the community, meet new people, spend time with friends and family, and gain invaluable experience. Help us put on the best festival in the world and have tons of fun along the way! For more information, please visit TCFF Volunteer Managers.

Open Positions:

We have roles and venues available to meet almost any interest and commitment level.

Volunteer Coordinator

Help us manage the 100s of incredible volunteers who come together each summer to create the ultimate celebration of cinema. In this position, you’ll get to know the amazing volunteers from around the area and world who make this all possible. Key duties include sending out mass communications to volunteers regarding upcoming events and shift/signup available and responding to volunteer email inquires with the assistance of an office intern. You’ll also be involved in helping place volunteers and managers in specific roles while keeping an eye on how shifts are filling up. Responsibility, organization,  great social skills, fantastic communication, a sense of adventure, and a commitment to your community are desired. 

Green Room Manager

Go behind-the-scenes and join our amazing hospitality team. Provide festival guests and visiting filmmakers with a comfortable and well-stocked green room for them to relax in before, during, and after their screenings. The Green Room manager is responsible for helping schedule green room volunteer attendants and coordinating the pickup and delivery of food and beverage across venues. Organization, friendliness, ability to read a situation, an eye for styling a space, and professionalism are key.  Read more

Experience the festival through the eyes of a talented group of budding filmmakers!

Each year, as part of the festival’s educational partnership with the Interlochen Arts Academy, the student Documentary Storytelling class works with a visiting TCFF filmmaker to create a short film about his or her festival journey.

This year, however, the class decided to mix things up, and in recognition of the fest’s 10th Anniversary the students put together a short film about the history of the TCFF. Featuring interviews with Michael Moore, executive director Deb Lake, and co-founder John Robert Williams, you can watch the doc in its entirety below.