Films to Watch for in Film Festival
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Oct 2, 2008 Last year I published a list of my “Top 10 List of 11 movies to see during the Tacoma Film Festival” (because 10 is never enough). Many people said it was valuable to them as they made choices of what to attend during the festival. Making the list is always tough because there are so many interesting films and because, unfortunately, I’m never able to see them all myself. So with that caveat, in no particular order, here is my list of films not to be missed in this year’s Tacoma Film Festival. (Tickets are on sale now at the Grand Cinema and a full schedule with descriptions can be found at www.tacomafilmfestival.com)
Enjoy! Philip Cowan, Executive Director
Crawford- I first saw this movie earlier this year when it played in
Comedy Shorts- This is a grouping of nine of the funniest films that were submitted for the film festival. Ranging in time from 2 minutes to 29 minutes, this is 1 hour and 40 minutes of fun. Watch as a 36 year old shoots for his dream to be a Cabbie…even though he can’t drive. In another you see an elderly man plot his escape from his nursing home. Together they make a fantastic package. Last year the comedy shorts sold out for its Saturday evening screening so this year we scheduled it for two screenings.
Pat Martino Unstrung- The story of legendary jazz guitarist Pat Martino is very interesting and one I was not familiar with. If you have a Martino CD, you know what amazing music he has made. This movie tells his musical story but more importantly it portrays the medical issues that temporarily silenced him. The website for the film best summarizes it: “Through this remarkable story of his ascent from the depths of amnesia to the peak of artistry once more, the filmmaker explores the nature of memory, self, creativity and the brain systems underlying personal identity making some ground-breaking discoveries on the way.” Whether you are a fan of his music or interested in how the brain works, this is one you should see. It also features the likes of Les Paul, Pete Townsend, Carlos Santana and others.
Opening Night Instead of doing a single Opening Night film as would most often happen at a festival, we decided to present a combination of three outstanding films. Played together they are an amazing combination: a short drama, a short comedy and a feature documentary. The comedy tells the story of love, but not of the usual kind: how about a mouse falling in love with a woman? The 15 minute drama is an incredibly well put together film showing the simultaneous stories of people in four cities throughout the world, from Hong Kong to New York, as they learn the earth has only 8 minutes left. It reminded me in a way of the film A Night on Earth. Then finally comes the documentary On Paper Wings. It tells of the Japanese balloon bombs that fell from the sky on the Pacific Coast during WWII. Most of all, it looks at it from the personal side, interviewing both the Japanese women who made the balloons and the families of Americans who were killed by a bomb in Oregon, the only fatalities on U.S. soil during WWII. The filmmaker will be in attendance so this is an opportunity to see the film and talk about it with the woman who created it. For those who can’t make it opening night, these three films screen together again at the Grand on Saturday.
The Ostrich Testimonies / In Times of War: Ray Parker’s Story A nice pair of documentaries. The Ostrich Testimonies is another film I first saw at SXSW in Austin. Imagine you are an ostrich farmer making a nice living. If you are an ostrich, the one thing you fear the most is a hot air balloon (a genetic fear of huge creatures in the sky?). Now imagine hot air balloons flying over the ostrich farm. The result wasn’t pretty and the loss of hope in the U.S. system as the farmer tries to right his wrong is heartbreaking. The farmer is a character unto himself and very much worth seeing. As a bonus, the filmmaker will be in attendance to answer your questions after the screening. The second movie in this pairing is the inspiring WWII history of Ray Parker. He was captured by the Germans but found a way to print an underground newspaper for his fellow captives. He tells the story in his own words in this fascinating documentary.
America Betrayed A press release earlier this year on the movies summarizes it pretty well: ”Academy Award Winner Richard Dreyfuss narrates the heavily anticipated documentary America Betrayed, from Eclipse Entertainment and filmmaker Leslie Cardé. The film, places the spotlight front and center on the specific ways our government contributes to and profits from disasters both here and abroad…from the way it shields itself from blame when all roads point to their culpability, to the friends in high places in corporate America who continue to benefit from the very disasters that leave the rest of us reeling.” I would add the question: How are we going to fix the problems unless we learn how they got to be problems in the first place? This powerful, well made documentary helps answer that question. As a bonus, the filmmaker will be in attendance to answer your questions following the screening on October 3.
JUMP! JUMP! is a feature length documentary that follows several teams from the
Wiener Takes All: A Dogumentary This is a fun movie on the world of competitive wiener dogs. Have you ever seen a dachshund race? Have you ever known a rabid dog owner? You’ll see them both, along with many other competitions including the Westminster Dog Show, in a funny combination here. Think Best in Show but in real life.
Short Films from the Seattle Children’s Film Festival This is a fun group of films from this year’s
Certifiably Jonathan Did you know Jonathan Winters is an artist? I didn’t. This interesting film talks about him as an artist and also brings in the likes of Sarah Silverman and Robin Williams. You are in for quite a little ride with this film as you watch Jonathan be Jonathan.
Indestructible An engaging look at a filmmaker as he battles ALS. We watch as he struggles to speak, stand and stay alive but most of all, as he struggles for hope. He travels the world to better understand, looking for a miracle cure along the way. One of the most interesting parts to me was when he approached a Chinese doctor who promised help through brain surgery. The doctor seems very shady but the filmmaker was searching for any help he can find and opts for the surgery anyway. The film shows a person pushed to the brink, the struggles it causes within a family, and the joy of being alive. |