The Grand Cinema is proud to present the 72-Hour Film Competition and Showcase Party.  Join local Tacoma/Pierce County filmmakers as they showcase their talents on the big screen at the Rialto Theater Friday, May 8, 2009.  You can order tickets on-line by clicking here or calling 253-572-6062.  Admission will be $12 for general admission and $10 for Grand Members.  Doors open at 6:00 pm and films will begin at 7:00 pm.  There will be food, drinks and raffles to purchase.  The event also includes the awards ceremony following the showcase of films.
 
Each filmmakers challenge begins Thursday, April 30, 2009 at the Grand Cinema.  About 28 filmmaker teams will gather for the instructions on what needs to be in their 5 minute short film.  Its simple – they have 72 hours to write, shoot and edit a 5 minute film that includes four specific elements:  a phrase, a prop, a location and an action.  They are due back at the Grand on Sunday, May 3rd.

Then everyone is invited to watch these great local films at the Showcase Party.  The evening concludes with the annual awards ceremony.  There are six (6) categories to win:  best use of prop, best use of phrase, best use of location, best use of action, best overall film and the coveted Audience Choice Award. 
 
Sponsored by The Weekly Volcano, Northwest Staging & Sound Design, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, City of Tacoma Arts Commission, Click! Cable TV, and Wonderdog Media.

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Visit the film series page for a full line-up and more information.
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The Grand Cinema's annual meeting will take place in the lower lobby of the Grand on Saturday morning, March 14 at 10:00 a.m.  We will have summarized financial statements from 2008 available for members to review, we'll discuss the past year, look forward to the upcoming year and answer any questions you might have.  This will also be the time the newly elected board members will be announced.

Light refreshments will be served.  Please join us!

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Have you ever noticed the dozens of movie posters displayed around the Grand Cinema? How about owning a few yourself!? You'll have that opportunity at the Grand Cinema's Poster Sale on Saturday, December 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Click HERE for more info and for the list of over 400 posters.
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The Rosewood Cafe    (N. 26th St. & N. Warner)
Watermark Gifts     (S. 11th St. & A St.)
Hotel Murano    (S. 13th St. & Broadway)
Courtyard by Marriott     (S 15th St. & Commerce)
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Check it out here!
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On Thursday, October 9 at the Temple Ballroom, the Tacoma Film Festival announced the award winning movies from the 2008 Tacoma Film Festival.  To see the list in a story from the Tacoma News Tribune, visit http://www.grandcinema.com/page.php?id=43.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of the fun 2008 Tacoma Film Festival!

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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 Austin’s SXSW festival.  It is a documentary of what happens to a town of 705 people when the governor of Texas and future president moves to town.  The impact is about what you’d expect on a town that size.  Watching the upheaval of people’s lives and the blacklisting of people who oppose Bush is pretty amazing.  The peaceful little Texas town turns into one of demonstrations and daily media coverage.  You get to know people in the community on both sides of the political spectrum and they spin VERY interesting tales.  One spirited lady is essentially run out of town.  I highly recommend this film for the stories it tells.

5:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Grand Cinema

4:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at the School of the Arts

4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

6:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the School of the Arts

6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

1:20 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at Tacoma Art Museum

2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

6:30 p.m. reception, 8:15 p.m. screening Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Grand Cinema

6:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

3:00 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at the Grand Cinema

5:00 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

6:10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at the Grand Cinema

3:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 at the Grand Cinema

 

JUMP!

JUMP! is a feature length documentary that follows several teams from the U.S. as they train in pursuit of the World Championship of jump rope competition.  It shows as they push themselves to the limit, both physically and emotionally.  The results on what they can do are amazing and you really get caught up in it rooting for your favorite person or team to win.  I came away from the film with an immense appreciation for what they do, both as a sport and as an art form.  Bring your kids to this one as well and encourage them to get fit!

4:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the School of the Arts

 

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.

3:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Grand Cinema

6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7 at the Grand Cinema

 

Short Films from the Seattle Children’s Film Festival

This is a fun group of films from this year’s Seattle festival.  It includes the films that won prizes for best short animated film, best live action short, and the most popular film in the festival.  This group of nine films (69 minutes total) also kicks of the Grand Cinema’s Children’s Film Series for this fall.  On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. during October and November, the Grand will host films suitable for the entire family.  What is perhaps best is that children 17 and under are free with a paid adult for films within this series.  Join us for these during the Tacoma Film Festival and beyond! (A complete children’s film series listing can be found here)

11:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at the Grand Cinema

11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

8:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at the School of the Arts

5:10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 at the Grand Cinema

 

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.

8:00 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at First United Methodist Church

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Join us Sunday, August 10, for an old fashioned pie and ice cream social in the Grand's Lower Lobby. Several varieties of pie, cookies, ice cream, and brownies will be served up from 1:00 until 6:00 pm. Come a little early for your movie or stay a little late. You are also welcome to join us simply for some pie and conversation. Hope to see you there!

Very special thanks to our sponsor, The Commencement.
www.thecommencement.com




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