View of the State Theatre, one of several TC Film Festival venues. Image courtesy of the film festival.
So I wish I could say I was posting live from the 6th annual Traverse City Film Festival, in full swing as I type (and hopefully as you read) this. But unfortunately a bad summer cold and couple of schedule conflicts got in the way. I’m watching from afar, however, and hoping this will be the last year I miss.
I attended the third annual TCFF three years ago and was more than impressed. Admittedly, it was my first film festival experience so I had no basis for comparison, but judging from the comments, press and growth in attendance , venues, screenings and sponsorships/funds raised, I’d say I wasn’t the only one who saw a small diamond-in-the-not-so-rough.
The six-day event was, and still is from what I hear, super-well organized: Ample and free parking, shuttle buses making the rounds from venue to venue, an efficient, friendly, centrally located box office where you could always pick up a last-minute ticket somehow. Filmmakers walked around and chatted at small tables in local coffee shops, pretension-free. Michael Moore stopped to talk with people on the streets and in the theaters as he walked around, hardly seeming harried although he had to have been. Of course, a wonderful lineup of old and new documentary, foreign, animated, short and feature-length films were a given. Moore and the festival board have an eye.
The event gives the city a hum. Not that TC doesn’t hum on its own–it does–but you have to have your ears perked. During festival week, I imagine it feels not so strikingly different from Park City during Sundance or…(like I said, I don’t have much film festival experience).
All this to say, if you can get there this weekend you still have 2.5 days to enjoy. Besides the movies, there are panel discussions with filmmakers (free), classes ($5) and parties (price varies; some $25). Go. Tickets are cheaper than at most multiplexes ($9.50). If you become a member (starting at $50, unless you’re strapped in which case, $25) before the 2010 festival ends you get entered into a drawing for a free lifetime pass. Did I mention you should go?
It probably sounds like I should be disclosing some relationship or interest here, but I don’t have any; I just think it’s a wonderful annual event, organized with TLC by Moore, colleagues and regional movers and shakers who love independent cinema. And who believe in the power of film to educate, share a sense of wonder (or loss or ennui), to expose and/or to question. And who love the area (Moore and his wife have a home near Traverse City). And who love the arts. (For example, you can read more here about the TCFF’s efforts to renovate the State Theatre.)
I’ll stop now. Go.
If you’re into Twitter, the hashtag is #tcff.
