Traverse City Film Festival 2010

One of the great things about the Traverse City Film Festival is the chance for everyone to meet, discuss and learn about movies with the many incredible directors, producers and actors who come to TC for this one week each year. This year the festival will run from July 27-August 1, 2010.
And this year we have some fantastic opportunities for you to participate with our free panels, our expanded TCFF Film School and our new TC Film Forum in the Park. Please take the time to attend these events and experience, up close and personal, the filmmakers who have come here to share their ideas and talents with us.

Tickets to the film school sessions (just $5!) go on sale on Wednesday at noon online at traversecityfilmfest.org, at the box office at 300 E Front Street in Radio Center, and by calling 231-922-8903 (limit 4 tickets per person).

Here's what we've lined up for next week's festival:

FREE MORNING PANELS

Each morning at 9:30 you can come to one of the most popular events at the film festival: the daily morning panels the City Opera House. It's free, and we start handing out tickets at 8:30 am to guarantee seating. Don't miss these entertaining, provocative panels (click here to read full descriptions of this year's panels):

WEDNESDAY: Film Literacy: How to Be Smart by Going to the Movies in a Dumbed-Down Society -- with film professors from the University of Michigan, visiting filmmakers, and Michael Moore

THURSDAY: An Intimate Interview with America’s Premier Indie Film Moguls -- with the co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics, Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, who will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards

FRIDAY: We Live in Cuba and We Make Movies -- with four Cuban filmmakers who have traveled from Havana to the Caribbean-blue waters of northern Michigan

SATURDAY: Here Comes Trouble: Eight Documentary Filmmakers Tell Us How They Did It, and Lived to Tell -- with Michael Moore and visiting documentary filmmakers, who may include Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn (“Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage”), Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith (“The Most Dangerous Man in America”), Josh Fox (“GasLand”), Mark Lewis (“Cane Toads: The Conquest”), Nicolas Rossier (“American Radical”), Lee Storey (“Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story”) and Michael Webber (“The Elephant in the Living Room”)

SUNDAY: The Comedy Panel -- with Michael Moore, festival favorites Jeff Garlin and Sabina Guzzanti, and visiting filmmakers

TCFF FILM SCHOOL

Hugely popular last year (with many classes sold out), we are expanding it this year to two master classes a day. And we've moved into onto the film fest bus loop at NMC's Scholars Hall (next to Milliken Auditorium). These classes are open to people of all ages. They are not speeches or panels; they are practical, hands-on learning experiences for anyone interested in making their own movies or videos. And each class is only five bucks:

WEDNESDAY at 12 noon: Sound is More Important Than Picture

WEDNESDAY at 3 pm: Screenwriting

THURSDAY at 12 noon: How To Make a Short Film

THURSDAY at 3 pm: Bill Plympton: Animation Master Class

FRIDAY at 12 noon: Acting for the Camera

FRIDAY at 3 pm: Making (and Financing) Your Film in Michigan

SATURDAY at 12 noon: Situational Ethics in Documentary Filmmaking

SATURDAY at 3 pm: Storytelling Through Documentary

TC FILM FORUM IN THE PARK

Ever wish, as you leave a great movie, that you could go talk about what you just saw with the people you saw it with? Starting with this year's fest, you can! Each day, twice a day, you are invited to Lay Park on Union Street to join us and your fellow festivalgoers to sit down and discuss nine of this year's movies. We'll have a moderator and often the filmmaker will be present. It's free, it's outdoors, we'll have refreshments (and there will be free live musical performances before and after the discussion sessions, from noon to 7 pm each day) and it'll be a great way to meet all the interesting people who've come here from across the country to watch movies. We think this will a very cool way to spend an hour and take a break from all the movie-watching. Think of this as a movielovers "be-in." Be there! I will!

Wednesday, July 28

“Budrus” -- after 12 noon movie

“12th & Delaware” -- after 3 pm movie

Thursday, July 29

“Waiting for ‘Superman’” -- after 12 noon movie

“Restrepo” -- after 3 pm movie

Friday, July 30

“American Radical” -- after 12 noon movie

“8: The Mormon Proposition” -- after 3 pm movie

Saturday, July 31

“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” -- after 12 noon movie

“GasLand” -- after 3 pm movie

“Strawberry and Chocolate” -- after 6 pm movie

So there you go! Lots of free stuff to enjoy the week and expand your consciousness. We're putting a lot of energy and focus into these gatherings and I assure you that you won't soon forget these interactive, egalitarian experiences at the Traverse City Film Festival. I look forward to seeing you there.

Under the Eightball: One Woman's Stuggle with a Mysterious Disease

Until You Walk the Path, You Don’t Know Where it Goes will be hosting Timothy Grey on March 14 at 5 pm eastern.

Timothy Grey Began filmmaking in 2001 with his first independent production VOW.  The film was released regionally.  Oscar winning director Michael Moore said "Timothy Grey's VOW is both disturbing and entertaining and a wonderful contribution to independent film."  

In 2004 Grey started production on his second narrative, Lower the Sun.  A vampire tale loosely based on the Gilgamesh epic.  The film remains unfinished. In 2008 Timothy Grey with Breanne Russell began production on their first documentary Under The Eightball.  The film was released in 2009 to rave reviews in the LA Times, Village Voice, NY Times, and Variety. The film is currently entering the Festival Circuit as well as a screening/speaking tour with the filmmakers.

Under the Eightball is a film about one woman's struggle with a mysterious disease and her family's desperate attempt to save her life. This documentary ventures further than merely a disease, it examines the systemic failures of our health care, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries. The audience becomes witness to an ambivalent medical community who's attitude can only be described as a tragic failure.  This is a cautionary tale --- warning the viewer that this story is not the exception but one that is all too common.  A truth that lives in our cities, on our streets, in our homes. The victims are our neighbors, friends, parents, siblings and children. The victims are us...

Tune at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theresachaze on March 14 at 5 pm eastern to learn more about documentary film making from Timothy Grey as well as how his spiritual helped inspire him.  Those who wish to talk to Timothy may call in at (347) 324-3745 or participate in the interactive chat room, which is available on the show’s page.

2009 Traverse City Film Festival: Film Listings, Internships, Film Classes, Panel Disccusions

Celebrating its fifth year, the Traverse City Film Festival will run from July 28 through August 2. From the opening night film "Troubled Water" to the closing with "Julie & Julia” this year’s films will feature both national and international films of all genres. In addition to the regular panel discussions with industry professionals and internships, this year the festival will be offering film classes. To read the list of movies being shown during the festival http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/. Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday July 18 and may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 231-946-3731. Those wishing to volunteer for the festival can sign up at http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/volunteer/

To learn more about the internships available to apply go to http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/about/?page=internships

Panel Discussions

Wednesday, July 29
40 Years of Documentary Filmmaking
It's been 40 years since Woodstock, 20 years since "Roger & Me," and great documentaries continue to be made. Again this year, some of the best films in the festival are documentaries -- and you should see the great docs we couldn't fit onto the festival schedule! We are fortunate to have with us here in Traverse City some of the world's top documentary filmmakers. They will talk about the history of their craft and the world and times in which they work.
Aung Htun ("Burma VJ")
Joe Berlinger ("Crude")
Cathal Black ("Learning Gravity")
Jim Czarnecki ("Soundtrack for a Revolution")
Michelle Esrick ("Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie")
Emily Kunstler ("William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe")
Kevin McMahon ("Waterlife")
Michael Moore ("Roger & Me")

Thursday, July 30
Palestine and Vine
There's a whole new crop of films coming out of the West Bank and Gaza, and we are proud to have two of the best films of the year on this festival's schedule: "Rachel" and "Salt of This Sea." Palestinian film had a watershed year in 2009, sending the world cinematic voices we rarely get to hear in the US. Rachel Corrie's parents, Craig and Cindy, and Palestinian filmmakers Annemarie Jacir and Ossama Bawardi ("Salt of This Sea") will talk about making great art out of hard stuff.

Friday, July 31
Michigan Film Office Advisory Council Meeting
Interested in the Michigan Film Industry? Want to learn more about how the incentives are working to bring film development in Michigan? We're bringing the bi-monthly meeting of the Governor's Michigan Film Office Advisory Council right into the City Opera House so that you can take a look at how government moves. The Council will conduct their business in a public session, and then take questions from the audience at the meeting's conclusion. See some of the brightest stars in Michigan's film world in action and find out if they can make a governmental meeting dramatic.
Emery C. King, Chair
Bill Black
Bob Brown
Jim Burnstein
Xenia E. Castillo-Hunter
Hopwood DePree
Marcia Fishman
Cory Jacobson
Danialle Karmanos
Sue Marx
Tim Magee
Michael Moore
William P. O'Reilly
Marc L. Prey
Janet Lockwood, Director of the Michigan Film Office

Saturday, August 1
Comedy, American Style
Most years we have to struggle to find great comedies to include in the festival line up. Although it initially looked grim, we ended up with more than our fair share of great funny films for our Firefighter Jury to judge. Enjoy an hour or two talking about laughing with some of the filmmakers who lift us out of our national malaise and kick us in the keister.
Robert Byington ("Harmony and Me," "Registered Sex Offender")
Larry Charles ("Bruno")
Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm")
Ben Steinbauer ("Winnebago Man")
Wavy Gravy

Sunday, August 2
Paul Mazursky Talks
The Traverse City Film Festival is deeply honored to have the great filmmaker Paul Mazursky in person at the festival this year. After screenings of some of his best films at the festival this year ("Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," "An Unmarried Woman," "Enemies, A Love Story"), Paul Mazursky will talk with Jeff Garlin about a life in the movies.

TCFF Film School 2009
Announcing our first "TCFF Film School" to be held Wednesday through Sunday during film fest week from 1 to 4 pm in the CenterPointe building's fourth floor 100-seat auditorium at 12935 S West Bay Shore Drive (2.5 miles NW of the State Theatre on the water, free and easy parking). Admission is only $3 a day, and students of all ages (from junior high to the golden years) are welcome. Tickets for the film school are on sale now. (Students, if you have a problem with transportation, just email scott@traversecityfilmfestival.org.)

Wednesday, July 29
Session 1: Screenwriting
Jim Burnstein ("Ruffian," "Renaissance Man") is one of the few working Hollywood screenwriters living in Michigan. Burnstein heads the Screenwriting Program at the University of Michigan Department of Screen Arts & Cultures, and will share his stories about working in the loneliest area of the filmmaking biz.

Thursday, July 30
Session 2: Documentary 101
Kevin McMahon, Director, "Waterlife"Canadian director Kevin McMahon edited two hundred hours of footage that he shot all over the Midwest to create his TCFF09 documentary about the state of our Great Lakes. He will take time during his stay in Traverse City to share his experiences with students, covering all of the stages of filmmaking. One third of the class will be left open so that Kevin can work with student questions, giving students time to talk about their own projects and quandaries.

Friday, July 31
Session 3: Women in Film
Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza ("Entre nos")
Between the two of them, Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza had a hand in almost every aspect of the making of their film "Entre nos" -- they worked together to get funding, collaborated to write and direct, Gloria edited the film and Paola played the lead character. These two filmmakers will share their knowledge of what it's like to get a movie made outside of the studio system, and what it's like to be a woman working in what is still, for the most part, a boy's club industry.

Saturday, August 1
Session 4: Making Shorts
Anny Slater ("The Ball"), Aaron Jaffe ("Trim"), Sarah Klegman ("Home Cooked Meal"), and others
For the first time this year, the Traverse City Film Festival has scheduled four shorts programs to play as part of the festival schedule. From animation to live action, from middle school and post-grad students to professional filmmakers, many of the directors and producers behind this year's 50 short films will be in attendance to talk about their films -- one of them all of the way from Australia! They'll tell you about their films, how they made they, why they made them, what distribution has been like, what they plan to do from here, and they'll take questions from the audience.

Sunday, August 2
Session 5: Very American Comedy
Robert Byington ("Harmony and Me," "Registered Sex Offender"), Ben Steinbauer ("Winnebago Man")
The filmmakers behind three of the funniest films in the festival this year, Straight Outta Austin, will present a special class to wrap up our inaugural TCFF Film School. Taking as their subject one of the greatest American comedies of all time, the Coen Brothers' "Raising Arizona," they will lead a lively class about funny business in the movies. This session is rated PG-13 by the Austin Filmmakers Association of America.

Michigan in fight for film jobs

Michigan in fight for film jobs
Infrastructure improvements touted to give state competitive edge
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News

Manhattan Beach, Calif. -- If there ever were an exemplary home of Tinseltown magic, it's here at Raleigh Studios' hangar-like sound stages.

In one of these 25,000-square-foot behemoths, special effects masters are working on the futuristic set of "Iron Man 2." Nearby, the phony morgue drawers for the CBS drama "CSI: Miami" await cadavers du jour.

But movie-goers and television watchers wouldn't ever know that the worlds created for big and small screen alike are in the studio just off a traffic-jammed freeway southwest of downtown Los Angeles. For all they know, the filming could've been done on location.


Or in Louisiana. Or Missouri. Or New Mexico. And soon, maybe even in Michigan.

While the Great Lakes State has the nation's most aggressive tax break for entertainment producers, it's far from the only suitor vying for attention from a sector that's estimated to generate some $60 billion annually. And it's not the first.

"When producers are looking at where to take their projects, they've got a lot of options," said Michael Moore, chief executive of Raleigh Studios, which has locations in Shreveport, La., Budapest and L.A.

Moore's company is also set to run Motown Motion Picture Studios, the massive moviemaking project slated to take the place of a defunct General Motors Corp. facility in Pontiac.

While every state rolls out the red carpet for production crews, a handful -- especially those looking to diversify their economies or kick-start new growth -- are giving the industry a generous helping hand to bring business within their borders. New Mexico was one of the earliest contenders to steal Hollywood's thunder; there, Gov. Bill Richardson spearheaded the creation of a 25 percent rebate program in 2002.

Since then, thousands of film and television jobs moved from the hazy sprawl of Los Angeles to the deserts around Albuquerque and Santa Fe, where studios and production facilities have sprouted up, helping to draw business away from the Golden State.

In Louisiana, where filmmakers can get tax credits worth up to 35 percent of qualifying expenses, sound stages have sprung up quickly, too. Production is up, and many of the mechanisms of a surrounding support industry -- post-production facilities, special-effects outfits and consulting agencies -- are opening and growing, centered around Shreveport.

But tax credits and rebates aren't enough to move a critical mass of Hollywood to Michigan.

"States have to start thinking long-term," said Jimmy Lifton, founder of Unity Studios, the multimillion dollar studio and production facility slated to open this year on the site of a shut-down Visteon plant in Allen Park. "There needs to be an infrastructure to support year-round production."

Lifton is just one proponent -- and investor -- in the strategy of building out the industry here in Michigan, by creating facilities, a talent pool and support industries that will, should everything go as planned, keep as much work as possible here, instead of farming some back to California or other states with a larger infrastructure already in place.

The state's tax credit program gives a 25 percent credit for building out infrastructure, which will help add to limited facilities already in the state.

Both Lifton's project and the one in Pontiac include noncore components such as training programs to build an in-state work force and post-production facilities that will allow functions such as film editing and processing to be performed here.

"The key is getting the state to the point where it's not a drop-in center," said Lifton. "It's about getting as many moving parts of the business to Michigan as possible.

"It's not building a business. It's building an industry."