The ninth annual Tacoma Film Festival (TFF) will kick off this week, with workshops, celebrity meet-and-greets and dozens of films scheduled for screenings at the Grand Cinema, Tacoma Community College, University of Washington-Tacoma and the Museum of Glass, from Oct. 9 to 16.
There are many signs that the festival may have come into its own in 2014, with advanced tickets selling out at about twice the rate of last year, according to Festival Director Laura Marshall; higher profile films starring the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Sam Rockwell and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman; and the appearance of renowned film critic Leonard Maltin, who is scheduled to appear on Oct. 10 and 11.
“This will be the first time that the Grand or TFF have hosted this kind of a film icon,” Grand Cinema Marketing Director Zach Powers said.
“We're really excited about Maltin, too, because of his credentials as a historian and a film academic,” he said. “A lot of people know us (the Grand Cinema) for all the discussions we do and how we use film as a kick-starter for dialogue on culture and art and society and Maltin really embodies that as someone who can be a fun, light film critic, but then also loves to dig into the details and the art.”
“It's grown gradually year by year,” Marshall said of the festival. “Every year, attendance has gone up a little bit. Every year, the films that we've been able to procure have become a little bit more substantial; and now ... we feel Tacoma Film Fest is graduating from being kind of an established local film festival to one of the top regional film festivals in the Pacific Northwest.”
Among the buzz-worthy films being shown at TFF this year is “Laggies,” a Seattle-based production written by Andrea Seigel and directed by Lynn Shelton that will be shown at 7 p.m. on opening night at the Grand.
The highly anticipated romantic comedy stars Keira Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At Word’s End,” “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”) as a woman who lies to her fiance (Rockwell) about going on a retreat so she can instead hang out with her friends. A mixer will follow the film at the nearby TFF Lounge, a converted space at 601 St. Helens Ave.
Organizers also expect “Zero Motivation” to make a big splash. The Israeli dark comedy follows the exploits of a unit of young, female soldiers. “It sort of looks like a cross between MASH and the Lena Dunham show, 'Girls,' and then a touch of 'Office Space,'” Powers said. Screenings are set for 6:45 p.m. Oct. 11, 4:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and 8:45 p.m. Oct. 14.
“O.J.: The Musical,” directed by Jeff Rosenberg, is the story of a struggling director who tries to break through with an outrageous stage production. It will be shown at 9 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 12 at Grand Cinema.
Then, for the nerdier set, there is “Mudbloods,” a documentary that follows the University of California-Los Angeles quiddich team to that sport’s World Cup in New York. Quiddich being a sport that springs from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series. The film will be shown at 12:45 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Grand.
Tickets for most film screenings are $6 to $10, but the opening night showing of “Laggies” and the follow-up reception are $11. Films at TCC are free to students and faculty, and all screenings are free at UWT.
Tickets to “Friday Night Primetime with Leonard Maltin,” which includes dinner, admission to “The Two Faces of January” at 7 or 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, followed by a Q & A with the renowned critic, are $40. Admission to Maltin's Saturday afternoon appearance, which includes a meet-and-greet and screening of the Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn classic, “State of the Union,” are $75 ($10 for the film only).
Special package deals include a $75 punch card that allows admission to 10 films, not including special events; a VIP pass that allows admission to unlimited TFF film screenings, opening and closing night events, an official festival t-shirt and a bag of merch for $150; and a premier pass that allows all the privileges of the VIP pass plus admission to the Primetime event with Leonard Maltin for $190.
Advanced tickets, a full schedule of events and other details can be found online at http://www.tacomafilmfestival.com.