By AUDREY KAUFMAN
The annual Tacoma Film Festival (TFF) will take place from Oct. 3-10 this year. Praised by Postdefiance.com as “one of the premier film festivals in the Northwest,” TFF aims to showcase local artistry and talent here in Tacoma and throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Tacoma Film Festival does not limit itself to Washington’s borders. It also celebrates a variety of other films from across the globe, hosting filmmakers from Germany and Australia to the Philippines and Cambodia. This year’s festival promises a wide array of indie comedies, documentaries and poignant dramatic films. The festival is currently powered by the local art house non-profit film venue The Grand Cinema, which proudly states its noble goal of “enriching lives and enhancing cultural vitality of our community through film.” Tickets for dinner and a movie on opening and closing night are $30, but if you are not feeling hungry, opening night tickets for just the movie are $11. If you have trouble going to many of the festival’s screening locations due to lack of time or lack of transportation, you do not have to completely miss out on this event. Students and members of the community can actually experience the Tacoma Film Festival right here on campus. On Monday, Oct. 7, Puget Sound’s campus will host three festival screenings in Kilworth Chapel Lounge. The screenings will include one drama, one drama short and one documentary. One of the films that will be screened is Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, a drama from the Czech Republic and official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, 13-year-old Ricky, a young Mexican boy with autism, runs away from his undocumented family on the outskirts of New York City and embarks on an 11-day journey through the city’s subway system, forcing his broken family to reconcile their differences in order to bring him home. The drama short, Six Letter Word, also focuses on autism. This gripping story was a favorite of festivals throughout the country, from Napa to Orlando. An unlikely young mother crushes self-doubt and discovers her inner strength in the process of learning to accept her son’s autism and the challenges that come with it. The final film that will be screened is the riveting Cambodian documentary A River Changes Course, which traces the remarkable lives of three young Cambodians who struggle to maintain tradition in the face of rapid development and environmental destruction. The Tacoma Film Festival offers a wealth of culture and entertainment for all movie-lovers and is a fantastic way for students to become involved in the local community. Tickets are only sold at the door. For moviegoers with University of Puget Sound ID, tickets will cost $2 for a 2-hour block of time. For the rest of the Tacoma community, general admission to these particular screenings will be $10. For more details on movie times, ticketing information and even movie trailers for this year’s selections, go to tacomafilmfestival.com.
