CHIRSTOPHER WOOD: TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT >>>

Fall has arrived, and so has The Grand Cinema’s third annual Tacoma Film Festival 2008. Eight days of cinema commenced with a soiree last night at the United Methodist Church â€" a block from The Grand. Guests snacked on hors d’oeuvres while the Palin/Biden vice-presidential debate played through the room’s speakers. Noting this strange mixture of politics and film, I scoured the room for soundbytes.

I hobnobbed with actor-writer-substitute teacher Jody Arensberg, who journeyed from L.A. to see her romantic comedy Blind Luck get its Tacoma debut. Having already visited several other West Coast festivals, Arensberg says, “It’s fun to see your work come alive and for people to enjoy it.”

The evening continued at The Grand with its opening night screening. Pierre had viewers gushing over a love-starved rodent desperately seeking affection from the human hottie dwelling in his abode. Narrating his own “tail” with a seductive French purr, Pierre faces disappointment with an unabashed passion for life.

If you think directing a rat would pose challenges, leave it to a USC student to set his sights significantly higher. Richard Martin’s heady drama Light Years has an ambitious task: span the globe to show four Complicated Human Relationships, and resolve said relationships right before Unstoppable Worldwide Apocalypse â€" all in 15 minutes. Despite good cinematography and some solid acting, Years just needs more time to better illuminate its glossed-over characters.

The night’s feature On Paper Wings achieves a refreshingly innocent storytelling. Like its dreamlike title, the WWII documentary by Ilana Sol draws you in with rhythmic pacing and a simple yet effective score. The film’s recurring image â€" that of a weapon hovering silently above the earth, its destination determined only by the wind â€" has lasting power. Sol graciously answered viewers’ questions when her movie concluded.

Given last night's selection of cinema, the next week should prove worthwhile.   

Tacoma Film Festival schedule

Friday, Oct. 3
More details here

11 a.m.
The Grand Cinema
Children’s Film Series: Multi From Musnaka, Montrose Avenue, Aston’s Stones, Piano Lesson, Cookies For Sale, Shhhh..., Rindin The Puffer, When I Grow Up, Raven Tales

2 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Ancestor Eyes, Homeland

4 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
L.A. Noir, Yesterday was a Lie

6:10 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
America Betrayed, My Biodegradable Heart

6:15 p.m.
School of the Arts Blackbox Theater
Arusi (Persian Wedding), Kivumvu: Basket Boy, Velocipede, Bike Project

8 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
Indestructible

8:10 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Partes Usadas (Used Parts)

8:15 p.m.
School of the Arts Blackbox Theater
Certifiably Jonathan, Stuck

10:10 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Who is KK Downey?