CHRISTOPHER WOOD: THE GRAND TAKES ANOTHER LOOK AT FILM FEST FAVES >>>

"The house needed vacuuming."
"Those late-night classes shovel out an ungodly amount of homework."
"The kids want just one more tractor ride at the pumpkin farm."

Excuses, excuses.

Bottom line: You didn’t make as many Tacoma Film Festival screenings as you’d hoped.

Yet The Grand Cinema, like a hero off one of its silver screens, comes to the rescue. While many other festivals give visitors only a single chance to see their favorite films, our city’s biggest little theater has planned additional viewings of this year’s award-winners and most popular locally-made works. By extending its festival’s week-long run to include Oct. 12-14, The Grand once again answers its patrons’ collective call.

“If there’s a desire out there to see a film then we want to be able to play it,” says Director of Communications Emily Alm.

Making its “re-but” this Monday and Tuesday, Otis v. Monster marks a return for Patrick Neary to his childhood hobby of animation. Each figure he molded by hand, then in his garage tirelessly repositioned the models for every frame. Festival judges awarded his humble efforts Best Regional Film.

Neary admits the recognition carries with it some pressure. “It’s a nerve-wracking experience to sit helplessly in the theater and hope that people like the film, or at least don’t openly scorn it!” he says.

Festivals certainly haven’t scorned Sebastian’s Voodoo, another animated short and recipient of an astounding 64 awards worldwide. This UCLA-produced piece ratchets up yet another honor in our town with Best Short Film.

From computer-generated realms of fantasy we jump over to stark reality, where Freeing Silvia Baraldini resides. This eye-opening look into the imprisonment of a true-life American activist won its directors Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas Best Documentary at TFF.

Pelletier has personal connections to the faces and events onscreen â€" she met Silvia and did half a year in jail herself. Nonetheless, she and her crew praise The Grand’s egalitarian mission to provide a spectrum of voices the means for expression. She says, “They are one of the truly genuine independent film festivals left. … They accept films through a truly democratic process. … We hope that never changes.”

Best Feature Film winner Dave Boyle feels similarly toward intimate venues like TFF. He says they “really helped me spread the word about my film and also figure out how to market it.” His White on Rice plays Monday.

Were you one of the many turned away from Randy Sparks’s It Don’t Rain on Sunny Days last Tuesday because tickets sold out within hours? Don’t worry â€" it plays again this Wednesday alongside other local favorites. The film’s star, Joe Rosati, fondly muses over a year’s work in getting to this point:

“I will never forget actually being tazed for one scene.”

At the 2009 Tacoma Film Festival, lightning does strike â€" twice.

Monday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Best of the Fest Winners: White on Rice, Otis v. Monster and Sebastian's Voodoo
LINK: More details

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6:30 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Best of the Fest Winners: Freeing Silvia Baraldini, Otis v. Monster and Sebastian's Voodoo
LINK: More details

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 6:30 p.m.
The Grand Cinema
Local Lens program with some of the most popular regional films this year, including It Don't Rain on Sunny Days
LINK: More details

Tickets forthe second showings are on sale now at The Grand Cinema.

LINK: Tacoma Film Festival on Twitter

LINK: Tacoma Film Festival Web site

LINK: Full film descriptions

LINK: Weekly Volcano Tacoma Film Festival cover story