YOUR DAILY GUIDE TO THE 2011 TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL >>>

Set entirely in Tacoma with Tacoma cast and crew, A Perfect Life is a wonderfully moody film starring Joe Rosati, Ashley Cozine and Scott C. Brown. But you probably already knew that. We've sung the praise of the film (as have others) plenty of times. This isn't just an, "Awe, look at what those Tacoma folks did," kind of thing. It's a "Holy shit that's a good movie," kind of thing. Tonight at 8:30 p.m. inside The grand Cinema, A Perfect Life will screen at the Tacoma Film Festival.

Rosati plays Brian, a homeless man who wanders into a diner and throws his last bit of change on the table for a cup of coffee. The waitress challenges him: "If there was one thing you could change about your life, what would it be?" He speaks of grandiose plans including being president, or even God. Then he describes the perfect life with a house and career and the perfect wife, saying he wants that perfect woman to come through the door right now. Which she does. And his perfect life comes true, but it is a life he has already lived - and already screwed up.

Before A Perfect Life screens, Sean Armentrout from United Way Pierce County and Troy Christensen from Pierce County Community Connects will speak on homelessness issues in this county.

Today's Highlights

Sound and Vision (4:15 p.m., FREE, Carein Auditorium, University of Washington-Tacoma): This new documentary, in eight parts, explores issues facing the nearshore environment. It is a film about the oceans, told through the stories of people working to clean up, protect, and restore habitat in Puget Sound and beyond.

Made in India (6 p.m., FREE, Carein Auditorium, University of Washington-Tacoma): This feature-length documentary about the human experiences behind the phenomena of "outsourcing" surrogate mothers to India is directed by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha.

Grit City Flicks (1:45 p.m., The Grand Cinema): These local films also screened yesterday. Read up on them here.

For a complete list of today's films, click here.

LINK: 2011 TFF award winners

LINK: Opening Night Gala photos

LINK: Three stories behind the stories

LINK: Big stars at the Tacoma Film Festival 2011

LINK: Our Tacoma Film Festival preview

LINK: TFF Director Emily Alm's picks

LINK: TFF on twitter 

LINK: TFF website