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

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Well Isn't This Just Awesome: Subcontractor sues City of Tacoma over Cheney Stadium project. (News Tribune)

R.I.P. Ruby Gray: Tacoma activist died at age 74. (News Tribune)

Shaken Up: Beware terrorists with big hair and snow globes. (CNN)

Better Hide In An Igloo: Former Miss Iceland Anna Bjorndottir has been identified as the tipster who turned in infamous Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. (CBS News)

Charlton Heston Is Rolling Over In His Beverly Hills Grave: Californians can no longer openly carry handguns in public. (Politico)

"At it's core, it is the most expensive and creative Film History 101 course of all time": Martin Scorsese's children's movie Hugo reviewed. (Hollywood Reporter)

Photos: Betty Draper Francis rocking a surprisingly frumpy house dress. (Huffington Post)

Occupy: Cars jumping rope. (YouTube)

These eight- to 10-year-olds rock Metallica

TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION >>>

Sunday morning self-proclaimed Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones was arrested for pepper spraying a crowd in Seattle's Pioneer Square. The Seattle PI has the story here.

No doubt Phoenix Jones is upset that he'll miss the screening of Michael Barnett's Superheroes today at 2 p.m. as part of the 6th Annual Tacoma Film Festival. Barnett's 90-minute film uncovers the cultural phenomenon of real-life superheroes such as Jones.

You can certainly discover what inspires everyday citizens to take the law in to their own hands as they try to make the world a better and safer place for all.

[Rausch Auditorium, Monday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m., free admission, University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner, Tacoma]

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

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

While the 6th Annual Tacoma Film Festival offers a huge range of art house films from all over the world, there's also a great selection of films by local filmmakers, providing an opportunity for them to showcase their work on the big screen. Today, four local films will fill The Grand Cinema's screen at 4:50 p.m. for 72 minutes.

Paint

Directed by Mick Flaaen, documentary (20 minutes)
Paint is a documentary-style study of the impact of graffiti in downtown Tacoma.

The FullCircle Project 

Directed by Aidan Haley, documentary (29 minutes)
The FullCircle Project is a group of three professional freeskiers and one professional telemark athlete with the desire to change the way they travel to and enjoy the snow they ski on in different countries. With service as the backbone of the trip, and the snows of the northern hemisphere melting, in July of 2010, they traveled to a small town near Concepcion, called Las Salinas, Chile. There they started a nine day service project to aid a community that had been displaced by the earthquake and tsunami of February 2010 before heading up to the mountains of the Biobio region of Chile.

It Came First

Directed by Jeff Axtman and Christopher Wood, comedy (5 minutes)
Two roommates must fight for their survival after one of them uses his superpower to bring an ornery egg to life. *Audience Choice award winner at The Grand Cinema's 2011 72 Hour Film Competition.

Magnificent Abstraction

Directed by Leonard Haggarty, documentary (18 minutes) Tacoma artist Teddy M. Haggarty explores his "abstract art form" in a narrative, culminating in the play, Magnificent Abstraction, revealing the descriptive inner-workings of his mind. The film ends with a avant-garde play that gives a visual look into the mind of this famous Tacoma artist. The soundtrack is all original music composed by The Ventures solely for this film.

Today's film recommendation

Tacoma Film Festival Director Emily Alm recommends you hit the following film today:

SPLINTERS(6 p.m., FREE, Rausch Auditorium at the University of Puget Sound): Like many other films on this list, Splinters snuck up and floored me. The seemingly innocent documentary about the introduction and development of surfing in Papua New Guinea has a lot more meat to it than you'd think. Sure, it's entertaining to watch the surfers practice and prepare for battle in the island nation's first-ever surfing competition. But it's ever more fascinating to get a peek into their culture and social dynamics.

Today's Highlights

Dancing on the Edge (6:30 p.m., The Grand Cinema): A coming of age story about a teenage girl's struggle with addiction and her dream of being a ballet dancer. Filmed entirely in Vancouver, Washington and Happy Valley, Ore. The film was an official selection at the 2011 New York City International Film Festival.

Fantastic Confabulations (8:30 p.m., The Grand Cinema): When Wes's marriage dissolves, he moves in with his childhood best friend, Ray, but a sudden aneurysm puts Ray in a coma for weeks. Wes, despite himself, finds a sense of peace in the situation, but Ray's eventual return home strains their friendship as one friend clings to the past and the other focuses on the future. 

Film added today

Young Goethe In Love, which screens Friday night to a big Blue Mouse Theatre crowd, will screen again today at 1:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

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

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

This afternoon inside the Pacific Grill Events Center awards for best films at the Tacoma Film Festival were handed out in front of a full room.

Well, technically, they handed out only one award. Kate Connor, director of the feature film Fort McCoy, was the only winning filmmaker in the room full of TFF staff, filmmakers, actors and the public. Connor grabbed the Audience Choice Award for her drama based on a true story about a Wisconsin family that lived next door to a Nazi POW camp.

The other winners were absent, which isn't a huge surprise since the festival screens films from around the world.

Emcee Warren Etheredge, one of the founding members of The Film School in Seattle, was thrilled he didn't have to accept another award from an absentee filmmaker.

"We are so honored and touched to win this award," Connor told the crowd. "We have had so much fun in Tacoma."

Here are the other winning films at the 6th Annual Tacoma Film Festival:

Best Feature Film: Sooney Kadouh's This Narrow Place, a drama about a young Palestinian man who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a lonely drug addict.

Best Animated Film: William Joyce and Bandon Oldenburg's The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which had Buster Keaton written all over it.

Best Regional Film: Connect To, a short by Sam Nuttmann about a hygiene obsessed man who accidentally stows away on a cross-country bus.

Best Documentary Film: Jeff and Michael Zibalist's The Two Escobars, the tragic story of the intertwined relationship between drug king Pablo Escobar and Columbia soccer star Andres Escobar.

Best Short Film: Julian A. Higgins's Thief, the haunting story of 12-year-old Mehdi who befriends young Saddam Hussein in 1959.

The Film School's Great American Storyteller Prize: John Henry Summerour's Sahkanga, the story of a tragic event seen through a teenager's eyes.

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

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

What do the films Casablanca, Blazing Saddles, and West Side Story have in common? Besides being popular, they have also been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and listed on the National Film Registry. Technically a documentary, These Amazing Shadows tells the history and importance of The Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself, screening for free today at 2 p.m. inside th Theatre on the Square.

Where better to debut a film that celebrates classic movies than at a film festival?

Created by a literal act of Congress, The Registry's board has selected 25 films of cultural, historic and/or aesthetic significance annually for preservation since 1989. From a mix of “sprocket-worn classics” to “consciousness-expanding” works, these chosen few represent snapshots of American history, whether they reflected the era or helped shape it. Directors Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton shot amazing archival footage and interviews with a variety of filmmakers including Christopher Nolan, John Waters and Rob Reiner.

[Theatre on the Square, These Amazing Shadows, 2 p.m., free, 915 Broadway, Tacoma]

Today's film recommendations

Tacoma Film Festival Director Emily Alm recommends you hit the following films today:

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS(12:40 p.m., Tacoma Art Museum): This grouping of seven short foreign films is a first for the Tacoma Film Festival. We've always had films of all lengths from many countries; but this year, I chose to play the shorts together. It's a sort of "passport to independent film," as I like to call it. Each short in this grouping represents a different culture, a different area of the world, and a different approach to storytelling. Not to mention, there's some terrific filmmaking as well.

HARLISTAS: AN AMERICAN JOURNEY (12:40 p.m., The Grand Cinema): I'm not exactly a motorcycle girl. I'm much more likely to be cruising around in my very safe, and very predictable Honda Civic. That's why, upon popping Harlistas: An American Journey in my DVD player, I wasn't sure that it would be up my alley. Boy, was I wrong. The film is so much more than an ode to Harleys - it's an intimate look at family, at relationships, and how the two shape who we are and who we want to be.

Today's Highlights

Late Night Shorts (88 minutes): Six films screen at 9:15 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema including the film They Walk Among Us - a story of romance inspired by monsters and meat cleavers. The filmmakers will be in the house, too.

Losing Control (7 p.m., The Grand Cinema): it's a quirky romantic comedy about a young Bridget Jones-like scientist, Samantha (Miranda Kent), who conducts a controlled experiment to find proof that her boyfriend is "the one."  Written and directed by Valerie Wiess, ths film is loosely based on her experiences getting a PhD at Harvard Medical School. The film was an official selection at the Chicago Comedy Awards, 2011 Vail, Rhode Island International and Stony Brook film festivals.

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

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

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

Structure and character provide the foundation for a good screenplay, but you must still build beautifully upon the base. This morning at 10 a.m. in The Grand Cinema's lower lobby, Warren Etheredge explains and explores the craft of drafting a compelling scene - when to start, how to exit, what to say, how to say it and how to ensure that conflict escalates as the plot evolves.

Warren Etheredge didn't speak until he was 6 years old; he's been going strong ever since, making a lively livelihood and the most out of every conversation, elevating small talk to high art, discourse to an ideal. He talks. He teaches. He interviews. 

Etheredge knows films. He has has conducted more than 1,500 interviews - in print, on camera, on stage - with a wide range of filmmakers, authors, personalities and smarties including Amy Sedaris, Darren Aronofsky, Michael Pollan, Charlie Kaufman, Naomi Watts, Salman Rushdie, Robert Duvall, Alexander Payne, Nora Ephron, Augusten Burroughs, Michael Lewis and Chuck Palahniuk. He hosts The High Bar, the award-winning weekly television series devoted to "raising the bar" through light-hearted conversation with people who care about culture that matters. He is the founder of The Warren Report (www.thewarrenreport.com) and as such curates and hosts more than 200 events every year. He is also one of the founding faculty of The Film School, former curator for the 1 Reel Film Festival (at Bumbershoot), a published author, an Off-Broadway produced playwright, an acclaimed documentarian, a regular contributor to public radio and, internationally, a much sought-after public speaker on myriad topics.

The workshop is free and open to the public.

Today's film recommendation

Tacoma Film Festival Director Emily Alm recommends you hit the following film today:

HIT SO HARD (8:35 p.m., The Grand Cinema): Much like Harlistas, I wasn't sure how well I would relate to Hit So Hard, given that my music tastes differ quite a bit from the grunge and rock scene dispelled from Seattle in the 1990s. But yet again, I was pleasantly surprised. I was lucky enough to watch Hit So Hard  in Seattle on the big screen, and listen to Patty Schemel herself (the film centers on her, the openly-gay female drummer for the band, Hole), talk about her life story and her experiences in the music industry, and yes - her friendships with Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. This is a music documentary unlike any other.

Today's Highlights

Family Shorts (88 minutes): Eight films screen at noon inside The Grand Cinema including the The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - the story of a writer who is swept up into a Katrina-like storm and loses all of his work. He is introduced to a place where magical books are kept, and that’s where he finds the inspiration to return to his own writing.

Documentary Shorts (102 minutes): Four films screen at 2:30 p.m. inside the Tacoma Art Museum including the film Kevin - the story of Austin musician Kevin Gant who disappeared in the mid-'90s. Jay Duplass's documentary debut explores who Kevin is, how he lost his inspiration, and what he must do to get it back. Bonus: Gant will perform live after the film screens.

Animated Shorts (92 minutes): Eight films screen at 4:15 p.m. inside the Tacoma School of the Arts including the U.K. film The Eagleman Stag, which nabbed the Grand Jury Prize for annimation at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival.

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

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

GIVEAWAY >>>

We're giving away five pairs of tickets to the opening weekend of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil at The Grand Cinema in Tacoma, which opens Friday, Oct. 14.

Simply "LIKE" our new Weekly Volcano Blast Zone Facebook page and you'll be included in our random drawing 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, which the accounting firm of Tucker & Dale will oversee. We'll draw five names that night, pass your Facebook page to The Grand Cinema and they'll contact you.

Good luck.

LINK: What the eff is Tucker & Dale vs. Evil?

AND SO IT BEGINS >>>

Last night the Tacoma Film Festival officially entered its sixth year of existence, and this time around I aim to embrace it in a slightly different way than in the past. Obviously I'll soak in as much cinema as time allows before Closing Night Oct. 13. But this event is just a much a celebration of our humble town as a way to honor art from distant points on the globe. In other words, I see TFF 2011 as my own private excuse to explore and appreciate a community I usually ignore.

Let's start where the festival has its beginnings: The Grand Cinema. A few hours before the Opening Night Gala I made my way down the street from the theater and walked, for the first time, into STINK Cheese and Meat. Within seconds I was greeted by Kris Blondin, owner and, as I soon found out, no stranger to the Volcano's loose-knit family of writers. I casually ordered a turkey sandwich, naive to the are-you-kidding, belly-bursting deliciousness headed to my table.

No more food for awhile I decided ... except dessert. So I went to Corina Bakery, another Grand Cinema neighbor I had yet to take in. (You've probably realized by now I don't get out much.) I bought a fluffy cookie from the man behind the counter; obscured by his black apron I could just make out the words "TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL."

So, somewhat foolishly, I entered the gala at Annie Wright School with no appetite whatsoever for tray upon tray of hors d'oeuvres on display. I felt even more foolish when Warren Etheredge (host of a free filmmaker's workshop this weekend) urged me to hop on stage and introduce my own film playing later in the fest. Hiding behind guys larger than myself didn't work; once he goaded the audience into a slow clap, I had no choice.

The filmmakers who spoke before me tackled some pretty serious subjects - Mick Flaaen's Paint looks at graffiti in Tacoma, Kate Connor has POW camps in her Fort McCoy, and Dancing on the Edge by Alexander MacKenzie focuses on addiction. My movie can't compete with this. So I stood at the podium and said,

"It Came First is about an egg that comes to life and tries to kill two guys."

Before the laughter came, the crowd took one beautiful moment to look at me with quiet confusion.

Here's to a week of new experiences at TFF.

LINK: Opening Night 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

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

It seems like a dream a Tacoman would have about a Hollywood party: Photographers ask to take red carpet photos of you on your entrance; you're given complimentary drinks, including, if you choose, Pabst cans wrapped in napkins; burlesque dancers dance in the middle of the room; tiny pigs in a blanket are served with toothpicks and syrup dip; and a French band from Fife tells the audience its next song will make some babies.

It is a dream as last night's 2011 Tacoma Film Festival Opening Gala was slightly below that scenario, although just as swanky. TFF staff, board members, representing films directors and stars, photographers and film enthusiasts consumed Annie Wright's Great Hall noshing on fancy hors d'oeuvres as musicians bounced classical music off the dark mahogany walls. Jonz Catering outdid themselves again with delectable finger foods. I did see a few wrap their Stella beers in napkins.

"We are fortunate enough to live in a community where we can enjoy events like this and it's due to your support of film and your support of The Grand Cinema," said Mitch Robinson, president of The Grand's board of directors, as he welcomed the crowd to opening night.

This time each year, our little Grit City suddenly explodes with creativity as TFF offers moviegoers the perfect excuse to escape the rain and indulge in an incredibly diverse array of local and foreign cinema.

TFF Director Emily Alm announced her film recommendations during the party, including "a hilarious comedy" Sunday night called Losing Control, and local films Monday and Tuesday night.

Then the Warren Etheredge show took over as the cultural conversationalist and TFF film judge dropped one-liners and introduced filmmakers in attendance, including some from overseas.

The room emptied into Annie Wright's Kemper Center for TFF's opening film, Natural Selection, which was a tender, sweet story starring Rachel Harris as infertile, sexually frustrated, and very Christian housewife. This fresh funny flick is a must see.

LINK: More Opening Night photos

Today's film recommendations

Tacoma Film Festival Director Emily Alm recommends you hit the following two films today:

THIS NARROW PLACE (3:55 p.m., The Grand Cinema): Sometimes a film comes along that blows you away, that represents new, raw, and undeniable talent. The director of This Narrow Place, Sooney Kadouh, exhibits enormous potential with his debut feature. His cause is greatly empowered by the lead actors, Sammy Sheik (Hassan) and Jonathan Stanley (Chris). Hassan has recently smuggled himself into the United States and plans on avenging the death of his brother, who was killed in Israel by a US-made bomb. In the meantime, Hassan develops an unlikely and fascinating friendship with Chris, a lonely drug-addict who seems reinvigorated by his new relationship with Hassan.

HEART BREAKS OPEN (6:05 p.m., The Grand Cinema): I had the pleasure of screening this film on the big screen during one of our regular volunteer screening sessions at the Grand. Not one person in the audience disliked Heart Breaks Open, and not one person was unaffected by its powerful and realistic story. The film was powerful simply for its storyline, but the filmmaker (William Maria Rain), and actors amplify its presence through not-to-be-missed performances and creativity. Heart Breaks Open screens Friday, Oct. 7th at 6:05 p.m. at the Grand Cinema. The director, cast and crew will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.

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

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