The Tacoma Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 20th-anniversary celebration—and the four-day program reaches well beyond conventional movie screenings.
Running October 22–25, the festival will bring independent films, documentaries, short-film collections, visiting filmmakers and special events to The Grand Cinema and other locations around Tacoma. The festival began in 2006 and has grown from a small regional event into an international showcase while maintaining a strong focus on Northwest filmmakers.
Opening night belongs to Time Warp, a new documentary about an unlikely production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The film follows a group of performers preparing the conservative community’s first Rocky Horror shadow-cast production while confronting resistance to its themes of queer visibility and self-expression.
Director Allison Berg is scheduled to participate in a post-film discussion following the 7 p.m. screening on Thursday, October 22. The evening will continue with an opening-night party at The Poet featuring food, a cash bar and an appearance by Tacoma’s own Rocky Horror shadow cast, the Blue Mouseketeers.
The festival’s centerpiece moves from traditional filmmaking into the frequently overlooked art of the music video. Track 20, scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, October 23, will assemble videos made for artists including Talking Heads, Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, Little Simz, Aphex Twin and The Last Dinner Party.
That presentation will take place at the Blue Mouse Theatre and conclude with live performances by local bands featured in the program. The combination turns the festival’s centerpiece into part screening and part concert rather than an ordinary night at the movies.
For its closing selection, the festival is reaching back into its own history. Everything Beautiful Is Far Away stars Joseph Cross and a young Julia Garner as travelers searching for a mythical lake on an isolated desert planet, accompanied by a robot in need of repair.
The science-fiction comedy received awards for directing and cinematography when it made its Washington premiere at the Tacoma Film Festival nearly a decade ago. Director Pete Ohs is expected to return for a discussion after the 7 p.m. screening on Sunday, October 25, giving the anniversary festival a fitting connection to its past.
VIP passes are on sale now for $225, with discounted options for Premium Grand Cinema members. Individual tickets go on sale online September 25. Through Tacoma Creates, Tacoma students and residents with EBT or Quest cards may also claim free tickets to most screenings in person on the day of the show, although each screening is limited to ten free tickets and the offer excludes opening night and the centerpiece presentation.
Discover more of Tacoma in today’s Tacoma Local Minute. Catch the rest of today’s local news, events, and updates in the full issue here.