FESTIVAL ROUNDUP



 

Tacoma Tortured Artists Film Festival

The Third Annual Tacoma Tortured Artists Film Festival recalls the little mom and pop grocery store down the street. Better service, fresher produce, but somehow just on the brink of being squashed by the intimidating neighborhood megamart. While the TTAFF may not attract the industry onslaught of a Sundance or a Telluride, the Fest has become a must among film cognoscenti while putting an emphasis on a nurturing environment. And, like the corner market, the locals don’t always appreciate their backyard gem until it’s gone.

Started three years ago by Festival director James Hume and producer Kristen Revis, TTAFF has rapidly gained a higher profile among indie filmmakers. But even though the fest brought in 400 entries this year, it’s still meeting with lackluster response from Tacoma residents. While weekend screenings were packed, films screened earlier played to half full theaters, a disappointment that had Hume and Revis mulling over taking the Fest elsewhere. "We were prepared to move it, but the folks here in town are now rallying to get us to stay. At least three films every year have gone on to Sundance, and this year Cannes asked for our program, and that has city officials interested," says Hume.

Despite the absence of Tacoma townies in the crowd, it would be a shame for the event to leave the Seattle satellite, since many of the fest’s best entries this year shared the city’s offbeat charm. "While features were represented at the Fest, ultimately it was a playground for shorts, with even the honorable mention program featuring some of the sharpest material. Notably, none of the six "Barby" award winners broke the 30-minute mark. "It’s not our preference to emphasize shorts, but it’s truly what wins," says Hume. Kia Simon, Eve Conant and Jonathan Crosby’s Looking for Sly was one of only a few documentaries at the Fest, but the look at how one Armenian man’s life is changed once he discovers his resemblance to Sylvester Stallone offers damning commentary on the American dream factory. Equally disturbing was Christophe Joly’s 10 Seconds, which presents a world in which victims can mete out the ultimate justice.

On the lighter side, Jay Gable brought home his second "Barby" Award and an Audience Choice prize for Of Old Dogs and New Tricks, a short but sweet paean to curing male commitment phobia. Equally charming was Jessica Wilson’s short Ferry, which made clever use of non-synch sound.

Both Patty Cornell’s live-action short Almost Lou and Steven Dovas’ animated Call Me Fishmael were crowd-pleasers thanks to their sharply witty writing. And, though they were granted only honorable mention, Patrick Cady’s Gossamer and Luke Fannin’s Puberty: Benji’s Special Time were stand-outs.

While feature entries were more uneven, Christopher Kulikowski’s sci-fi epic Aurora was a visual stunner that managed to make a minuscule budget literally look like a million bucks. David Zellner’s Plastic Utopia grabbed the distinction of being the most endearingly weird entry with its gleefully surreal look through the eyes of a misanthropic mime, though Gabe Weisert’s Fishing with Ghandi ran a close second.

Even as a growing number of other festivals pirate the Tacoma program and word-of-mouth spreads, Hume refuses to let the buzz affect everybody’s good time. "We never wanted to stray from giving the real independent artist a place to screen their material," says Hume. "We keep entry fees low, we lose tons of money, but the point is to bring notoriety to those folks working on a shoestring. And as far as it being a fun festival, that’s the one thing we’ll always retain. We’ll insist on it."



 
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© 2005 Filmmaker Magazine