The Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) is thrilled to announce its captivating and critically-lauded lineup for the 2016 festival. The 11-day marathon, running October 19 – October 29 and showcasing 100+ films, will for the first time expand to a second city; in addition to its core screenings and red carpet parties at the Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theatres at The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park, the 7th annual TCFF will also feature a second screening series at the IFP Theater in St. Paul.
This year’s Opening Night film, Blood Stripe, is sponsored by Stephanie Dillon and will launch TCFF’s 2016 Social Cause: Military Veteran Mental and Physical Support. This locally-filmed PTSD drama directed by Remy Auberjonois, starring Kate Nowlin and top prize winner at the Los Angeles Film Festival, is a story of the trials and tribulations facing a returned female combat veteran and her intense battle with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Four other veteran-related films have been selected to screen as part of TCFF’s “Changemaker Series,” including IRON Will: Veterans’ Battle with PTSD, a Billy Bob Thornton-narrated documentary produced by Minnesota native Tim VandeSteeg that will make its world premiere at TCFF on Oct. 22.
The official 2016 Centerpiece will be the Sundance Film Festival hit The Eagle Huntress (narrated by Daisy Ridley), which follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl in Mongolia, as she trains to become the first female in 2,000 years to successfully hunt with a Golden Eagle. The true-life adventure screens Oct. 24.
Two of the mostly highly acclaimed films coming out of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival will be making their regional premieres at TCFF. The critical sensation Moonlight will be the TCFF Closing Night film on Oct. 29 — a coming-of-age story about a young man in Miami during the “War on Drugs” era who finds himself coping with a dysfunctional home life. The story of his struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love while grappling with his own sexuality, has been hailed by some critics as the year’s best screenplay.
Lion, also screening Oct. 29, is the story of 5-year-old Saroo who gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of kilometers across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
The festival will also include the family fantasy Trolls, the Michael Fassbender thriller Trespass Against Us, the Parker Posey comedy The Architect, the James Franco, Melissa Leo, Dominic Rains crime drama Burn Country and the documentaries My Scientology Movie, The Trans List and In Pursuit of Silence, which discovers that the second quietest place on Earth is a specially designed room in downtown Minneapolis.
Tickets are now available for Members and Pass Holders. Tickets will open up to the general public this Friday, September 30th. To find out how to become a TCFF Member and for a full list of films playing at this year’s festival please visit twincitiesfilmfest.org
I’ll definitely be blogging more about TCFF in the coming weeks, especially in October leading up to the film fest itself!
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It’s cool that you wrote about Tim VandeSteeg’s latest picture because I met him and almost worked on a story he was developing. His movie does sound interesting. I would love to go to this, but I started a new job and won’t have any time to both review flicks and write about them. I look forward to reading your reviews
Hi Vern, that’s cool that you got to talk to Tim VandeSteeg. Perhaps you can reach out to him again this year to talk about Iron Will? I just sent you an email about TCFF, pls let me know as soon as you can.
I’d love to go to this. Especially to see Moonlight and Lion. I hope you have fun! I can’t wait to read your coverage.
Hi Brittani! It’d be awesome if you can come up to the Cities for at least a weekend. If you do we definitely should meet up! Yes Moonlight and Lion have been getting a lot of great buzz from films festivals.
Very eager to see “Blood Stripe” – have read reviews from earlier festival screenings that say it’s a powerful drama, and it concerns a topic that affects so many people
Hello Mark, welcome to FC! Yes, Blood Stripe won Best Fiction Award at LAFF, I can’t wait to see that too! Stay tuned for my interview w/ the filmmaker and hopefully the lead actress as well 🙂
Fantastic – I’ll watch for those!
Awesome! Are you in town? Then I hope you’ll go to the opening nite 🙂
Yes, getting our tickets soon!
Those are some pretty posters!
Yes they are! The Moonlight one is particularly striking.
I probably won’t be able to see many of these movies since I’ll be busy with work and looking for a new place to live! But I do want to see Moonlight and a documentary about director Tarkovksy called Tarkovksy: Time Within Time.
a doco about Tarkovsky?? Oh my, I have to see this somehow!!
Yeah, I didn’t know there’s documentary about him until I saw the line up at this film festival.
Yeah I love the eclectic lineup, as we have every year 😛
Hi Ted! I hope you get to see at least one or two films. Yes those two are great picks!
Wow you are so lucky!! I haven’t heard of any of these films, the only one I recognise is My Scientology Movie which just stopped playing here
I follow Sundance and TIFF (Toronto) and Moonlight & LION have been getting great buzz from major film festivals. My Scientology Movie should be interesting, though I have yet to see Going Clear which is of similar topic.
I should have caught the Scientology movie when it was playing here last month =/
Hey it’ll be available to rent at some point. Going Clear is another one on that topic that I’ve missed out on.
Moonlight will be at the New Orleans Film Festival in a couple weeks too! That one and Manchester by the Sea are my most anticipated. Can’t wait!
Awesome Courtney! Oooh you got Manchester By The Sea too, that’s one has been getting great buzz too. Casey is definitely the better actor of the two Afflecks 🙂
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If you get a chance, check out my film June Falling Down – playing on Friday night of closing weekend at 7:25pm. 🙂 JuneFallingDown.com
Hello Rebecca! I just followed you on Twitter. I’d love to chat w/ you about your film, which I’ll be seeing on its first screening on Oct 20. Would you DM me your email so we can connect? Thanks!
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