Tallahassee Film Festival

Executive Producer Tim Robbins with Josh and Rebecca Tickell

Peter Fonda in Grand Isle

Special March screening, presented by FSU’s Torchlight Program Screening Series – the Florida Premiere of The Big Fix, Josh Tickell’s latest film.

The Tallahassee Film Festival, in conjunction with the Florida State College of Motion Picture Arts and The Torchlight Program, is proud to welcome Sundance-winning director Josh Tickell to Tallahassee for the Florida premiere of his latest film, The Big Fix.

Thursday, March 22 at 7:30pm
at the AMC Theatres Tallahassee 20

Free admission

The feature documentary, which had its world premiere at Cannes, explores the root causes of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010, and uncovers a vast network of corruption connected with the disaster. The film features Peter Fonda and is executive produced by both Fonda and Tim Robbins.
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Tallahassee, FL- Animator and filmmaker Dustin Grella, who screened his award winning and heartfelt animated short Prayers for Peace at TFF last year, has a new film project in the works and it’s screening at Cannes in May! Congratulations, Dustin! Find out how you can participate in Dustin’s film and have your name on the credits of a film at Cannes by viewing the letter below.

Dustin writes, “’The Other’ is sort of a tough concept, but once you get it the whole thing sounds very simple. It is in reference to any time you felt like an outsider, or any story dealing with a time when anyone felt outside of the ‘in-group’. For example, one of the short films is about people who can’t smell, which is a subset of the population that is outside the ‘norm’ of people who can smell. So basically, it is any story about a moment when you were outside the norm or felt like an outsider, or it could also be a case when you are dealing with the outsider. Try to not say “the other” in the text though, because it is going to be a long film and I’m sure if they hear “the other” a million times it will get pretty annoying. If you do leave a message please leave me your contact information at 212-683-2490, so that I can put you in the credits for the film.

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Torchlight Program Executive Director Paul Cohen To Guide Future Development of Festival

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tallahassee Film Festival Board Chair Lou Armesto announced today that the board has contracted the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts to provide the artistic and creative direction for the festival, with the goal of producing national visibility for the young arts organization.

“It’s a natural,” Armesto said. “We have one of the top film schools in the world right here in our own backyard. It makes perfect sense to leverage the expertise of its faculty to help the local festival that we are so proud of gain more prominence in the film industry.”

Frank Patterson, dean of the College of Motion Picture Arts said the college will focus on the long-term goal of growing the festival into a nationally recognized event and the short-term goal of producing a rich, film-centered cultural event for local audiences.

To achieve the long-term goal, Patterson has turned to Paul Cohen, the executive director of the college’s Torchlight Program, to guide the future development of the festival. Cohen, a 30-year veteran of the independent motion picture industry and an executive who has created several successful distribution and production companies, also teaches current and emerging film industry business practices at Florida State.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In honor of Black History Month and in celebration of FAMU’s 125^th anniversary, Florida A&M University (FAMU) Lyceum Series and the Office of Student Activities in partnership with the Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF) and the Tallahassee Film Society (TFS) present A Tribute to African-American Film beginning February 3 through February 29, 2012.

“We have been working in conjunction with several local groups to not only pay tribute to a segment of African-American culture, but to highlight FAMU alumni and staff contributions to the entertainment field as we celebrate FAMU’s 125^th anniversary,” said Sharon Saunders, Executive Assistant for Communications at FAMU and Tribute to African-American Films Planning Committee Chair.  “We believe that we have movies and events the entire community will enjoy.”

“Our Mission at TFF is ‘to nurture all aspects of film culture and stimulate economic development,’” said Lou Armesto, TFF Board Chair.  “This tribute accomplishes both by providing exceptional programming for our local community and attracting FAMU alumni back to Tallahassee and their alma mater.  That’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

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Tallahassee, Fla.- The Tallahassee Film Festival (TFF), in partnership with the Holocaust Education Resource Council and the Tallahassee Film Society, will host The Remembrance Film Forum in Tallahassee, FL for the general public on four Sundays from Oct. 16 through Nov. 6. The events will take place at various venues around Tallahassee. The Remembrance Film Forum will feature diverse perspectives and insights about the Holocaust intended to continually uplift, enlighten and challenge its audience through the powerful medium of film.

The Remembrance Film Forum presents twelve shorts and feature films from around the world with talents such as Dustin Hoffman and Joan Allen. The focus and purpose of each of the weekends’ modules is to highlight a facet of this compelling topic and stimulate audiences not only through film, but also through open discussion including some special guest speakers and moderators.

Opening night at FSU’s Student Life Cinema, kicking off the forum in a bold manner under the theme “Finding A Masterpiece”, is The Rape of Europa, a mysterious and intriguing investigation into crimes of the art world by the Third Reich.  Additional modules in weeks that follow at the All Saints Theatre include “Children’s Stories,” of curious and courageous youngsters and “Women’s Stories,” that showcase their triumphs and impacts both during and beyond the Holocaust with a highlight of the evening being the live Q & A with Shanghai Ghetto survivor, Ellen Peyton. The module themed “The More Things Change…” pairs Our Rhineland, a short film about two sisters who face sterilization by the Nazis, with a feature documentary, The Rescuers, by a young African filmmaker, who compares and contrasts the genocide in his homeland of Darfur to the genocide in Nazi, Germany, which is universally recognized as the first act of genocide in modern times. These films serve not only as a tutorial, bringing little known facts to light in a new way, but also offer encouraging stories of sacrifice, survival and the human spirit overcoming adversity.

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