Indie Watch

TUCSON FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Fourth Annual Tucson Film and Music Festival comes to town Oct. 9-12, featuring film screenings and music events at the Loft, the Screening Room, the Rialto and Plush.

The festival's centerpiece film, Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree, plays at the Screening Room (127 E. Congress St.) at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11. Filmmaker Dan Lamoureux will be on hand for the final night's film, Nerdcore for Life, screening at the Loft at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 12.

TFMF wristbands are $40 and provide entrance to all screenings and music events. Wristbands and single tickets for festival screenings, ranging from $5 to $10, can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com or at selected box offices. Check the Festival Web site for a full schedule.


LESBIAN LOOKS FILM SERIES

The 16th Annual Lesbian Looks Film Series opens with two films in October. The 2007 Academy Award-winning documentary short Freeheld plays at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3, at the Modern Languages Auditorium at the UA, followed by a reception at Old Town Artisans (201 N. Court Ave.) with live music by Courtney Robbins.

It's Still Elementary plays at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 17, also at the Modern Languages Auditorium. Both films are followed by panel discussions, and admission is free. For additional information, contact Beverly Seckinger by e-mail or 621-1239, or visit the Lesbian Looks Web site.


SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP

The University of Arizona's Hanson Film Institute presents a two-day Screenwriting Workshop led by Tucsonan Marcus De Leon (The Big Squeeze, Walkout) from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, and Sunday, Oct. 19. De Leon has written scripts for Roger Corman, Sony Pictures, NBC and HBO.

The workshop is open to the general public and is designed for all levels of experience. The cost is $50 and takes place at the UA's School of Media Arts Marshall Building, 845 N. Park Ave., Room 212. For more info, call Vicky Westover at the Hanson Film Institute at 626-9825, or e-mail her. Learn more about the Hanson Film Institute at the Institute Web site.


MOCA FILM

MOCA presents an evening with Los Angeles-based media artist Eric Saks at 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16. Saks will present a "Power Point-mashup re-contextualization of the global online video frontier, surveying the current practices and genre trends found in the online video communities of AMV's, bloggers, vidders, machinima, political remixers, jammers, mashups, youth-labbers, virals, activism, fakers, and WTF'ers."

See the MOCA Web site for more information.


FINAL CUT PRO MEETING

Tucson Final Cut Pro Users Group will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 20, at the UA Media Arts Marshall Building, 845 N. Park Ave., Room 211. For complete information and directions, visit the User Group Web site.


CALL FOR THREE-MINUTE THRILLER CONTEST ENTRIES

The Independent Film Association of Southern Arizona (IFASA) is seeking entrants for its annual Three-Minute Thriller Contest. Entries must be no longer than 3:59, including credits. Longer films can be entered if broken up into one, two or even three parts, and submitted as different entries, with an entry fee for each. The cost for IFASA members is free, and $13 for nonmembers. The deadline for film submissions is Oct. 17. The Three-Minute Thriller screening will be held at 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Screening Room, followed by a mixer.

Entry forms are available at the IFASA Web site; entries must be sent or delivered to Alan Barley, 2718 N. Richey Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85716.


CINEMA LA PLACITA

Cinema La Placita ends its 2008 season with five Thursday-night screenings in October. The films: Oct. 2, All the President's Men; Oct. 9, The Senator Was Indiscreet; Oct. 16, All the King's Men; Oct. 23, The Candidate; and Oct. 30, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Call 326-5282 for more information. Films start at 7:30 p.m. at La Placita Village, on the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Church Avenue; free.


EVENTS AT THE LOFT

· The Found Footage Festival Vol. 3 takes place at 9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27. Festival founders Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett will be present; regular admission prices.

· Red Heroine plays at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28. Boston's Devil Music Ensemble provides a live score for the silent Chinese martial-arts film from 1929; $10.

· Drifter TKD: Local director/writer/star Ron Pohnel debuts his film Drifter TKD at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 1; $5.

· 48 Hour Shootout: Up to 25 teams have 48 hours to shoot and edit a film between 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 17, and 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 19. The awards screening is at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 30, with a $500 grand prize. Entry forms are available at the Loft box office; entry fee is $50, and admission to the awards screening is $5.

· The Parts Left Over: Filmmaker and screenwriter Roy Wageman and other cast and crew members will be at the Loft at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21, for the debut of this film that was shot in Tucson and Southern Arizona; $8.

· The Third Annual Reel Rock Film Tour comes by the Loft at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22, featuring the documentary The Sharp End, short films and climbing-gear give-aways; $8 advance, and $10 on the day of the show.

The Loft Cinema is at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Call 795-7777 or check the Loft Web site for a full schedule of films and events, and for further information.

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