Three-Minute Thriller Contest
The Independent Film Association of Southern Arizona (IFASA) is now accepting submissions for its third Three-Minute Thriller Contest. Filmmakers submitting work this year are being asked to place their works into one of five categories: thriller/horror, sci-fi/fantasy, comedy/spoof horror, experimental or youth production. Films will be screened at The Loft at 2 p.m. October 29. Audience favorite awards will be given in all categories, and a panel of judges will pick the top three. All films need to be under three and a half minutes in length, and submitted before October 22. There is a $13 submission fee for each film; for a registration form go to www.aivftucson.org. Films may be submitted to IFASA Three-Minute Thriller Contest, c/o Jesse Nelson, 5189 Wood Owl Dr., Tucson AZ, 85742. Jesse can be contacted at scazzriktobin@yahoo.com
Micro-Cinema at Club Congress
Local filmmaker and musician Timothy Gassen is kicking off a new monthly TucsonFilm.com Mico-Cinema program at Club Congress on Sunday, Sept. 11. Each program will feature several independent short films and videos, followed by a meet-and-greet mixer with the filmmakers. TucsonFilm.com is also partnered up with StarNet, the online service of the Arizona Daily Star, to host a downloadable sample film from its AzNightBuzz site at www.aznightbuzz.com/tucsonfilm. Although there will be a focus on Arizona films and filmmakers, national and international material is also welcomed. Submission details can be found at www.tucsonfilm.com. There is no fee for submissions. Club Congress is located inside the historic Hotel Congress at 311 E. Congress St. Showtime is 7 p.m. and it is free.
High and Dry
High and Dry, Michael Toubassi's long-anticipated documentary on Tucson music, will get its world premiere screenings Sept. 2-4 at The Loft Cinema. High and Dry features live footage and interviews with several notable Tucson bands from the 1980s and 1990s, including Green On Red, Giant Sand, Al Perry, Supersuckers, Calexico, The Sidewinders and Bob Log III/Doo Rag. The screenings are being presented in conjunction with the Club Congress 20th Anniversary Celebration, held in the Club Congress and Rialto Theater in downtown Tucson. Screenings are at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3-4. Tickets cost $10 for the Friday screening, $8 for the two matinees, and can be purchased at the Loft box office. A wristband for the Club Congress celebration can also be used for entry to the film, and can be purchased at the Rialto Theater box office or Zia Records. Michael Toubassi and various folks featured in the film will be on hand for Q&A after the two matinee screenings. The Loft is at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Check www.loftcinema.com or www.hotelcongress.com for more details.
Native Eyes Festival
The Arizona State Museum, Hanson Film Institute and Tucson Cinema Foundation/Loft Cinema have partnered with the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution to present the second annual Native Eyes film showcase. The showcase is a celebration of American Indian film with screenings and discussions of work by and about American Indians. Guests include curator Elizabeth Weatherford, author Joy Harjo, filmmaker Larry Blackhorse Lowe and director/producer Lurline Wailana McGregor. This event will take place over several weeks in September, with all screenings and events at The Loft unless otherwise noted. Check www.loftcinema.com for a schedule of screenings and events, and www.statemuseum.arizona.edu for film descriptions and guest biographies.
LatinBeat 2005 Festival
The Loft is also presenting selections from the Film Society of Lincoln Center's LatinBeat 2005 Festival. Films from Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Cuba, Spain and Chile will be featured. There will be a special program focusing on the work of the Argentinean filmmaker Federico Luppi, who has appeared in such films at Men with Guns and The Devil's Backbone. The festival will run Sept. 9-15. Call 322-5638 or check www.loftcinema.com for more details and an updated schedule.
Film Notes
· Local filmmaker Jesses Nelson's work will be featured at the monthly Micro Cinema Tucson program at The Keys restaurant Sunday, Aug. 28. Films screened include a new 45-minute feature, Spot Stories; the shorts Final Witness, Unconvinced and Packrat Dreams; and a trailer of material from his production company, Galaxy Phobia. All films are produced by Scazz-Rik-Tobin/Galaxy Phobia Productions. It's free at 6:30 p.m., at The Keys, 445 W. Wetmore Road.· A reminder that Tucson's Reel Inspiration collective will be hosting the Reel Vision Filmmakers Conference at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Tucson October 21-23. Featured film professionals include script consultant Linda Seger, Universal Films creative development rep Kate McCallum, Pamela Jaye Smith of Mythworks and distribution rep Mark Steven Bosko. The Tucson Film Office, the UA's Hanson Film Institute and Reel Inspiration are the event sponsors. Early registration (before Sept. 21) costs $85, or $55 for students with a valid ID, and includes a featured filmmaker luncheon. For more information and registration forms go to www.reelinspiration.org, or call 325-9175.
· The UA's weekly film program sponsored by the International Arts Society is up and running with its fall program. September films include Heat on Sept. 2, The Lady Eve on Sept. 9, Facing Windows on Sept. 16, Yojimbo on Sept. 23 and Mifune on Sept. 30. Screenings are at 7:30 every Friday at the Integrated Learning Center, room 120. Screenings are free and open to the public.
· More than 200 people showed up in August for The Loft Cinema's local film contest, which was won by Abe Enoch for his film The Daydreamer: Furry Fist of Death. The next contest will be at 10 p.m. (an hour later than usual) on Friday, Sept. 2. Cartoonist Max Cannon of "Red Meat" fame reigns as guest host.
