MIGRANT FILM
Tucson's Pan Left Productions is presenting a screening of a new documentary by Tucson local J.M. Aragón, PRESENTE: Inside the Migrant Trail Walk on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Screening Room (127 E. Congress St.). Inside the Migrant Trail Walk documents the seven-day, 75-mile walk between Sasabe, Sonora, and Tucson to raise awareness of the hardships faced by migrants crossing the border. Aragón will be on hand for a Q&A after the film. The screening is at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $5. Check Pan Left's site for more information.
OPEN SCREENING
Cartoonist Max Cannon ("Red Meat") is back as the host of the monthly First Friday Shorts Open Screen Night on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.). Check The Loft's site for submission details; the winner, chosen by the audience, gets $100. Showtime is 9 p.m., and admission is $5.
RENEE MONTAGNE AT THE LOFT
KUAZ radio is sponsoring an evening with NPR's Renée Montagne, co-host (with Steve Inskeep) of Morning Edition. Montagne will discuss what goes on behind the scenes during the production of Morning Edition, and do a Q&A afterward. It's at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Loft. Tickets are $10.
FRANTI FILM/PERFORMANCE
Ex-Spearhead frontman and current solo artist Michael Franti travels to Tucson to screen his film, I Know I'm Not Alone, on Sunday, Feb. 5. For I Know I'm Not Alone, Franti took a video camera and an acoustic guitar and traveled to war and occupation zones in Iraq, Israel and Palestine to talk to a wide variety of locals and soldiers alike. Franti will do a Q&A after the screening, followed by an acoustic performance. The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.; tickets are $22 for the floor and $18 for the balcony, and are available at the Rialto box office. Doors open at 6 p.m., and showtime is 7 p.m. Check Franti's or the Rialto's sites for more information.
DICK FISHER/IFASA ACTORS WORKSHOP
Local filmmaker Dick Fisher's new film, Incident at Alma, shot at the Gammon's Gulch movie set outside of Benson, is screening at the international Spiritual Film Festival. It will play in Goa, India, in the first week of February, and may possibly move on to play in Thailand and Bali with the moving festival. Fisher will be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Independent Film Association of Southern Arizona (IFASA) at their next meeting, held on Monday, Feb. 6, at Access Tucson, 124 E. Broadway Blvd. The meeting is at 6 p.m. and is open to anyone who wants to attend. See Dick Fisher's website and the IFASA site for information.IFASA is also sponsoring an acting workshop on Feb. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop is taught by commercial acting instructor Elayne Stein. The class is limited to 35 participants (17 and older), on a first-come, first-serve registration basis, and costs $75. It's at UA Theater Arts Building, at the corner of Speedway Boulevard and Park Avenue. Contact IFASA president Brian Mulligan at 349-8249 or e-mail him for complete details.
CINE MEXICO
The Hanson Film Institute and the Loft are presenting the Second Annual Cine Mexico Film Festival, Feb. 17-19. The opening night film will be Temporado de Patos (Duck Season), which won 11 Ariel Awards (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Awards) in 2005, including Best Picture. One of the film's stars, Diego Cataño, will attend the opening screening. Cine Mexico is likely to screen at least one or more older, restored films, along with several recent ones. The full schedule and admissions were not available at press time; check The Loft's site or call 795-7777 (show times) or 795-0844 (box office).
CELESTINE PROPHECY
Authors James and Salle Redfield will be at the Loft on Sunday, Feb. 26, to promote the upcoming release of the film version of James' book The Celestine Prophecy (Salle wrote the follow-up, The Celestine Meditations). They will be screening a behind-the-scenes video on the making of the movie, give a talk on the history of adapting the film to the screen and do a Q&A and book signing. Showtime is 3 p.m., and tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
AIFF SUBMISSIONS
The Arizona International Film Festival celebrates its 15th season, April 20-30, with numerous screenings around Tucson. AIFF is the oldest and largest film festival in Arizona. Submissions are being accepted for the Reel Frontier Film and Video Competition, a juried program of films that makes up much of the festival. Categories include narrative and documentary features, short documentaries, dramatic and comedy shorts, experimental work and animation. Deadline for entries is Feb. 10. For entry information and guidelines, check the festival site. A pre-festival screening of submissions will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Screening Room at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5.
