Tacoma Film Festival Explained
| Tacoma Film Festival (TFF) |
| Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Language: | English |
The Tacoma Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It usually takes place in October.
It is one of the largest festivals in Washington, and features programming of independent American and foreign films, and a strong contingent of documentaries, with an emphasis on films produced in the Pacific Northwest.[1]
History
Founded in 2006, the Tacoma Film Festival (TFF) has been hosted annually at the Grand Cinema.[2] [3] Created with the intention to foster the film community in Tacoma and the broader Pacific Northwest region, the festival has grown from a small regional event to a prominent fixture in the region's cultural landscape.[4] [5] TFF provides a platform for regional and international filmmakers[6] [7] and has been described as the "Sundance of the Pacific Northwest," emphasizing its growing reputation and influence in the region's film community.[8]
Awards
2007
2007 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Rain in the Mountains | Joel Metlen
- Christine Sullivan
|
| Best Documentary Feature | Spitfire 944 | William Lorton |
| Best Narrative Short | Full Disclosure | Douglas Horn |
| Best Local Film | GPS - The Movie | Eric Colley |
| Audience Choice | My Left Hand | Joshua Isaac |
|
2009
2009 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | White on Rice | Dave Boyle |
| Best Documentary Feature | Freeing Silvia Baraldini | Margo Pelletier
- Lisa Thomas
|
| Best Narrative Short | Sebastian's Voodoo | Joaquin Baldwin |
| Best Regional Film | Otis v Monster | Patrick Neary |
| Audience Choice | The Stairwell | Andrew Finnigan |
|
2010
2010 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Earthwork | Chris Ordel |
| Best Documentary Feature | Back to the Garden | Kevin Tomlinson |
| Best Narrative Short | Ana's Playground | Eric D. Howell |
| Best Regional Film | Shuffle | Garrett Bennett |
| Best Animated Film | A Complex Villainelle | Nathan Billington, Howard Cook, Rebecca Forth, Bart Ovaitt, & Ryan Porter |
| Audience Choice | Wheedle's Groove | Jennifer Maas |
|
2011
2012
2013
2013 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Euphonia | Danny Madden |
| Best Documentary Feature | A River Changes Course | Kalyanee Mam |
| Best Regional Film | Improvement Club | Dayna Hanson |
| Best Animated Film | Woody | Stuart Bowen |
| Audience Choice | Her Aim is True | Karen Whitehead |
| Best Narrative Short | The Telegram Man | James Francis Khehtie |
|
2014
2015
2015 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Regional Film | Even the Walls | Sarah Kuck & Saman Maydani |
| Best Narrative Short | The Chicken | Una Gunjack |
| Best Documentary Short | Live Fast Draw Yung | Stacey Lee & Anthony Mathile |
| Best Director | The Chicken | Una Gunjack |
| Best Cinematography | Mathias Pilz for The Chicken | Una Gunjack |
| Best Screenplay | Eric Fallen & Moon Molson for The Bravest, the Boldest | Moon Molson |
| Best Actress | Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris for The Bravest, the Boldest | Moon Molson |
| Best Actor | Joseph Smith for Hagereseb | Zia Mohajerjasbi |
| Audience Choice Feature | Landfill Harmonic | Brad Allgood
- Graham Townsley
|
| Audience Choice Short | Birthday | Chris King |
| Local Audience Choice Feature | The Glamour & the Squalor | Marq Evans |
| Local Audience Choice Short | Big Boy | Bryan Campbell | |
2016
2016 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Short | Home | Daniel Mulloy |
| Best Actor (Narrative) | Abraham Attah in Out of the Village | Jonathan Stein |
| Best Actress (Narrative) | Charlie Chan Dagelet in Hold One | Charlotte Scott-Wilson |
| Best Screenplay (Narrative) | Christophe M. Saber for Discipline | Christophe M. Saber |
| Best Cinematography (Narrative) | Paul MacKay
- Victor Seguin for Home
| Daniel Mulloy |
| Best Director (Narrative) | And Nothing Happened | Naima Ramos-Chapman |
| Best Documentary Short | The Carousel | Jonathan Napolitano |
| Best Cinematography (Documentary) | Nathan Golon for I Am Yup'ik | |
| Best Director (Documentary) | The Tricks List | Brian Bolster |
| Local Audience Choice Short | Phil's Camino | Annie O'Neil |
| Local Audience Choice Feature | As You Are | Miles Joris-Peyrafitte |
| Audience Choice Short | Out of the Village | Jonathan Stein |
| Audience Choice Feature | | Matt Schrader |
|
2017
2017 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town | Christian Papierniak |
| Best Director (Narrative) | Everything Beautiful is Far Away | Pete Ohs
- Andrea Sisson
|
| Best Cinematography (Narrative) | Christian Sorensen Hansen and Pete Ohs for Everything Beautiful is Far Away | Pete Ohs |
| Best Performance (Narrative) | Jun Zhao in King of Peking | Sam Voutas |
| Best Performance (Narrative) | Mackenzie Davis in Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town | Christian Papierniak |
| Best Screenplay (Narrative) | Sam Voutas for King of Peking | Sam Voutas |
| Best Narrative Short | Import | Ena Sendijarevic |
| Best Cinematography in a Narrative Short | Christian Houge Laursen in Forever Now | |
| Best Performance in a Narrative Short | Max Jenkins for The Mess He Made | |
| Best Performance in a Narrative Short | Nicole Williams in Game | Kristian Håskjold and Trille Cecilie Uldall-Spanner |
| Best Screenplay in a Narrative Short | Forever Now | |
| Best Director in a Narrative Short | Ena Sendijarevic for Import | Ena Sendijarevic |
| Best Regional Film | Little Potato | |
| Audience Choice Best Local Short | Richard Twice | |
| Audience Choice Best Local Feature | | |
| Audience Choice Short | Game | |
| Audience Choice Feature | A Shot in the Dark | |
| Best Documentary Feature | For Ahkeem | |
| Best Director of Documentary Feature | Mike Day for The Islands and the Whales | |
| Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature | Mike Day for The Islands and the Whales | |
| Best Documentary Short | Wildland | |
| Best Director of Documentary Short | Lauren Frohne for The Legacy of Linc's Tackle | Lauren Frohne |
| Best Cinematography in a Documentary Short | John Pope for The Wizard Oz | |
|
2018
2018 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Drift | Helena Wittman |
| Best Director - Narrative Feature | Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer for Empty Metal | Adam Khalil
- Bayley Sweitzer
|
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Feature | Ashley Connor for Mountain Rest | Ashley Connor |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Feature | Bryce Richardson for I Want More, I Want Less | Bryce Richardson |
| Best Performance - Narrative Feature | Sophia Mitri Schloss for I Want More, I Want Less | Bryce Richardson |
| Best Narrative Short | Nettles | Raven Jackson |
| Best Director - Narrative Short | Faren Humes Macho | Faren Humes |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Short | Shawn Peters for Piu Piu | Naima Ramos-Chapman |
| Best Performance - Narrative Short | Dymond Veve in Kira Burning | Laurel Parmet |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Short | Mariama Diallo for Hair Wolf | Mariama Diallo |
| Best Documentary Feature | Distant Constellation | Shevaun Mizrahi |
| Best Director - Documentary Feature | Daniel Patrick Carbone for Phantom Cowboys | Daniel Patrick Carbone |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Feature | Erick Stoll for America | Chase Whiteside
- Erick Stoll
|
| Best Documentary Short | Silica | Pia Borg |
| Best Director - Documentary Short | Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, and Jackson Polys for The Violence of Civilization Without Secrets | Adam Khalil
- Zack Khalil; Jackson Polys
|
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Short | Luis Gutierrez Arias and John Henry Theisen for It's Going to Be Beautiful | Luis Gutierrez Arias
- John Henry Theisen
|
| Best Pacific Northwest Film | Civil | Stephen Takashima |
| Best Pierce County Film | Medieval Martha Stewart | Taylor Hawkins |
| Audience Choice - Best Short | The Burden | Niki Lindroth von Bahr |
| Audience Choice - Best Feature | Dawnland | Adam Mazo
- Ben Pender-Cudlip
|
| Audience Choice - Best Regional Short | Medieval Martha Stewart | Taylor Hawkins |
| Audience Choice - Best Regional Feature | Boom! A film about The Sonics | Jordan Albertsen |
| Best Virtual Reality Film 1 | Swampscapes | Liz Miller
- Juan Carlos Zaldavar; Kim Grinfeder
|
| Best Virtual Reality Film 2 | | Lisa Jackson |
|
2019
2019 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Mad Dog Labine | Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr
- Renaud Lessard
|
| Best Director - Narrative Feature | Adam Khalil and Bayley Sweitzer for Empty Metal | |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Feature | Christopher Rejano for Knives and Skin | |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Feature | The Plagiarists | James N. Kienitz Wilkins
- Robin Schavoir
|
| Best Performance - Narrative Feature | Zoé Audet for Mad Dog Labine | Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr
- Renaud Lessard
|
| Best Narrative Short | Dios Nunca Muere | Barbara Cigarroa |
| Best Director - Narrative Short | Barbara Cigarroa for Dios Nunca Muere | Barbara Cigarroa |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Short | for All These Creatures | Adric Watson |
| Best Performance - Narrative Short | Tamar Amit-Joseph in Halayla | |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Short | for Halayla | Emily Shir Segal |
| Best Narrative Short Honorable Mention 1 | New Land Broken Road | Kavich Neang |
| Best Narrative Short Honorable Mention 2 | Dumpling | Xiaolu Wang |
| Best Documentary Feature | Caballerango | Juan Pablo González |
| Best Director - Documentary Feature | Kavich Neang for Last Night I Saw You Smiling | Kavich Neang |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Feature | Juan Pablo González for Caballerango | Juan Pablo González |
| Best Documentary Short | La Flaca | Adriana Barbosa
- Thiago Zanato
|
| Best Director - Documentary Short | Darius Clark Monroe for Black 14 | Darius Clark Monroe |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Short | Juanita Onzaga for Our Song to War | |
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 1 | La Flaca | Adriana Barbosa
- Thiago Zanato
|
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 2 | Prisoner of Society | Rati Tsiteladze |
| Best Pacific Northwest Narrative Feature | Where the House Was | Ryan Adams |
| Best Pacific Northwest Narrative Short | RESPEK | Kamari Bright |
| Best Pierce County Film | - StopErasingBlackPeople
| Tacoma Action Collective |
| Pacific Northwest Narrative Short Honorable Mention 1 | Cold Holy Water | Rankin Renwick |
| Pacific Northwest Narrative Short Honorable Mention 2 | All on a Mardi Gras Day | Michal Pietrzyk |
| Audience Choice - Best Short | Kamali | Sasha Rainbow |
| Audience Choice - Best Feature | The Infiltrators | Cristina Ibarra
- Alex Rivera
|
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Short | Sepulcher | Stephen Takashima |
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Feature 1 | | Melinda Raebyne |
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Feature 2 | My Mother Was Here | Rustin Thompson |
| Best Music Video | Shambles | Jonathan Salmon |
| Best Animated Film | KIDS | Michael Frei |
|
2021
2021 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Potato Dreams of America | Wes Hurley |
| Best Director - Narrative Feature | Charles Mudede for Thin Skin | Charles Mudede |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Feature | Alex Grigoras for Wood and Water | Jonas Bak |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Feature | Brielle Brilliant for Firstness | Brielle Brilliant |
| Best Performance - Narrative Feature | for Alia's Birth | Nikohl Boosheri |
| Best Narrative Short | The Unseen River | Pham Ngoc Lan |
| Best Director - Narrative Short | Affonso Uchoa for Seven Years in May | Affonso Uchoa |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Short | Giorgos Valsamis for I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face | Sameh Alaa |
| Best Performance - Narrative Short | Nadir Saribacak in Leylak | Dennis Latos
- Scott Aharoni
|
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Short | Pham Ngoc Lan for The Unseen River | Pham Ngoc Lan |
| Best Documentary Feature | Acts of Love | Isidore Bethel
- Francis Leplay
|
| Best Director - Documentary Feature | Jessica Kingdon for Ascension | Jessica Kingdon |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Feature | Goga Devdariani
- Salome Jashi for Taming the Garden
| Salomé Jashi |
| Best Documentary Short | Surviving You, Always | Morgan Quaintance |
| Best Director - Documentary Short | Adam Khalil and Adam Piron for Halpate | Adam Khalil
- Adam Piron
|
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Short | Sean Hanley for The Whelming Sea | Sean Hanley |
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 1 | Orbita | Udval Altangerel |
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 2 | Luces Del Desierto | Felix Blume |
| Best Pacific Northwest Feature | A Black Rift Begins to Yawn | Matthew Wade |
| Best Pacific Northwest Short Film | See Me | Dawn Jones Redstone |
| Audience Choice - Best Short | Undercut | Kelly Pike |
| Audience Choice - Best Feature 1 | Thin Skin | Charles Mudede |
| Audience Choice - Best Feature 2 | Missing in Brooks County | Lisa Molomet
- Jeff Bemiss
|
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Short 1 | Now is the Time | Christopher Auchter |
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Short 2 | A Dinner Party from Hell | Derek Schneider |
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Feature | 700 Feet Down | Carly Vester
- Peter Bortel
|
| Best Animation | Our Bed is Green | Maggie Brennan |
| Best Music Video | Kreis | Kilian Immervoll & Anna Sophia Rußmann |
| Best Late Night Film | The Following Year | Miguel Campana |
|
2022
2022 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Utama | Alejandro Loayza Grisi |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Feature | Silvan Hillman for Unrest (Unrueh) | Cyril Schäublin |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Feature | Zia Mohajerjasbi for Know Your Place | Zia Mohajerjasbi |
| Best Performance - Narrative Feature | Matthew Jeffers for Unidentified Objects | Juan Felipe Zuleta |
| Best Narrative Short | asi en la tierra como en el cielo | Mireya Martinez |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Short | Brian Imakura for Some Vile Beast | Brian Imakura |
| Best Cinematography - Narrative Short | Ray Huang for little trumpet | Megan Trufant Tillman |
| Best Performance - Narrative Short | Gil Fishman in Glow Stick | |
| Best Screenplay - Narrative Short | Brian Imakura for Some Vile Beast | |
| Best Documentary Feature | After Sherman | Jon-Sesrie Goff |
| Best Sound Design - Documentary Feature | Gods of Mexico | Helmut Dosantos |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Feature | Melisa Cardona for Powerlands | |
| Documentary Feature Honorable Mention 1 | What We Leave Behind | Iliana Sosa |
| Documentary Feature Honorable Mention 2 | Freedom from Everything | Mike Hoolboom |
| Best Documentary Short | Kicking the Clouds | Sky Hopinka |
| Best Sound Design - Documentary Short | Home When You Return | Carl Elsaesser |
| Best Cinematography - Documentary Short | Yanbin Zhao for Remaining Silent | |
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 1 | Blue Room | Merete Mueller |
| Documentary Short Honorable Mention 2 | Strangers | Rajee Samarasinghe |
| Best Pacific Northwest Narrative Feature | The Diaper Cake | Anastasia Babenko |
| Best Late Night Pacific Northwest Film | Sojourn | Nesib Shamah |
| Best Pacific Northwest Documentary Feature | Up on the Mountain | Olivier Matthon
- Michael Reis
|
| Audience Choice - Best Short | Dana | Lucia Forner Segarra |
| Audience Choice - Best Feature | Butterfly in the Sky | Bradford Thomas
- Brett Whitcomb
|
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Documentary | | Dru Holley |
| Audience Choice - Best Pacific Northwest Feature | Know Your Place | Zia Mohajerjasbi |
| Best Animation | No Leaders Please | Joan C. Gratz |
| Best Music Video | June | Magdalena Zielinska |
| Jurors' Award - Best Experimental Film | El Gran Movimiento | Kiro Russo |
| Best Late Night Film | The Timekeepers of Eternity | Aristotelis Maragkos |
|
2023
2023 Tacoma Film Festival Awards| Category | Film Title | Director(s) |
|---|
| Best Narrative Feature | Fancy Dance | Erica Tremblay |
| Best Documentary Feature | Brief Tender Light | Arthur Musah |
| Best PNW Film | Fantasy A Gets a Mattress | Noah Zoltan Sofian
- David Norman Lewis
|
| Best PNW Documentary Short | They Scream Freedom (Ellos Gritan Libertad) | Melinda Raebyne |
| Best Narrative Short | Black Seed | Amirhoman Khosravani |
| Best Documentary Short | Buurman Abdi | Douwe Dijkstra |
| Best PNW Narrative Short | In This Neighborhood | Lilly Lion |
| Best PNW Documentary Short | Savi the Cat | Netsanet Tjirongo
- Bryan Tucker
|
| Best Animated Short Film | The Old Young Crow | Liam Lopinto |
| Best Late Night Short Film | Unknown Heavens | Erik M.G. Fox |
| Best Experimental Short Film | Lotus-Eyed Girl | Rajee Samarasinghe |
| Audience Choice Award, PNW Film | Punderneath It All | Abby Hagan |
| Audience Choice Award, Feature Film | Immediate Family | Denny Tedesco |
| Audience Choice Award, Short Film | Confessions | Stephanie Kaznocha |
|
Notes and References
- News: Sailor. Craig. Tacoma Film Festival provides diverse lineup for film buffs. July 25, 2014. The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. March 8, 2024.
- News: The Grand Cinema launches $5M fundraising campaign to secure the Merlino Arts Center. South Sound Magazine Staff. September 26, 2023. South Sound Magazine. https://archive.today/20240308235405/https://www.southsoundmag.com/arts-entertainment/the-grand-cinema-launches-5m-fundraising-campaign-to-secure-the-merlino-arts-center/article_6359a1fc-5cb7-11ee-ad12-13ed07d3a85f.html. March 8, 2024. Tacoma, Washington. March 8, 2024.
- News: Macdonald. Moira. Film Festival Fever in Tacoma. October 5, 2007. https://archive.today/20240308082424/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/film-festival-fever-in-tacoma/. March 8, 2024. The Seattle Times. Seattle, Washington. March 8, 2024.
- News: Ponnekanti . Rosemary . Tacoma Film Festival grows up with big-name films, a dedicated social space, and more than 100 premieres . October 3, 2014 . The News Tribune . March 8, 2024.
- News: Benoit . Andrew . October 17, 2022 . Tacoma Film Festival: our annual hub of culture and community . The Trail . March 8, 2024 . English.
- News: Craig . Sailor . Tacoma Film Festival brings indie spirit to the city . The News Tribune . August 15, 2014 . March 8, 2024.
- News: Dawson . Nick . Filmmaker Summer Camp: 25 New Faces Converge at the Tacoma Film Festival . Filmmaker Magazine . October 6, 2017. March 8, 2024.
- News: Mudede . Charles . Tacoma Film Festival Is the Sundance of the Pacific Northwest . October 4, 2022 . The Stranger . March 8, 2024.
