The 8th annual Tallgrass Film Festival will take place in and around downtown Wichita Oct. 22-24, showcasing more than 124 independent films from more than 11 countries around the world, and hosting filmmakers from all over the United States.
Online ticket sales start Monday, Oct. 4; the Tallgrass Ticket Booth will open up at the Orpheum Theatre on Monday, Oct. 18. A full 21"x11" schedule grid can be downloaded here or the two-page 8.5"x11" version can be downloaded from here. A complete listing of all the feature-length official selections can be downloaded here.
There were 608 films were submitted to the 2010 Tallgrass Film Festival: 289 features and 319 shorts. Thirty of them came from Kansas filmmakers (six features and 24 shorts), while 31 where created by high school students from all around the world, including Ghana, Canada and the UK. These numbers show a huge jump in both involvement and offerings for the festival. In 2009 there were 450 films submitted and, of those, the festival selected 28 feature films and 72 short films.
From those 608 films, the Tallgrass Film Festival Programming Committee selected 41 features and 83 shorts as Official Selections for this year’s festival.
The programing committee is composed of nearly 40 Wichitans of all walks of life who volunteered to spend the last eight months watching an average of 55 films per person (the films are all watched multiple times). They have devoted more than 2,000 man-hours just to pick this year’s Official Selections.
The theme of this year’s festival — “Films on the Fringe” — is a nod to the flapper girl, the silent film and the speakeasy, and a reflection on the truly stubborn nature of independent film and the Tallgrass Film Festival itself.
Highlights of TFF 2010 include the Opening Night Gala presented by Fidelity Bank and Naked City Magazine featuring a screening of Ryan Piers Williams’ The Dry Land, starring Ryan O’Nan, America Ferrera, and Jason Ritter. The Centerpiece Gala presented by the Tallgrass Brewing Company features two documentaries, Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, and Still Bill, chronicling the career of soul musician Bill Withers. The films will be followed by a concert featuring the band Under Construction playing a tribute to Bill Withers and the Midwest premiere of Fishbone founding member Norwood Fisher’s one-man show. The Closing Night Gala presented by the Ulrich Museum of Art features a screening of Chaplin’s 1922 classic silent film The Kid, accompanied by an original score by Wichita-native Arri Simon and his 21-person chamber orchestra.
Other official selections include documentaries The Tillman Story, A Film Unfinished, Last Train Home and Stuart Mossman: Modern Day Stradivari as well as the narratives Fruit Fly, Lebanon, Night Catches Us and Joaquin Phoenix’s controversial I’m Still Here.
In addition to the Greengrass Program, featuring environmentally themed films, this year’s festival includes the Grasscendo program, featuring musically themed films and sponsored by The Cotillion. The Ad Astra will be given to film and television composer Rolfe Kent (Election, About Schmidt, Up In The Air, Legally Blonde and the theme to Dexter). The Tallgrass Filmmakers Lab once again presents “Free Friday Films” – specially selected documentaries that are free to high school and college students and all Wichita-area teachers and $5 matinees on Friday, Oct. 22. All films screening at the Wichita Public Library – Central Library will be Free.
For a preview of the films in the TFF 2010 program, join us on Friday, Oct. 8 from 7-9 p.m. for an “Evening of Coming Attractions” at the Naked City Gallery, 121 N. Mead.
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Tallgrass Film Festival 2010
Official Selections
Special Screenings
Opening Night Gala presented by Fidelity Bank and Naked City:
The Dry Land
Guests to be announced. Followed by the Opening Night Party at the Tallgrass Speakeasy with Carrie Nation & The Speakeasies.
Centerpiece Gala presented by Tallgrass Brewing Company:
Still Bill and Everyday Sunshine: The Story Of Fishbone
With Directors Lev Anderson and Christopher Metzler, and subject, Fishbone founding member Norwood Fisher. Followed by a performance by Bill Withers tribute band Under Construction and the Midwest premiere of Fisher’s one-man show “The Woodywoodstraw Show.”
Closing Night Gala and Award Ceremony, presented by the Ulrich Museum of Art:
The Kid
Chaplin’s 1921 masterpiece with Original Score by Arri Simon and live performance by 21-person Chamber Orchestra in WSU’s Wiedemann Hall. (Commission for original music underwritten by Kari Schmidt, Jeff Emerson and Chamber Music at the Barn). Followed by the Closing Night party at the Ulrich Museum of Art.
Midnight Screenings
Fruit Fly, I’m Still Here
Retrospective Features
Metropolis (2010 restored version), Sideways with composer Rolfe Kent
The Big Read Film:
Zora Neale Hurston Screening presented by the Wichita Public Library
In Competition — Features:
Domestic Narrative Features
The Family Tree, Made In China, Night Catches Us
Foreign Narrative Features
Accident (China), Bibliotheque Pascal (Germany/Hungary), Cell 211 (Spain), The Infidel (UK), Lebanon (Israel), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (UK), Skeletons (UK), The World Is Big And Salvation Lurks Around The Corner (Bulgaria)
Domestic Documentary Features
Carbon Nation, Cleanflix, Do It Again, Freedom Riders, Gerrymandering, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, Louder Than A Bomb, Playing Columbine, Quest For Honor, Stuart Mossman: A Modern Stradivari, Stonewall Uprising, The Tillman Story, The Wayman Tisdale Story, Thy Will Be Done, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible
Foreign Documentary Features
A Film Unfinished (Germany/Israel), Last Train Home (Canada), Mugabe and The White African (Uk/Zimbabwe), Waste Land (Brazil/Uk)
In Competition — Shorts
On The Move (Animated)
Ormie, Junko’s Shamisen, Dried Up, Down To The Bone, Leonardo, Man And Cat, Mei Ling, The Astronomer’s Sun, Kings, Urs, Pigeon Impossible, The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger
On the Move Jr. (Animated suitable for children)
Furtissimo, Pigeon Impossible, The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger, Jillan Dillon, The Hidden Life Of The Burrowing Owl, Bygone Behemoth, Lost And Found, Omrie
On the Record (Documentary)
Nico’s Challenge, Cohen On The Bridge, Ghetto Town, Prayers For Peace, Notes On The Other, Waiting For A Train, Photograph Of Jesus
On the Sly (Narrative/Comedy)
Red Princess Blues, Diplomacy, Night Stand, Not Interested, My Mom Smokes Weed, Tout Ma Vie (The Story Of My Life), The Queen, My Amigo Invisible (My Invisible Friend), The Crush
On the Brink (Narrative/Dramatic)
The Terms, El Pasajero, Wall Boy, Ana’s Playground, Cigarette Candy, The Desperate, Salut
On The Line (Featurette)
After The Revolution, Quest For Honor
On the Take (Greengrass Double Feature)
Greenlit, Dive!
Shorts Playing Before Features
Hide (Thy Will Be Done), Furtissimo/Dried Up (Still Bill), Night Stand (Stonewall Uprising), Painted (Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child), Martes Por La Manana (Tuesday Morning) (Made In China), Anything Can Happen (The Family Tree), Blackberry Stains (Accident), Bro (Freedom Riders), Diplomacy (Gerrymandering), Varmits (Carbon Nation), The Thomas Beale Cipher (Last Train Home), Feeder (I’m Still Here), Striking A Chord (The Wayman Tisdale Story)
VIP Filmmaker Lounge Selections:
(Screening exclusively in the VIP Lounge)
Amona Putz (The Inflatable Grandmother), Ahata Pasa (Duck Crossing), Battle Of The Bozos, Dear Child Jesus, The Hirosaki Players, How I Survived The Zombie Apocalypse, Landlocked, Little Flowers, Mozambique, Never Winter, No Pity, Peter In Radio Land, When He Left
Timothy Gruver Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers
presented by the Kansas Film Commission:
Change For A Dollar (Olathe), Orientation Video (Overland Park), Punch Clock (Iola), Barren (Mission Hills/Kansas City), Candy (Lawrence), Batteries (Mission/PA), The Third Degree (Manhattan/CA), A House In Los Osos (Wichita), Positioning (Lawrence, Wichita)
Joel Fein High School Filmmakers Program:
The Nuclear Genie (CA), To Be Remembered (NC), Inundation (FL), Without A Doubt (OK), Decision Day: The Musical (CA), Persistence (Wichita), Slam Dunk (FL)
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Tallgrass Film Festival 2010
Special Programs
Filmmaker Forum
Join the visiting filmmakers for a panel discussion about their individual films and the art of filmmaking. Moderated by Mike Wood, Director of the Media Resource Center at WSU. General Admission FREE, with buffet lunch $9 at River City Brewing Company.
Free Films at the Wichita Public Library – Central Library:
Dive!, Greenlit, Freedom Riders, Mugabe And The White African, On The Move, Jr. (Children’s Shorts Program), William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible, Zora Neale Hurston Film (in association with The Big Read).
Grasscendo (Featuring Musically-themed films)
Do It Again, Everyday Sunshine: The Story Of Fishbone, Sideways With Composer Rolfe Kent, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Still Bill, Striking A Chord, Stuart Mossman: Modern Day Stradivari, The Wayman Tisdale Story, I’m Still Here
Greengrass (Featuring Environmentally-themed films)
Waste Land, Dive!, Greenlit, Carbon Nation
Tallgrass Filmmakers Lab Presents “Free Friday Films”
(This selection of educational documentaries FREE for all high school and college students and teachers, with valid ID)
A Film Unfinished, Carbon Nation, Cleanflix, Dive!, Greenlit, Freedom Riders, Gerrymandering, Jean-Michel Basquiat: Radiant Child, Last Train Home, Louder Than A Bomb, Waste Land
Special Interest Screenings
Art and Literature Selections
Fruit Fly, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, Louder Than A Bomb, On The Move Shorts Program, Waste Land, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible
GLBT Selections
(Films that include a gay/lesbian/bi/transgender theme)
Bibliotheque Pascal, The Family Tree, Fruit Fly, On The Sly Shorts Program, Stonewall Uprising, Thy Will Be Done, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
Military Selections
(Films that include a military theme. Please note general admission ticket discount for military with valid ID)
The Dry Land, Lebanon, On The Record Shorts Program, Striking A Chord, The Tillman Story
Special Film Presentations
(by Eric J. Moore, Senior Programmer)
“The Sound of Silents” – a crash course in appreciating and understanding silent film, and “Post-Metrolpolis” – how the classic German expressionist film has influenced the modern worlds of high art and pop culture.
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Tallgrass Film Festival 2010
Filmmakers and Special Guests
2009 Ad Astra Recipient: Composer Rolfe Kent
Kent is an award-winning composer who has scored over 40 films which include small independent films and large Hollywood productions. Some of his most recent work includes the Zac Efron film Charlie St. Cloud (released July 30, 2010) and both 2009 George Clooney films: the Oscar-nominated Up In The Air (for which Kent won a Satellite Award from the International Press Academy) and Men Who Stare At Goats. Kent has won numerous BMI Film Music awards for his work, including for the films Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2 and Sideways, for which he was also nominated for a Golden Globe. His independent film credits also include Election, The Hunting Party, The House Of Yes, and About Schmidt. Kent was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for the original Showtime series Dexter.
Kent will attend the festival and a special screening of Sideways, at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Scottish Rite Theater. He will be awarded the Ad Astra on Sunday evening at the Closing Night Gala, 6:30 p.m. in Wiedemann Hall at WSU.
Feature Filmmakers and Guests Attending (as of 10/1)
• Lev Anderson (Director), Christopher Metzler (Director), Norwood Fisher (Subject) — Everyday Sunshine: The Story Of Fishbone (Orange County, San Francisco, Los Angeles)
• Alice Bouvrie (Director), Sara Herwig (Subject) — Thy Will Be Done (Boston)
• Barry Brown (Director), Casey Couser (Producer) — Stuart Mossman: Modern Day Stradivari (Los Angeles, Phoenix)
• James Choi (Producer) — Made In China (Chicago)
• Geoff Edgers (Producer/Subject) — Do It Again (Boston)
• Greg Jacobs (Director) — Louder Than A Bomb (Chicago)
• Rolfe Kent (Composer) — Sideways and 2010 Ad Astra Recipient (Los Angeles)
• HP Mendoza (Director) — Fruit Fly (San Francisco)
• Arri Simon (Original Composition) — The Kid (Wichita)
• Andrew James Schleiffarth (Director) — Cleanflix (Salt Lake City)
• Brian Schodorf (Director) — The Wayman Tisdale Story (Chicago)
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Tallgrass Film Festival 2010
Venues
Screening Venues
• The Orpheum Theatre, 200 N Broadway
• The Scottish Rite Theater, 332 E 1st St
• The Garvey Center, 250 W. Douglas
• The Bank of America Theater, 100 N. Broadway
• Naked City Gallery, 121 N. Mead
• Wichita Public Library – Central Library, 223 S. Main
• Wiedemann Hall, WSU campus
Event Venues
• WaterWalk, 515 S. Main
• Tallgrass Speakeasy, 235 N. Emporia
• The Brickyard, 129 N Rock Island
• Rock Island Studios, 337 N. Rock Island
• Caffe Moderne, 300 N Mead St # 108
• The Ulrich Museum of Art, WSU campus
• Wichita Executive Center, 125 N Market
• Orpheum Building, 200 N Broadway
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TALLGRASS BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
The Box Office opens ONLINE ONLY on Monday, Oct. 4, via TICKETLEAP.COM. If you'd like to purchase tickets in person, the Festival Box Office will open on Monday, Oct. 18, at the Orpheum. Check tallgrassfilmfest.com for time and location information.
Passes
VIP TallPass: $150 — includes all-access to general admission films PLUS Opening and Closing Night Galas, Centerpiece Gala with VIP Access, Special Screenings, VIP Mayor's Reception, VIP Filmmaker Brunch, VIP Filmmaker Lounge ($120 for Tallgrass Film Association Members) See below for VIP events descriptions.
Grasscendo Music Pass: $80 — includes general admission to all musically-themed films in the Grasscendo Program, plus Centerpiece Gala with VIP Access and Closing Night Gala.
Saturday SmallPass: $70 — includes general admission to all Saturday films, PLUS the Centerpiece Gala with VIP Access and VIP Filmmaker Lounge.
Sunday SmallPass: $70 — includes general admission to all Sunday films and Special Screenings, the VIP Filmmaker Brunch, VIP Filmmaker Lounge and Closing Night Gala.
Gala Tickets
Please note: Opening and Closing Night Galas are fundraisers for the Tallgrass Film Association, tickets are sold as a package including film and after-party. Film tickets will not be sold individually. (Parties include food, live music and open bar.)
Opening Night Gala, presented by Fidelity Bank & Naked City Magazine: $25 — includes film and after party with food/drink/music.
Centerpiece Gala, presented by Tallgrass Brewing Company: $20 — includes film and after-party concert at The Brickyard ($10 entry fee to after-party only at The Brickyard)
Closing Night Gala, presented by the Ulrich Museum of Art: $25 — includes film and after party with food/drink. (Free for WSU students/faculty/staff and Ulrich Museum members)
General Admission
General Admission: $9 ($7 for students, seniors and military with valid I.D.) Please note: All festival screenings held at the Wichita Public Library are free.
Friday Matinees: Tickets for all films from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. are $5
Free Screenings
Tallgrass Filmmakers Lab presents Free Friday Films for high school and college students and teachers: Selected educational documentaries screening on Friday are free to all High School and College Students and Wichita-area Teachers, with school I.D.
Free films at the Wichita Public Library – Central Library: A selection of films will screen for free at the Wichita Public Library – Central Library as part of the Tallgrass Film Festival.
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VIP EVENT DESCRIPTIONS
Admission to these events requires a TallPass or Saturday or Sunday SmallPass (for events on those days.)
Friday, Oct. 22:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Avia Hotels Filmmaker Lounge: Unwind between films with a snack or a cocktail, and hob-knob with the filmmakers!
5 p.m.: Mayor’s Reception: Join the TFA and Mayor Brewer as we kickoff the 2010 Tallgrass Film Festival and welcome our visiting filmmakers to Wichita.
Saturday, Oct. 23:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Avia Hotels Filmmaker Lounge: Unwind between films with a snack or a cocktail, and hob-knob with the filmmakers!
10 p.m.: VIP Access at the Tallgrass Brewing Company Centerpiece Gala: After the films, head over to the Brickyard and enjoy complimentary Tallgrass Brewing Company Beers and food in the VIP area.
Sunday, Oct. 24:
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Avia Hotels Filmmaker Lounge: Unwind between films with a snack or a cocktail, and hob-knob with the filmmakers!
9:30 - 11 a.m.: Mimosa Brunch presented by the Wichita Film Commission (a division of Go Wichita CVB) Start your day with a little hair of the dog before heading out for another day of films.
Tallgrass Film Association
Founded in 2003 by the late Timothy Gruver, the Tallgrass Film Festival is a program of the Tallgrass Film Association, a non-profit 501(c)3 arts organization dedicated to educating, entertaining and enlightening audiences from America’s Heartland. Through the annual film festival, the summertime Cinema Al Fresco Series, Tallgrass Filmmakers Lab, and Special Screenings, the Tallgrass Film Association spotlights the city’s venues, cultural attractions and artistic communities. Tallgrass strives to foster the ever-growing, local filmmaking community, sparking a dialogue among filmmakers and enhancing artistic expression.
Sponsors for the 2010 Tallgrass Film Festival include:
Studio Heads: City of Wichita, Clear Channel Radio Wichita, Bonavia Family Charitable Trust, Go Wichita, Tallgrass Brewing Co., Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, Wichita Eagle, Wichita Downtown Development Corp., Deana & Albert Murray
Executive Producers: Builders Inc./250 Douglas Place, Jean and Willard Garvey Fund, KMUW, KPTS, Naked City Magazine, ProductionHUB.com, Ray Party Rental, Ulrich Museum of Art, Kansas Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts
Producers: Fidelity Bank, The Cotillion, Glazers, The Orpheum Theatre, Real Development, Avia Hotels, The Brickyard, Intake Studio
Directors: Rock Island Studios, Lucinda’s
For more information on the festival, go to tallgrassfilmfest.com