“We have a definite advantage over other film festivals,” says Jeff Yanc, programmer of the Loft Cinema for the last four and a half years. “We run a movie theater year round, so, we don’t have to search for and rent venues.”
To that, add that the Loft’s long standing position as the most active independent film venue in Tucson, and Yanc’s year round contacts with distributors and industry insiders. This puts The Loft in a position to ferret out and book the best films available.
The line-up for this first edition of the Loft Film Festival includes new films culled from some of the best festivals worldwide, as well as restored and expanded versions of some great classic and cult films. Honorary Chairs Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana (screenwriters of “Brokeback Mountain”) and Pamela Marvin, wife of the late, great actor and film star, Lee Marvin; will be joined by other special guests. Those include Rosanna Arquette, Griffin Dunne, and Robert Carradine.
Carradine’s appearance is in conjunction with a screening of Sam Fuller’s The Big Red One, which gave Lee Marvin one of his best roles. Arquette and Dunne will be present for both a screening of John Sayles Baby It’s You, and a special 25th anniversary showing of Martin Scorsese’s surreal comedy After Hours.
Add to that an appearance by director Alex Cox and a screening of an expanded new version of his film, Straight to Hell, and you have the recipe for a film festival Tucson will be talking about until next year’s edition.
One aspect of the festival Yanc stressed was the inclusion of short films.
“We are putting together a 90 minute shorts program, but will also be showing some shorts ahead of feature films. Some of the best work is being done in the short film format and there are so few venues for these films.”
The festival runs November 11-18. More information is available at LoftFilmFest.com.
