From Punk to Jazz

Punk rock, Vince Guaraldi and false prophets may seem like odd bedfellows, but they snuggle together cozily this month at the seventh annual Tucson Film and Music Festival (TFMF).

Featuring music and film screenings Oct. 6-10, TFMF was born in 2005 out of the release of the Tucson music scene documentary “High and Dry: Where the Desert Meets Rock & Roll.” The ensuing version of the festival from that event has carved out a nice niche nationally for its unique blending of music and film, said festival director Michael Toubassi.

TFMF has established a reputation for presenting quality music based films and documentaries, Toubassi elucidated, both “regionally in the Southwest and on the west coast.” Toubassi said the word of mouth from past attendees has led to more submissions, “upwards of 150 a year consistently.”

Toubassi believes that Tucson is one of very few communities nationally that combines both a burgeoning music and film scene - due in large part to our homegrown talent pool. With a music documentary headlining the recent Toronto film festival, the genre may, in fact, be currently riding a wave of popularity.

With solid, growing attendance each year, TFMF is continuing to expand and this time presents its films in a new venue - one known for more mainstream offerings – the Cinemark El Con 20 theatres at 3601 E. Broadway Blvd. Screenings also take place at Loft Cinema, 3323 E. Speedway Blvd., and Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.

Of particular note in this year’s film offerings are some music documentaries covering a wide range of musical styles and artists. The film “Better than Something: Jay Retard” covers the history of the explosive and talented rock musician who recently died tragically. Also of special note is a documentary on enigmatic group The Replacements entitled “Color Me Obsessed: A Film about The Replacements,” whom many consider one of the last great American rock bands.

Filling out the diverse range of screenings is the insightful film “The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi,” which details the history of this jazz legend (and of Peanuts soundtrack fame) who was about as punk to the world of his hey-days as any punk artist in the 1980s and 1990s was.

Toubassi is excited about the film “Kumare,” a new documentary film and Arizona premiere that details the bizarre true story of a false prophet who decided to see if he could create a following, and see how far he could go with it. The closing night film screening is followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker on Sunday, Oct. 9, 7:30pm at El Con.

Toubassi’s long-term hopes for the festival include continuing to grow its reputation as well as increasing narrative film presentations. Another goal is looking to showcase more western films, if they can be found.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience a great home-grown festival. For more information visit the festival’s website, TucsonFilmAndMusicFestival.com.