Trending TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS Provides multiple means to experience movies By Justin Teerlinck Photos Courtesy of Tacoma Film Festival
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group of Grand Cinema members led by Executive Director Phillip Cowen got together in 2005 to share a collective vision of celebrating independent film in Tacoma. That shared vision became the Tacoma Film Festival, now in its 19th year. Today, it is a community fixture. The Tacoma Film Festival soon returns to the Grand Cinema on October 3 through 10. The full film schedule will be published on the festival website on September 12. Opening night will showcase “The Infiltrators,” co-directed by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera. The film features undocumented youths who deliberately allow themselves to be detained by immigration authorities in order to infiltrate the Northwest Detention Center. “The subject matter is relevant on a national level, and with the Northwest Detention Center a mere 2 miles away from Downtown Tacoma— where the bulk of the festival takes place—it’s also clearly something that’s deeply relevant to us here, too,” says Tanya Tran, marketing manager for the Tacoma Film Festival. At heart, the festival is a focal point for people who love independent film and the culture of storytelling that surrounds it. It provides multiple opportunities for people to not just hear stories that are rarely told but to experience them as well.
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