The Loft is hosting its 14th Annual Film Fest from Oct. 16-24. The festival will feature films from around the world and appearances from actors Tantoo Cardinal, from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Graham Greene, from “Dances with Wolves.”
The Loft is focusing on diversity and gender parity for this event. According to Jeff Yanc, the Loft’s director of programming, the theater has made an active effort to balance flicks with having an even number of films from male and female directors.
Yanc says Tucson’s large cinephile community and diverse population make it a prime location to host these types of films.
“Because we’re on the border, we’re looking for films that would speak to our Hispanic community; Spanish language films and a lot of Indigenous films,” Yanc said. “That’s become a real focus in the last few years, and that has set us apart from a lot of other film festivals in the country.”
“A large portion of our clientele are people who wouldn’t have seen that kind of stuff before, and it’s not through any fault of their own,” said Malcom Russell-Nelson, assistant general manager of the Loft. “That’s just not something that has, for over the last 40 years, been capitalized on in mainstream media, either film or TV. So I think it’s a cool thing that we’re able to get to show that to them and kind of expand their horizons a little bit.”
The Loft is also emphasizing diversity with the tone and genre of the films themselves. A whiteboard in the theater’s admin office charts the mood of the festival with films ranging from happy to sad to somewhere in between.
“One thing that I know about film festivals is that they can tend to really load up on really, like heavy, dark, meaty, sad films,” Yanc said. “We’re in a moment right now, culturally, where people aren’t necessarily flocking to see heavy, dark, sad, depressing films, because the world is heavy, dark, sad and depressing.”
As part of their appearance at the festival, Cardinal and Greene will both receive the LOFTY Achievement Awards to commemorate their acting careers. Both will also host Q&A’s.
Greene has chosen to screen multiple episodes of FX original series “Reservation Dogs,” which has proven to be the festival’s fastest selling ticketed event.
“A lot of these films that used to play in theaters now don’t, they go directly to streaming. I think it’s sort of taken that away from people who love seeing movies in theaters,” Yanc said. “That’s always been a big driving force for the fest too and I think people really appreciate getting the communal experience of watching a movie in a theater on a big screen.”
Russell-Nelson says he recommends everyone should try to make it to the film festival, movie junkie or not.
“It’s a euphoric experience. I think it’s really cool to be able to do that with a film fest like this, where it’s not regular programming, it’s not standard programming that you would see as special stuff,” said Russell-Nelson. “If you’re not a film buff, that’s exactly why you should go to the festival, because you’re going to experience something new.”
The festival is operating on a smaller scale than usual this year because The Loft is currently under construction for an ambitious renovation. Previous festivals have split films between multiple screens, but construction has restricted The Loft to only screening films in its main theater. The renovation will add two new screens as well as revamped concession stands and improved seating with luxury loungers, according to The Loft website.
General admission for the film fest is $12 per film and $150 for a film festival badge. For Loft members, admission is $10 per film and $100 for a festival badge.
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