Tucson Film Festival will host its 21st annual event from Oct. 9-12 at The Screening Room.
In 2005, Michael Toubassi, festival director and University of Arizona alumnus, screened “High and Dry,” his documentary about the southern Arizona music scene. His event spanned three nights at the Loft Cinema, accompanied by 40 of the local bands and musicians featured in the film performing live. Though he didn’t know it at the time, this began the tradition of the Tucson Film Festival.
With encouragement from the UA and Film Tucson, he decided to do it again the next year.
According to Toubassi, they said, “Oh, we’re going to do it again and then again.”
“It was such a big success […]. So between all those outside forces, that’s what turned it into an annual event,” Toubassi said.
Over the years, the festival phased out the live music aspect. However, Toubassi still seeks to highlight narratives and documentaries that center around music or musicians in addition to local filmmakers and UA student projects.
“I’ve been doing this a while,” Toubassi said. “Every year it’s a little different. We never know what’s going to happen and so, there’s always sort of that excitement surrounding it.”
Now, 20 years after its humble beginnings, the Tucson Film Festival will kick off with a premiere screening of noir thriller “I’ve Seen All I Need to See” on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Director Zeshaan Younus and producer Trevor Dillon will answer questions after the screening.
Filmed in southern Arizona, Younus’ thriller explores the grief of a Hollywood actress who returns to her hometown after her estranged sister’s death.
Across the weekend, the festival will screen six feature-length films and 23 shorts, including three UA student projects: “Saving Clementine,” directed by Steven Saldaña and David Aberle, “Facing Tides,” directed by Clinton Willis and “Blush’n” directed by Madison Hernandez.
Hernandez, a recent spring graduate of the School of Theatre, Film and Television, is proud to represent her senior thesis project at the festival. “Blush’n” centers on a music journalist seeking to uncover what is behind a pop star’s recent image change.
“It feels like a very full circle moment for me,” Hernandez said. “I feel like being in Tucson, it’s so special […]. It means a lot to me that my senior project is showing there.”
This will be Hernandez’s second year participating in the festival. In 2024, Hernandez showcased “Holy Dream,” a documentary about local musicians Alec Ruvalcaba and Nicole Paco.
“Blush’n” will be shown as part of the “Narrative Short Film Program 1” screening on Friday, Oct. 10, at 5:30 p.m. Afterward, Hernandez and the other filmmakers will answer audience questions.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12, the festival will screen the Arizona premiere of “Powwow People.” According to Toubassi, the feature-length documentary, directed by Sky Hopkina, offers an intimate look into a Native American gathering.
“We’re really excited to show that film, especially the day before Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” Toubassi said.
The Screening Room is located at 127 E. Congress St. Tickets can be purchased through the festival’s website: https://tucsonfilmfestival.net/2025-films/
