Each year, Film Fest Tucson brings industry guests to Tucson to share their films, their knowledge and insights about the world of film and television. This year we are pleased to announce a great lineup of guests from across the country.
Alison Foreman is a Features Writer at IndieWire. She critiques film and covers awards shows, film festivals, major industry events and trends in Hollywood.
Events:
• Alison will be leading our Meet the Filmmakers breakfast discussion – Sat., Oct. 12 – 11 A.M.
Anthony Lucero received his degree in film at SFSU and soon after landed at George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic where he worked as a VFX artist on Star Wars: Episodes I & II, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ironman, The Avengers and Harry Potter III. Lucero’s directorial debut feature film, East Side Sushi, tackled both race and gender roles and garnered 15 film festival awards nationwide. His new film is The Paper Bag Plan.
Events:
Cutter Hodierne is the award-winning director who’s short film Fishing Without Nets won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance as a short film before being developed into a feature that was released by VICE Studios & 20th Century Fox. His latest film is the crypto heist thriller Cold Wallet, presented by Steven Soderbergh that premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.
Events:
Joe Jennings started skydiving in 1985 and took up camera flying when he had just 50 jumps. His career as a skydiving cinematographer and aerial stunt coordinator took off in 1995 after Rob Harris and Joe won the ’94 world championships in sky surfing and then the EXPN XGames in ’95. He has won numerous awards including a Clio and 2 Emmys for his helmet-mounted camera work.
Events:
• Space Cowboy – Friday, October 11 – 8 P.M. Q&A, Fox Tucson Theatre
Leo Matchett is a Technical Emmy Award winner and has been working in film production in Los Angeles for 12 years. He is a principal of Decentralized Pictures and a producer on Cold Wallet.
Events:
• Cold Wallet – Friday, October 11 – 8 P.M. Scottish Rite Blue Room
• Leo will also be present at the Meet the Filmmakers breakfast. Saturday, Oct. 12 – 11:00 A.M. AC Hotel Downtown Tucson lobby
Matt Dearborn is a writer/producer who has created and sold numerous shows to every major network. He has garnered 3 Emmy nominations and a BAFTA Award. Matt will be present for our Meet the Filmmakers breakfast.
Events:
• Matt will be present at the Meet the Filmmakers breakfast. Saturday, Oct. 12 – 11:00 A.M. at AC Hotel Downtown Tucson lobby.
Mike Wilson is a Native American (Tohono O’odham) human rights activist. He has also been in several films including Crossing Arizona, The Second Cooler and The 800 Mile Wall. Mike is here in support of the U.S. Premiere of The Wall – Saturday, 5:30 P.M.
Events:
• The Wall – Saturday, Oct 12 – 5:30 P.M., Scottish Rite Red Room
Director Denny Tedesco joins us with his new music documentary, Immediate Family. This film is a follow-up to his critically acclaimed doc, The Wrecking Crew, which is considered one of the top 50 music documentaries of all time.
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Emilia Berjón was recently nominated for an Ariel Award (the equivalent of an Academy Award in Mexico) for “Best New Actor” in Trigal. She is the daughter of renowned Mexican actor Arcelia Ramírez.
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Author Guillermo Munro Palacio will join us following the screening of Sonora, which is based on his book “La Ruta de Los Caidos.” He has also published six novels, a book on regional history, and more than 100 short stories.
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Leo Matchett is a Technical Emmy Award winner who grew up in Toronto and has lived in Los Angeles for 12 years working in film production. He brings a balance of knowledge in film, technology, and crypto assets. As an early adopter of Bitcoin, Leo began conceiving ways to bring blockchain technology, its auditability, and efficiencies to the filmmaking lifecycle. His primary goal is talent discovery and helping those creative thinkers concentrate on what’s important – the creative.
Events:
Michael Musante is vice president of film production and acquisitions at American Zoetrope, and a co-founder of Decentralized Pictures Foundation, Inc, As executive in charge of production at American Zoetrope, he is overseeing development and production of several feature films, including Fairyland, as well as the Broadway Production of The Outsiders Musical. Most recently he is an Executive Producer of Gia Coppola’s Mainstream starring Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke, Nat Wolfe, and Jason Schwartzman.
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Nic Davis, Emmy award-winning director, cinematographer, and producer joins us with his film Ivan Doig: Landscapes of a Western Mind. His career has included feature documentaries on a variety of subjects including music and environmental issues.
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Award-winning actor, director, and writer Rachel Ward (The Thorn Birds, Against All Odds) will join our screening of her documentary Rachel’s Farm which follows her journey to make her Australian farm a regenerative model.
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Academy-Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton will share new shorts and
a sneak peek of his upcoming feature.
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Chris is a London based filmmaker and a graduate of the London Film School. Prior to moving into filmmaking he spent several years working as an illustrator, contributing work to several exhibitions at Hero Complex Gallery and Gallery 1988, including official shows for 20th Century Fox, Joe Dante, Roger Corman and Joss Whedon. His career in this field culminated in 2016 with an artist’s residency at London’s Southbank Centre.
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Director and pop culture guru Chris Gore of Film Threat will be present with his documentary Attack of the Doc.
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Actor Efren Ramirez, most loved for his role as “Pedro” in Napoleon Dynamite, will guest DJ at our VIP Wrap Party on Saturday night.
Composer and instrumentalist George Sarah will present his score for Joan of Arc in this not-to-be-missed special event.
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Director Helmut Dosantos brings his immersive sensory experience Gods of Mexico, for its Arizona premiere with an in-person Q&A.
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Lisanne is an award-winning writer/director of scripted, documentary, short form and branded films that have screened at Sundance, South x Southwest and the Venice Film Festival, and aired on PBS, Sundance Channel, and HBO. Her films include the Oscar-shortlisted HBO Documentary Film Brillo Box (3¢ off), A Few Things About Robert Irwin for the LACMA Art + Film Gala, the critically acclaimed dramatic feature Getting To Know You and the South Central LA documentary No Loans Today. Brillo Box (3¢ off), an official selection of the 54th New York Film Festival, debuted on HBO in August 2017 and is now streaming on all HBO platforms in the US as well as around the world.
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International foodie and host of Somebody Feed Phil debuts a new episode and joins us for a post-screening discussion.
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Peter Bogdanovich is an award winning American director, writer, actor, producer, critic and film historian. In the early 1960s, Mr. Bogdanovich worked as a film programmer at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. He presented films that showcased the work of American directors such as Orson Welles, John Ford and Howard Hawks. He began his directing career working for Roger Corman and has directed iconic films such as The Last Picture Show (1971), Paper Moon (1973) and many, many others. Mr. Bogdanovich will be present for a special Q&A and will introduce two films on Friday night.
Events:
Dan has crossed the country with his critically-acclaimed solo show ¡Gaytino! Made in America following the 2006 world premiere in Los Angeles. The long-awaited film version of the storytelling piece of documentary theater is currently hitting the film festival circuit. He is an accomplished producer of many events. Dan accompanies his film ¡Gaytino! to the festival and will be present for a post-screening Q&A.
Events:
Jason is an award winning filmmaker, theatre director, producer, editor and acting teacher based in New York City. His theatre and film credits are extensive and his recent feature film Putzel won multiple awards and appeared in over fifty film festivals around the world. Jason will be at the festival with his film Seneca, and presenting an acting workshop
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Jeannette Loakman is an award-winning producer in the television industry. She was nominated for a Gemini award for Spam: The Documentary, a critical and ratings hit. Jeannette produced Annie Ong: Lost and Found, Hot Shots and also directed Slippery Blisses: What’s in a Kiss?. Jeannette was a producer on the film Beauty & Ruin, and will be present for a post-screening Q&A.
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Mike grew up by the beach in Southern California and his career in the entertainment business has spanned close to three decades. For the last 25 years Mike has specialized in Live Event, Award Shows and big multi-camera specials. He has done everything from work on the Oscars to the Comedy Central Roast’s and Hope for Haiti.
Mike will participate in the Reality & Live TV panel.
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Sheila’s career connects music, comedy, documentary content, live event production, television development and talent management for clients throughout the U.S., China and Europe. A respected
pioneer in Reality television, she specializes in contract negotiations, planning, business development, branding and global marketing. Sheila will be a juror for Desert Pitch and participating in the Reality & Live TV panel.
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Film Fest Tucson is a destination film festival, a place for filmmakers and audiences to meet, discover and experience unique and important stories told on film.
Want to get involved? Email us and let’s chat.
info@filmfesttucson.com
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