Twin Cities Film Fest

Join us for the Twin Cities Film Fest 2024!

Schedule Of Events:

A Line In The Snow
4:30pm
14 Minutes

A Line In The Snow Follows Professional Arctic Explorer Annie Aggens And Her Two Daughters On A Dog Sledding Winter Camping Trip In

A Sea Change For Superior: The Warming Of The World's Largest Lake
2:30pm
60 Minutes

John Shepard (Producer, Writer, Offline Editor), And Tracy Fredin (Executive Producer) In Attendance! Q&A To Follow The Film Screening!

The Frigid Waters Of Lake Superior Are Notorious For Not Giving Up Their Dead, And For Preserving The Hundreds Of Shipwrecks That Have Succumbed To The Oceanic Waves Of The World's Largest Lake. Yet In 2023 A Group Of Intrepid Marathon Swimmers Set A New Relay Distance Record—Swimming Without Wetsuits—46 Miles Along The Lake's Rugged North Shore In Waters That Never Dipped Below A Balmy 60-Degrees Fahrenheit.

A Sea Change For Superior: The Warming Of The World's Largest Lake Documents This 24-Hour Challenge As Part Of An Investigation Of What It Means That The World's Largest Lake, Which Holds Ten Percent Of The World's Surface Fresh Water And 84 Percent Of The U.S. Freshwater Reserves, Is Now Among The Fastest Warming Lakes On The Planet. The Film Reveals How This Fact, And The Impacts Of Our Changing Climate That Are Driving This Trend, Has Profound Implications For The Lake's Wildlife And Natural Systems, For Tribal And Other Communities Who Live Along Its Shores, And For Those Whose Livelihoods Depend On Superior's Historically Clear, Clean, And Cold Waters.

In Documenting These Stories, A Sea Change For Superior Portends The Impacts Of Climate Change On Earth's Finite Freshwater Resources.

Adventure Tom
7:00pm
108 Minutes

Tom, An Unhappy Artist, Has To Fly To Minneapolis When He Learns His Mother Has Died. Lilly, An Accountant, Is On The Same Flight. Lilly Has An Incident On The Plane And Ends Up On The No-Fly List. Tom Is Driving Home Because He Hates Flying. They Agree To Go Together. Once They're On The Road, Lilly Convinces Tom To Take A More Scenic Route. The Two Of Them Discuss Their Lives As They Get To Know Each Other. The Two Reflect On Their Journey When They Reach The Grand Canyon, And The Large Un-Known Future Ahead Of Them.

Basketball State – The Land Of 10,000 Hoops
1:45pm
45 Minutes

In The Upper Midwest Of America Lies A Forgotten State That Has Been A Fruitful Factory Of Hoopers For Decades. Traditionally Known As A Hockey State, It Is Becoming Clear That Minnesota Is Just As Much A Basketball State. This Documentary Dives Into The History And Rise Of Basketball In Minnesota Told Through The Perspective Of Various Players And Coaches Who All Have A Unique Love Story With The Game.

Broken Eyes
10:00am
78 Minutes

When Lasik Eye Surgery Destroys A Filmmaker's Vision, She Decides To Make A Movie About It. What Starts Out As An Attempt To Hang Onto Her Lifelong Passion Turns Into A Harrowing Investigation Into A Multibillion Industry And The Discovery Of An Underground Network Of Thousands Of Patients Permanently Scarred By Lasik, The So Called "Safest Elective Surgery On The Market."

Dance Dance
4:30pm
7 Minutes

A Competitive Hip Hop Dancer And The Struggles Of Being One Of Only A Few Male Dancers And How He Handled The Harassment And Unwanted Attention From Not Only The Other Dancers, But Also Their Parents. Learn How People View Those That They Believe Are Different From Them And Are Doing Activities That They Feel Are Outside The Norm.

Documentary: Passion & Purpose (Shorts Block)
4:30pm
87 Minutes

Minnesota: Land Of 10,000 Stories. From A Small-Town Rodeo Star Who Balances His Career With His Young Family, To A Dog Sledder Who Takes Her Daughters On A Winter Trip To The Boundary Waters, To A Young Boy Who Is Harassed For His Love Of Dance, The Natural Beauty, Cultural Diversity, And Contradictions Of Our State Are On Full Display In These Five Powerful Films. In Tcff's Documentary: Passion & Purpose, You'll See Personal Stories Alongside Nationwide Issues Like The Harms Of Nickel Mining And Systemic Inequities In Our Healthcare System. Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction—And With Documentary: Passion & Purpose, It's More Captivating Too.

If That Mockingbird Don't Sing
12:30pm
96 Minutes

After A Brutal Dumping, 17-Year-Old Sydnie Realizes She Is Pregnant. She Decides To Use It As A Chance To Get Her Ex Back And Give Her Life Direction But Soon Realizes It Won't Be The Quick Fix She Had Hoped For.

In Due Season
4:30pm
34 Minutes

In Due Season Highlights The Systemic Racial Health Inequities That Southern Black Communities Have Faced For Centuries And Persist Today. After The Affordable Care Act Was Signed Into Law By President Obama, Every State Had The Opportunity To Expand Affordable Health Coverage Through Medicaid For Millions Who Don't Receive Employer Coverage And Don't Make Enough To Afford Private Insurance. But, Lawmakers In 10 States Have Persistently Refused To Expand Medicaid. These Political Decisions Have Left More Than 2 Million People - Almost All Of Whom Live In The South And A Majority Of Whom Are Black And Brown - Without Access To Health Coverage. They Live In The "Medicaid Coverage Gap." In This 34-Minute Documentary, We Meet Three People Living Without Health Insurance In That Gap.

Incompleteness, Part 3
7:30pm
97 Minutes

The Last Two 45-Minute Episodes Of The First Season Of Incompleteness, Winner Of The Best Series Award At Over 50 International Film Festivals. Logline: A Terminal Cancer Diagnosis Leads A Miserable Workaholic On A Self-Indulgent Quest To Win Back His Pregnant-And-Estranged Wife And Connect With His Unborn Son Through A Self-Funded, Semi-Autobiographical Movie About The Meaning Of Life.

Inheritance
4:45pm
102 Minutes

When Lucy's Father Dies, She Discovers That Her Older Sister, Paige, Has Inherited All Of His Money. Tasked With The Management Of Her Father's Affairs, Lucy Is Responsible For The Distribution Of Paige's Inheritance, Though They Haven't Spoken In Over 5 Years. Paige Is A Reckless Alcoholic Who Has Lived Off Of Their
Father's Charity All Of Her Adult Life, While Lucy Has Always Taken Care Of Everyone But Herself. Forced To Reunite After Years Of Estrangement, The Two Sisters Are
Confronted By A Whirlwind Of Surfacing Resentments, Past Traumas, Well-Kept Secrets, And Devastating Losses As They Come To Terms With Their Inner Demons And Work To Mend Their Broken Relationships.

Juneteenth Reckoning With Slavery: Mn African American History
1:00pm
40 Minutes

Co-Produced By Omg Studios And The Minnesota Humanities Center, This Documentary Challenges Our Understanding Of Slavery, Its Impact On Minnesota, And How We Reconcile Our Past By Taking Viewers On A Present-Day Journey To Ghana, To The Quarters Of Harriet And Dred Scott, And Into Conversations With Current And Future Scholars. Featuring Akwamu Traditional Area's King Odeneho Kwafo Akoto, Iii And Queen Mother Nana Afrakoma, Ii, Of West Africa, Ghana, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter Iii, Mn Humanities Ceo Kevin Lindsey, St. Cloud State University American Studies Chair And Minnesota Book Award Winner Dr. Christopher Lehman, And Minnesota Creative Treasures T. Mychael Rambo, Thomasina Petrus And Concluding With Voices Of The Black Youth Healing Arts Center (Byhac).

La Cocina
5:30pm
139 Minutes

It's The Lunch Rush At The Grill In Manhattan, And Money Has Gone Missing From The Till. All The Undocumented Cooks Are Being Investigated, And Pedro (Briones) Is The Prime Suspect. He's A Dreamer And A Troublemaker, And In Love With Julia (Mara), An American Waitress Who Cannot Commit To A Relationship. Rashid, The Grill ́s Owner, Has Promised To Help Pedro With His Papers So He Can "Become Legal". But A Shocking Revelation About Julia Compels Pedro To Spiral Into An Act That Will Stop The Production Line Of One Of The City's Busiest Kitchens Once And For All.

Luck & Love: A Rodeo Story
4:30pm
28 Minutes

As A Professional Bareback Rider, Tanner Aus Must Balance His Grueling Schedule With Family Life In Small-Town Minnesota. From The Aus Family Farm In Granite Falls, To Cheyenne Frontier Days In Wyoming, To The National Finals Rodeo In Las Vegas, Luck & Love: A Rodeo Story Gives Viewers A Glimpse Inside The Life Of A Star Rodeo Athlete.

Luther: Never Too Much
3:15pm
101 Minutes

Luther Vandross Always Thought He Would Be A Star. The Film Luther: Never Too Much Explores The Formative Years Of Luther's Musical Career, Back To The Epicenter Of Black Culture, Harlem's Very Own Apollo Theater. Luther Was Inspired By Female Iconic Vocalists Such As Dionne Warwick. Of Her Concert At The Brooklyn Fox Theater, He Said "She Came On Stage And Just Killed Me; The Music Was More Serious, The Song Value Was More Serious." His Big Break Comes During A Studio Session With David Bowie, Where He Would Go On To Sing Background Vocals And Arrange Bowie's Iconic Young Americans Album. Love Is Joyous For Luther As In Never Too Much; It Is Pure, As In The Duet With Mariah Carey In Endless Love And Dionne Warwick. For Luther Love Is Harmony, And Perhaps Most Exquisitely And Painfully (For What Is The Dark Side Of Love But Pain?) If Only For One Night—Who Hasn't Made This Faustian Bargain? Willing To Live A Life Of Loneliness For One Perfect Night With One True Love.

We Explore His Process Of Creation, An Exacting Style That Culminated In The Most Exquisite Compositions. A Portrait Of A Master Emerges. He Would Control What He Could As Best He Could. His Weight, His Craft, His Love Of Family And Close Friends. If Romantic Love Eluded Luther, He Made Up For It In Other Ways. Luther Is A Man Of Passion, A Man Who Delighted In Beauty And Luxury.

The Film Explores The Incredible Investment The Artist Put Into His Musical Presentation, Only To Be Met With Frustration From Being Pigeonholed As An "R&B" Artist, Struggles To Crossover, And Battles With The Record Industry. Vandross Suffered A Sudden Stroke And Passed Away At The Age Of 51. The Final Chapters Of Luther's Life Are Celebrated By The Memories Of His Cherished Friends, Family, Collaborators.

Qatar Stars
10:30am
98 Minutes

Qatar Stars Is The First Feature Documentary About Girls In Qatar. It Offers A Longitudinal Observational Story Of Girlhood In All Its Joys And Growing Pains, Through Intimate Access To A Multinational, Girls-Only Rhythmic Gymnastics School In Doha, Led By A Former Russian Gymnast. Girls From Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Ukraine, And Uk Grow Up Onscreen Over Four Years, Changing From Wiggly Nine Year Olds To Maturing Teens Who Must Navigate An Evolving Gendered World Around Them. The Girls Share Both Triumphs And Heartaches, To Ultimately Form An Unbreakable Bond. Meanwhile, Exacting Coach Tatiana Undergoes Her Own Unexpected Professional And Personal Transformation That Challenges Her Sense Of Strength And Identity.

Scars Unseen
2:45pm
70 Minutes

Scars Unseen Is An Inspiring New Documentary That Brings To Light The Stories Of Three Incredible Women Who Not Only Survived Domestic Violence But Are Now On A Mission To Pay It Forward. This Documentary Dives Deep Into The Healing Journeys Of These Courageous Women, Showcasing The Tools They Used To Build Resilience And Reclaim Their Lives Amidst The Shadows Of Their Past.

Why This Film Matters Now: In A Time When The Pandemic Has Led To A Surge In Domestic Violence Cases Worldwide, Raising The Statistic Of 1 In 4 Women Affected To 1 In 3 Women, Scars Unseen Serves As A Beacon Of Hope.

The Film Aims To: De-Stigmatize Victimhood: By Sharing These Raw And Real Stories, The Documentary Encourages Victims To Come Forward And Seek Help Without Fear Of Judgment.

Encourage Open Dialogue: It Fosters An Environment Where Conversations Around Abuse Are Normalized, Helping To Break The Silence That Often Surrounds This Issue.

Change The Narrative: Scars Unseen Challenges The Conventional Narrative Around Domestic Violence, Shifting The Focus From Victimhood To Empowerment And Resilience. Scars Unseen Encourages Us All To Be More Trauma Informed And To Change The Conversation Around Domestic Violence

The Fishing Hat Bandit
10:15am
80 Minutes

After Robbing 23 Banks In 18 Months And Serving Over A Decade In Federal Prison, A Serial Bank Robber Confronts His Mysterious Past While Trying To Make Amends For The Trauma He Inflicted On Others. Will His Efforts To Connect With One Of His Victims Bring Closure?

The Kids' Table
12:15pm
45 Minutes

A Compulsive, Middle Aged House Wife Struggles To Pull Together The Perfect Christmas Eve.

Water Over Nickel
4:30pm
4 Minutes

A Proposed Nickel Mine Poses Significant Risk To The Mille Lacs Band Of Ojibwe Community, Water, Land And Cultural Resources - Specifically The Manoomin (Wild Rice) That Grows Nearby The Mine Site. Our Efforts Are Grounded In Our Commitment To Preserve Minnesota's Natural Environment And Water Resources For Generations To Come. Help Us Prioritize Water Over Nickel.

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