Tucson’s Loft Film Fest Opens Today with a World-Class Film Program
By: Sydney Levine
Tags: Festivals, International Film

The Tucson’s Loft Film Fest starts today and runs until Sunday October 25. The program will bring some of the best works from around the globe to Tucson, many of which will be have their local premier during the festival.



The acclaimed drama “Court,” a quietly devastating portrait of political injustice involving an elderly folk singer facing

persecution for his art, is India’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as the winner of the Lion of the Future Award for director

Chaitanya Tamhane at the Venice Film Festival. This is the film’s Tucson Premiere.

“Mustang” France’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and winner of the Europa Cinemas Label award at the Cannes Directors’

Fortnight, is a haunting portrait of five young sisters struggling to come of age under highly unusual circumstances in a remote Turkish coastal village.

The film makes its Arizona Premiere at The Loft Film Fest.







The Loft Film Fest 2015 will also showcase numerous top prize winners from major film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto,

Venice and more.

The highly-anticipated new British drama “45 Years,” directed by Andrew Haigh (“Weekend”), will have its Arizona

Premiere at The Loft Film Fest. This riveting and melancholy tale of a long-married couple confronting a dark secret from their past, has generated major

Oscar buzz and garnered the Best Actress and Best Actor awards at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival for its celebrated stars, Charlotte Rampling

(“Swimming Pool”) and Tom Courtenay (“Doctor Zhivago”).

The moving Italian drama “Mia Madre”from acclaimed filmmaker Nanni Moretti (“The Son’s Room”), stars Margherita Buy ( “Days and Clouds”) and John Turturro (“O Brother, Where Are Thou?”) and tells the story of a harried filmmaker juggling with production of

her new film with caring for her dying mother. Winner of the prestigious Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, the film will also have

its Arizona Premiere at The Loft Film Fest.

“Taxi” the crowd-pleasing comedy/drama from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, (“The White Balloon”) follows the filmmaker himself as he assumes the role of

taxi driver for a number of diverse citizens in his home country, learning about their lives as he ferries them through the city. Winner of the FIPRESCI

Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival,”Taxi” makes its Tucson Premiere at The Loft Film Fest.

Just a few of the other major international festival award winners hitting the screen at the Loft Film Fest include Pedro Costa’s “Horse Money” (winner of the Locarno International Film Festival award for Best Director); Sebastian Silva’s “Nasty Baby,” starring Kristin Wiig (winner of the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival) and “In Transit,” the final film from legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles (winner of a Best Documentary Special Jury Mention

at the Tribeca Film Festival).

Many more prize-winning features, documentaries and short films will light up the screen at The 2015 Loft Film Fest. In addition to

acclaimed films, the fest brings an incredible line-up of filmmakers and special guests to Tucson! Rita Moreno (“West Side Story”), Alfonso Arau ( “ Like Water for Chocolate.””Three Amigos”), Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana (10th Anniversary Screening of “Brokeback Mountain”),

Bobcat Goldthwait (“Call Me Lucky”), Michael Joplin (brother of Janis Joplin with the doc “Janis: Little Girl Blue”), Andrea B. Scott (“Florence, AZ”), Francesco Clerici (“Hand Gestures”), Jessica Cox & Nick Spark (“Right-Footed”) and Justin Johnson (“Double Digits”) are among the guests who will be on hand to present films alongside critically-acclaimed films selected from prestigious festivals

around the globe. For more information and to purchase tickets and passes, please visit: www.loftfilmfest.org.