Welcome to the new era of the Traverse City Film Festival, founded and curated by Oscar-winner Michael Moore. 52 great movies in 52 weeks! A year-round festival of powerful, subversive, indie masterpieces made with the belief that cinema can save the world — and that one great movie can change your life.
TCFF 2024
FALL SCHEDULE
All films show at 1pm & 7pm unless otherwise noted
FILM GUIDE
OPENING NIGHT FILM!
OCTOBER 1
1pm, 4pm, 7pm
The Apprentice
We begin our new season of TCFF TUESDAYS with a bit of a cinematic coup: Bringing you one of the most talked about and controversial movies of the year — a film that just a month ago, none of you were going to be allowed to see until after the November 5th election. But once again, we’ve worked our TCFF magic, and because of this you will be among the very first Americans to see the film Donald Trump and his financial backers declared back at the Cannes Film Festival in May that no one in the U.S. was going to see this movie until after the election.
So here we are, on October 1, the Opening Day and Night of our Fall 2024 Season of TCFF TUESDAYS — and we are proud to bring you Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan in THE APPRENTICE.
This movie is not about Trump’s hit NBC reality show, The Apprentice. This audacious film is the origin story of Trump himself— when, he, Donnie Trump, still in his 20s, was “the apprentice.” Not on TV, but in real life, the actual apprentice to one of the most notorious, evil and conniving legal minds of the last century – Roy Cohn. He was Trump’s Svengali. Historians consider Cohn to be one of the most despicable political operatives of the 20th century. What Trump’s father failed to teach him in his various methods of trickery, racism, misogyny, and greed, Roy Cohn finished the job. Cohn was already infamous, the man who ruined people’s careers as a U.S. Attorney in New York by conducting anti-communist witch hunts. When he wasn’t rooting out communists for Senator Joe McCarthy, he helped, as a Jew, to send the Rosenbergs to the electric chair. As a gay man, he spent years trapping and exposing gay men in government and in the Pentagon and destroying their lives. And in his free time, he was a top lawyer for the mob in New York City. And then one night, Cohn met a young man who reminded him of himself, and took him under his wing to train him in the diabolical arts of deception and evil. His name was Donald J. Trump, and he was Cohn’s best student. And whether it was practicing the successful hustle of white supremacy, corrupt business practices, or the ninja-like skills of “attack, counterattack, attack some more, never stop attacking,” Trump learned three basic rules from Cohn: 1) Never, ever apologize; 2) Admit nothing, deny everything; 3) No matter what happens, you claim victory and never admit defeat. This brilliantly written, superbly acted movie is the story that’s never been told of how Trump began as an apprentice, and was fashioned into the creature we know and must deal with today.
The New York Times calls Sebastian Stan’s Trump and Jeremy Strong’s Cohn “extraordinary.” In May, the film received an enormous standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. This hit of the fest was immediately snapped up by theaters and distributors in countries around the world — except for one, the U.S. of A. Why’s that? Because the Trump-friendly billionaire that helped bankroll the film mistakenly thought this was going to be an Ode to Donald. Trump was furious when the film was unveiled in Cannes. The funders decided, “We’ll make our money back from the rest of the world, but we will not show this in the U.S. before the election.” However, as is the beautiful and serendipitous way that capitalism works, one of the film’s executive producers offered the capital that made up for the ism, bought out the billionaire-backed company, and voila! — later in mid-October, America will finally see this film. But you will see it here first, before the rest of the country, because, as luck would have it, the new distributor of THE APPRENTICE is the man who saved FAHRENHEIT 9/11 when Disney refused to release it. And 28 years ago I decided to live here instead of Flint. Just dumb luck! And thus, here you have the Opening Night film of our TCFF TUESDAYS Fall 2024 Season right here at the historic State Theatre, unbowed and uncensored.
(*NOTE: In order to handle the expected demand for tickets, as this will be the only theater in Michigan to show THE APPRENTICE before its national release, we are adding a third screening here on Opening Day/Night. THE APPRENTICE will be shown at 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. Season Pass holders will receive early entry and seating. TCFF TUESDAYS Fall 2024 Season Passes go on sale Tuesday, September 17. Individual tickets for THE APPRENTICE and all other TCFF TUESDAYS films will also be available for advance purchase on September 17.)
Drama
Canada, Ireland, Denmark, USA
2h
DIRECTOR: Ali Abbasi
STARRING: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova
OCTOBER 8
1pm, 7pm
Join or Die
Finally, someone has made a documentary based on one of the best nonfiction books of this century, the seminal cultural/anthropological masterpiece, Bowling Alone. You wait for years hoping someone smarter than ourselves can figure out who we are, why we behave the way we do, and how did we come to accept a society so empty and hollow that it turns out our greatest killer may not be cancer or guns or a double mocha frappuccino, but rather the sad and simple fact that we are so friggin’ alone. Gone is the intimate sense of community, of human contact, of going over to give your neighbor a slice of Mom’s still molten strudel. Why has attendance at the PTA dropped by 50%? What happened to your neighborhood book club? Why was there only 1 person sitting alone in the State Theatre for the 4pm show two Fridays ago? Something doesn’t seem quite right, does it? And we can’t keep blaming it on the fact that we had a pandemic. It may be because some people have to work 2 or 3 jobs to get by. One thing’s for certain: The less real contact we have with each other, the more our society continues to crumble. And the more distant our Democracy seems to be in the rearview mirror. I’m guessing none of us wanted this.
All of this is to say that JOIN OR DIE is exactly the heartfelt, uplifting film you’ve been looking for because author Robert Putnam, now in his 80s, is convinced that we can create a better way. If there’s one documentary you see this year, this is that rare film that leaves you with a renewed sense of action, purpose and a specific vision for a way home. This movie will not stop the war in Gaza, it will not stop the upcoming climate catastrophes of 2025, but it might give you an idea or two on how to bring peace to your soul, and in doing so may bring about the healing of all those things just mentioned. And the first step might be as simple as playing darts at the corner pub with a bunch of strangers whose names you’re about to learn.
DIRECTORS: Pete Davis, Rebecca Davis
Documentary
USA
1h 39m
OCTOBER 15
1pm, 7pm
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
One of the best and most relevant dramas of the year. The film is set in contemporary Tehran during the 2022 women-led uprising following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in the custody of the government’s morality police after being picked up for wearing a loose headscarf. The story follows one middle-class family whose father, a state investigator filled with ambition to become a judge, must first please the judicial hierarchy by approving numerous death sentences each day. The family is torn apart by their opposing reactions to the government’s crackdown on the protesters, and the moral and psychic toll of the father’s role in the regime.
The film’s brilliant Iranian director, Mohammad Rasoulof, was honored by the Traverse City Film Festival in our second year, 2006, with our first “Salute to Iranian Cinema,” where we presented his film IRON ISLAND. Since then, he has served time in prison for making films critical of the government. Last year, he made this movie, THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG, in secret in Iran, and then fled to Europe after Iranian officials saw it and sentenced him to a flogging and 8 years in prison — simply for making this masterwork of cinema.
This movie — winner of the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — is a searing political thriller. Outside in the streets you hear the distant chants of the public: “DOWN WITH THE THEOCRACY!” Theocracy throughout the world today is problematic. Whether it is the Supreme Leader ordering women to obey, or the Supreme Court ordering women to birth a baby they did not want, or a Supreme Bibi who calls his theocracy a “democracy” when in fact it is an apartheid regime with two sets of rules depending on whether you belong to the “right” religion. And if you belong to the “wrong” religion, well, there’s nothing like a few 2,000-pound bombs to get you in lockstep with the program we’d like you to follow.
This film could not have come at a more important time, and we hope to have the director joining us via Zoom at the screenings.
Drama
Iran, Germany, France
2h 48m
DIRECTOR: Mohammad Rasoulof
OCTOBER 22
1pm, 7pm
DìDi
A very sweet film about Taiwanese Americans and the struggle of being first-generation immigrants. Set in 2008, in the summer between 8th and 9th grades, this beautiful coming-of-age comedy follows 13-year-old Chris – whom friends call Wang Wang and his family calls Didi, a loving Mandarin term for “younger brother.” He’s a skateboarder and aspiring “skate filmer” who lives with his mother, sister and grandmother. He has all the must-have social media of the aughts, but still feels like an outsider with a massive crush on an out-of-his league girl. In any other film, a teenage outcast might become a tired trope, but never in DIDI – thanks to a stellar cast and sharply written script. In an interview with the Washington Post, director Sean Wang says that he “set out to make a ‘Stand by Me’ for kids that look like him.” Winner of Sundance’s dramatic audience award, don’t miss this exciting debut.
DIRECTOR: Sean Wang
Comedy/Drama
USA
1h 33m
OCTOBER 29
1pm, 7pm
HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON
Finally! A vampire movie for people who hate vampire movies! This charming French-Canadian debut comedy introduces us to a pacifist teenage vampire who’s spent her life living off her parents’ prey. Concerned for their daughter’s survival, they employ a little tough love by cutting her off from the family blood supply, forcing her to set out on her own to learn how to make it as a vampire. It’s a story about growing up, and reckoning with your own moral compass when it strays from family tradition. Her journey is surprising, and what she learns about us humans is surprisingly moving — and funny in a way that could only originate in Canada. Comedy from Canada — just what we need. French-style.
Comedy
Canada
1h 30m
DIRECTOR: Ariane Louis-Seize
NOVEMBER 5
HISTORIC NIGHT IN AMERICA
Community Celebration in TC!
Election Night Party at the State!
Details — food, fun, drinks, guests, breaking news results, women’s rights pioneers, clips, etc. — to come. Don’t miss one of the most important nights in Traverse City history! Bring your daughters and sons, bring your mother and grandmother!
NOVEMBER 12
1pm, 7pm
BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHÉ
In the 248-year history of America, no woman has been allowed to sit behind the historic Resolute Desk inside the Oval Office. In the 118 years of cinema, until recently, only 4% of the Top 100 movies each year were directed by a woman. Though most of us can name the two women who have made it to the presidential ballot in our history, none of us can name the first woman to make a motion picture — Alice Guy-Blaché. So we figured, what the heck, what better time to honor and recognize the first woman who looked into the lens of a camera and told the world a story. This piercing documentary, narrated and executive produced by Jodie Foster, unravels the mystery of Alice Guy[GHEE]-Blaché – the unsung hero whose work shaped and revolutionized filmmaking. She made nearly 1,000 films in her career, and yet, she was somehow erased from history. In fact, during her time as a filmmaker, from 1896-1920, there were hundreds of women directors, producers, writers, and editors. And little of their work was preserved. The Movies became a “man’s world,” shutting out stories about, from, and by half the world’s population. This purposeful black-out did not make us a better people. More than anyone else, Alice Guy-Blaché was determined to not let that happen. We are honored in this historic month to remember Alice Guy-Blaché — and all the women who’ve decided their voice will no longer be silenced. A stunning piece of Hidden History. Don’t miss this!
Documentary
USA
1h 43m
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jodie Foster
DIRECTOR: Pamela B. Green
NOVEMBER 19
1pm, 7pm
KNEECAP
One of this year’s Sundance audience award-winners, this is the riotous real-life story of the Irish-language rap revolution. Co-starring actual members of the titular Northern Irish hip-hop trio, Kneecap, it is, as NPR notes, “a cross between The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night and an Irish Trainspotting.” The film traces the trio’s working class roots in West Belfast, where they were taught by one member’s high-ranking, on-the-run IRA father (Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender) who warns and reminds them that “every word of Irish spoken is a bullet for Irish freedom.” The film is a gleefully wild ride, powered by the jet-fuel of the recent Irish language revolution. It doesn’t just examine the weight of all that’s lost through forced assimilation, it screams it – in Gaelic – into a mosh pit of cinematic beauty.
DIRECTOR: Rich Peppiatt
STARRING: Michael Fassbender, Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvai
Comedy/Drama
Ireland, UK
1h 45m
NOVEMBER 26
1pm, 7pm
SUGARCANE
In this searing documentary, we meet the Indigenous Canadian survivors of just one of the over 500 residential boarding schools meant to “kill the Indian” and “save the man,” which operated in the U.S. and Canada over the last 150 years. Set in the wake of the 2021-22 discovery of hundreds of childrens’ remains at Canadian residential schools, the film follows a small group of survivors who all suffered at the same school in the Canadian province of British Columbia, near the Sugarcane Reservation. For these survivors – one of whom is the co-director’s father who was born at the school and remarkably rescued alive from its incinerator – there is nowhere to hide when buried remains are discovered at the site of their former school. The film invites us into communion with these survivors as their wounds are reopened, and as the Canadian Prime Minister and, to a lesser and lame extent, the Catholic Church, seek reconciliation. The New York Times calls it “A Must-See Film About a Terribly Difficult Subject” (and, after you watch this film, you will note the generosity of spirit of the Times calling this ethnic cleansing of human beings a “terribly difficult subject”).
Documentary
USA
1h 47m
DIRECTORS: Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie
DECEMBER 3
1pm, 7pm
OMNI LOOP
What if you could go back in time, but only for 5 days? OMNI LOOP stars two-time Tony winner, and Emmy winner Mary-Louise Parker as a distinguished scientist who’s been given one week to live and thus continues going back in time, reliving the same 5 days over and over, to avoid her own death. Yes, it’s a time travel movie. But it’s also a moving meditation on death, ambition and what it means to be truly present. And when Parker’s character disrupts her own “loop” by befriending a protege scientist played by The Bear’s Emmy and SAG Award-winner Ayo Edebiri, the film transcends its own genre in surprising ways. Nominated for the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival.
DIRECTOR: Bernardo Britto
STARRING: Mary-Louise Parker, Ayo Edibiri
Science-Fiction
USA
1h 50m
DECEMBER 10
1pm, 7pm
BLACK DOG
An unexpected joy, this film from China won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard prize this year – and it’s easy to see why. Through its vividly designed soundscapes and haunting desert shots, it tells the story of Yang, a listless young man fresh from prison. He finds work as a dogcatcher, and develops an intense bond with a wanted feral dog who comes with a bounty he could use. Instead of turning the dog in, the two embark on a redemptive journey that proves how, as Variety puts it, “inside every bad boy is a Very Good Boy trying to get out.” BLACK DOG is outstanding, a truly unique vision, and could mark a new era for Chinese cinema.
Drama
China
1h 56m
DIRECTOR: Guan Hu
DECEMBER 17
1pm, 7pm
LYD
We end this season in the week before Christmas, once again in the Holy Land, with a poignant and powerful look at a city in Israel that most Westerners have never heard of: Lyd, the ancient capital of Palestine, now a thriving Israeli city thanks to the 1948 massacre and mass deportation of its Muslim citizens. This poignant and powerful documentary imagines the alternate history that might have been without the horrors of 1948.
Let us hope by the time of this screening the American-financed and armed slaughter will have come to an end. Apologies and blessings to our Arab and Muslim fellow Michiganders and our beloved Jewish brothers and sisters who are beside themselves with grief over last October 7th and over a prime minister Netanyahu intent on destroying the state he rules.
DIRECTORS: Sarah Ema Friedland, Rami Younis
Documentary
Occupied Palestinian Territory, US, UK
1h 18m
TICKETS
Early bird price goes thru Oct 1 then goes up to $69
| Single: | $10 |
| Student: | $6 |
| Season Pass (12 films) |
$59 |
| Student Season Pass (12 films) |
$48 |
VENUE
State theatre
Traverse City, MI
(231) 600-7272