Michael Moore Announces First Highlights of the Fourth Traverse City Film Festival

Phil Donahue, Stanley Donen (director of "Singin' In the Rain," "On the Town") to Attend

Free Open Space "Films on the Bay" Announced

New Indoor Theater Venue Announced to Suit Needs of Growing Festival

Traverse City, MI (July 4, 2008) -- The Traverse City Film Festival plans to top its overwhelmingly successful third festival with another venue, over 90,000 admissions, scores of actors and filmmakers, and more Just Great Movies than ever before.

"The festival has become a beacon of hope for the Grand Traverse region," said festival founder and president, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore. "It's nothing short of thrilling to see the response from tens of thousands of people eager to see a great movie. And this year we have dozens of them."

The festival will take place July 29 - August 3 in six venues around Traverse City, Michigan, a beloved Midwestern resort town on the shores of Lake Michigan. The festival's anchor venue and home is the newly renovated and re-opened historic State Theatre. Other venues include the Old Town Playhouse, the City Opera House, the Lars Hockstad Auditorium, and the Open Space Park on Grand Traverse Bay. New this year as a venue, in order to accommodate the growing festival audience, is the Milliken Auditorium theater, part of the Dennos Museum on the Northwestern Michigan College campus.

This year's slate of films will be announced the week of July 7. Tickets for the Friends of the Traverse City Film Festival (who get first crack at the much sought-after seats) go on sale Monday, July 14 at noon at the festival box office, online, and by phone. At noon on Saturday, July 19th, the remaining tickets will go on sale to the public in person at the box office, and, beginning at 6 p.m., online and by phone. Anyone can join the Friends to get in on the early sales by going to www.traversecityfilmfest.org.

Highlights of the 2008 Traverse City Film Festival:

- The festival is proud to announce that the legendary Phil Donahue will attend this year's festival with his first feature documentary film. "Body of War" is an intimate and transformational feature documentary about a 25-year-old American, Tomas Young, who was paralyzed by a bullet to his spine, wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week. The movie tells Tomas' coming home story as he evolves into a new person, coming to terms with his disability and finding his own unique and passionate voice against the war. The film is produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and features original songs by Eddie Vedder.

- The Traverse City Film Festival will pay a special tribute to one of Hollywood's greatest directors, Stanley Donen, who, at the age of 84, will attend the festival in person and participate in the tribute. As one of the top filmmakers from Hollywood's Golden Age, Donen made a string of hits few have matched, including "Singin' In the Rain," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "On the Town," "Royal Wedding," "Charade," "Funny Face," and "The Little Prince." Donen will introduce and take questions after screenings of his films, and participate in one of the festival panels.

- Free movies at the outdoor cinema in the Open Space Park on Grand Traverse Bay will begin on opening night for the first time this year. The opening night outdoor movie will be "Ghost Busters" on Tuesday, followed by the Best of Looney Tunes cartoons on Wednesday, "Singin' in the Rain" on Thursday (part of the Stanley Donen Tribute), "Back to the Future" on Friday, and "A League of Their Own" on Saturday (the night of Madonna's appearance at the State Theatre with her new documentary about Malawi, "I Am Because We Are").

Ticket prices for all regular screenings are $9 (Open Space films are free). Opening and closing night movie tickets are $25, and the opening and closing night party tickets are $50. The festival box office is located in the same place as last year: The Art Center at Radio Center, 300 E. Front Street in downtown Traverse City.

About The Traverse City Film Festival

The Traverse City Film Festival is a charitable, educational, nonprofit organization committed to showing "Just Great Movies" and helping to save one of America's few indigenous art forms -- the cinema. The festival also owns and operates a year-round, community-based, mission driven art house movie theater, the State Theatre. Founded by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore and co-founders local photographer John Robert Williams and New York Times best-selling author Doug Stanton, with filmmakers Larry Charles and Terry George rounding out the Board of Directors, the festival brings films and filmmakers from around the world to northern Michigan.

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