Join our visiting filmmakers from Hollywood, New York, and abroad as they tell moviemaking stories, mixing it up with each other and the audience.
Watch the 2016 Panels online thanks to our friends at UpNorth Media Center Channel 189!
Meet the 2016 TCFF Moderators.
Wednesday
COME TO THE DOC SIDE
9:30 am—City Opera House
Has there ever been a year when we’ve needed such a massive dose of nonfiction to counteract the boatload of crazy confronting us? Do we even need to state the obvious? What the hell is going on? We kick off the first full day of the festival with our popular documentary panel featuring a slew of nonfiction filmmakers who have nothing to lose by spilling the beans on all the madness. Hosted by TCFF head honcho/doco-Zapata Michael Moore.
Thursday
MEN MAKE MOVIES – THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
9:30 am—City Opera House
We’ve all heard the stories about how hard it is for men to get their movies made in Hollywood.
Far too often, studio executives turn a deaf ear to worthwhile films full of car chases and things that explode, and coming-of-age screenplays are rejected for their “over-sensitivity” to what boys have to go through to make their voices heard. Our panel will feature the few token men who made it here this year with their excellent films—and we expect a lively exchange about the struggles they’ve endured. A once-in-a-lifetime TCFF panel.
Friday
WHO LET THE WOMEN IN?
9:30 am—City Opera House
Please arrive early to get your seat for this historic summit of the female filmmakers behind some of the year’s most amazing and brilliant films. These incredible directors will discuss how they do what they do, and what has to change so that we can see more of them do it. The revolution has to start somewhere—so why not on a Friday morning in Traverse City?
Saturday
THE COMEDY PANEL
9:30 AM—City Opera House
Because there’s nothing a little laughter can’t fix, join directors Logan Kibbens (“Operator”), Timothy Busfield (“One Smart Fellow”), and Ryland Aldrich (“Folk Hero & Funny Guy”), along with comedians Doug Benson and Geoff Tate, as
they offer up wisecracks, witticisms, humor, and repartee, and explore the funny business of making comedy. This panel is a cherished festival tradition. We promise you’ll leave happier than you were when you entered!
Sunday
FILM UNDER TRUMP
9:30 AM—City Opera House
Nobody even wants to say those words out loud for fear they may come true—and it’s exactly because of that fear that it may come true! Art, the cinema, is our front line army against fear, hate, bigotry, ignorance, and bullies. What role will our film fest and the movies in general play in this unbelievable historic moment? Join Michael Moore and a panel of commentators and activists for an intimate, controversial, no-holds-barred debate.
