Twin Cities Film Fest Boasts More MN-Connections, Broader Line-Up
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The sixth annual Twin Cities Film Fest is boasting a broader line-up this year, featuring more movies with Minnesota connections, more documentaries and more features from filmmakers around the world.
The festival runs from Oct. 21 to Oct. 31 at the ShowPlace ICON at The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. The 11-day event will screen 120 films, and it all kicks off with an opening night screening of "A New High." The adventure documentary follows a group of people working to overcome homelessness and drug addiction by climbing mountains as a means of rehabilitation.
Films in the line-up to keep an eye on include "Room," based on the best-selling novel by Emma Donoghue. Starring Brie Larson as the mother of a young boy, the story follows the two as they venture from the tiny confines of a 10-foot-by-10-foot room and into the scary, wide-open mess of the larger world. The film took home the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year.
Another to consider is "Brooklyn," a feature about young Irish immigrant struggling to leave her past life for a new one in 1950s New York. Then there's Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa," a puzzling stop-motion animated film about a depressed motivational speaker who meets a stranger that changes his life. For fans of James Franco, there's the biopic "The Adderall Diaries," which is based on the true-crime book of the same name by Stephen Elliott.
As for films with Minnesota connections, there are more than 40, including shorts, features and documentaries. A full list can be found here.
Organizers say the festival's centerpiece will be "Too Late," starring Minnesota-native John Hawkes. The Oscar nominated actor will be at the festival to accept an award, and there'll be screenings of other films he's starred in, such as "Winter's Bone" and "Me and You and Everyone We Know."
The festival will wrap up with a documentary called "Thank You For Playing," about a video game developer making a project about his young son's struggle with terminal cancer.
Tickets for the festival go on sale Tuesday. For the full line-up and information on festival passes, click here.