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July 29, 2005Up and RunningTC Film Festival off to a Hollywood startByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Sundance Film Festival has been an important part of Park City, Utah, for nearly a quarter of a century. Whether or not the fledgling Traverse City Film Festival will have a lasting impact here remains to be seen, but signs are hopeful midway through the inaugural event. The five-day festival kicked off Sunday with a Founders Preview Party that featured a sneak preview of the film "The Baxter" at the Bay Theatre and a post-screening reception at Ciccone Vineyards and Winery, both in Suttons Bay. About 200 local sponsors and others turned out for the event, dressed in everything from casual flip-flops and shorts to formal wear (festival founder and Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore sported his usual T-shirt and baseball cap). As an Interlochen ensemble played and a cooling breeze blew through the open doors, they sipped wine and nibbled on ethnic hors d'oeuvres in the vineyard's expansive barn overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay. On Wednesday the scene was a little different, as movie-goers flocked downtown for opening night of the festival and their first glimpse of the newly renovated State Theatre on Front Street. After the sold-out 8 p.m. screening of "Mad Hot Ballroom," many strolled three blocks west to the City Opera House to mix and mingle at an elegant opening night reception. As a jazz ensemble played, guests stood chatting at cocktail tables set with white cloths and fresh flowers or strolled between caterers' stations offering local beers and wines, cannoli and tiramisu. Linda Wise and her daughter Loraine Steinbarger shelled out $50 each to attend the opening night events. "We want to see what's happening; how they're going to handle this," said Wise, 61, who agonized over what to wear until finally settling for slim khaki pants and a sheer dressy blouse. Besides Marilyn Agrelo, Andrew Wagner, Andrew Wagner and Alex Gibney, directors of "Mad Hot Ballroom," "The Talent Given Us" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," those in town for the festival include screenwriter Larry Brand ("Halloween: Resurrection") producer Rob Tappert ("Spiderman," "Spiderman 2") and actor Richard Brooks ("Law and Order"). Brooks, who played Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette on the program for three years, is a 1980 graduate of Interlochen Center for the Arts, where he studied theater and voice. He is currently on the center's Motion Picture Arts Advisory Board and will conduct master classes with drama students at Interlochen Arts Camp while here. He will participate in Saturday's free "Hollywood Confidential" film festival panel at the City Opera House at 11 a.m. A major coup for the festival has been hiring Bill Hill, head projectionist for the Sundance Film Festival and "booth chief" at the Telluride Film Festival's Galaxy Theatre, and his crew of three. Hill's Santa Fe, N.M. company, Hill Top Productions, has done production work for movies including "All The Pretty Horses" and "City Slickers," but focuses on providing technical support for film festivals across the country. Hill said he wasn't looking to put on another festival this time of the year, especially one on such short notice. But he changed his mind and canceled his vacation when the festival committee came calling. "What they're pulling off is just absolutely incredible," he said. "I've been involved lately in a lot of first-year festivals and what they take six or eight months to do, it seems like everyone here has been able to do in a couple of weeks." Tracy Kurtz, spokesperson for the festival, said the area's natural beauty and the "legend" of the State Theatre helped serve as a draw for both industry professionals and audiences. "The directors are eager to have their films shown here and people are excited about this (State Theatre) coming back to life after nine years," she said. The festival has drawn broad-based community support from more than 400 volunteers and 100 sponsors including the Midwestern Broadcasting Company, which airs Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows on its Traverse City radio station WTCM-AM. President Ross Biederman said the company is sponsoring the festival for the same reason it supports at least a half-dozen arts organizations in the region - because it's "good for the community." "We are interested in the film festival because its a film festival, period," Biederman said. "This is not about anyone's politics." The film festival runs through Sunday, with a total of 31 films. As of Wednesday morning, 13 screenings and four films had completely sold out, although standby ticket lines form 10 minutes before each sold-out show. "It's an amazing event and I'm just happy to be part of it," said Hill.
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