With fall in the air and a summertime full of outdoor street festivals now a collection of fond memories, the Tacoma Film Festival arrives right on time, when thoughts turn more toward indoor pursuits. Now in its third year, the festival returns Oct. 2-9 to offer screenings of more than 80 local and international independent films, many with filmmakers, producers and actors in attendance.

Presented by the Grand Cinema, Pierce County’s only non-profit art house film theater, the festival is as much for the filmmakers as it is for audiences. New, local and emerging filmmakers get to have their work presented to the public on the silver screen and movie lovers get to sit back and enjoy a completely different kind of entertainment that they will not see at home on television.

“That is exactly why this event began in Tacoma - to provide a platform for emerging, independent film talent,” said festival coordinator Rachel Marecle, director of community development for The Grand Cinema. “It fits the mission of the Grand, to cultivate film as art in our community.”

Fair ticket prices make the event much cheaper than a lot of other things to do on a night out in Tacoma, even for those on tight budgets - $8 for adults, $6 for children 12 and under, seniors and military, and all matinees (for weekday shows before 6 p.m. and weekend shows before 4 p.m.). Join The Grand Cinema during the fest and you will get the members’ discount of $1.50 off all prices.

There is something for everyone in this festival - dramas, comedies, animation, horror, documentaries and foreign films from 11 different countries. Some are full-length and others are shorts lasting less than a half-hour that will be shown in groupings or paired with full-length films. “Anytime you come to one of the screenings this year, most likely you’ll be seeing more than one movie,” Marecle said, which offers viewers a chance to see different types of films.

Most of the films featured in the festival will be shown more than once. Screenings will be held at four venues in downtown Tacoma - The Grand Cinema (606 S. Fawcett St.), Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) Theater (1118 Commerce St.), Tacoma Art Museum (1701 Pacific Ave.) and United Methodist Church of Tacoma (621 Tacoma Ave). The full list of films, synopses and screening times/locations is available at http://tacoma.bside.com/2008 and the official 2008 Tacoma Film Festival guide is available at The Grand Cinema.

Children, too, are included in the festival with something special lined up for them Oct. 3 and 4 with admission free for youth 17 and under (accompanying adults pay $6). Beginning at 11 a.m. both days at The Grand Cinema, a series of nine short films from the Seattle Children’s Film Festival will be screened: “Multi From Musnaka” (USA, 2005, 4 mins.); “Montrose Avenue” (Canada, 2006, animated documentary, 6 mins.); “Shhhh…” (Scotland, 2007, 3 mins.); “Rindin the Puffer” (USA, 2007, 8 mins.); “When I Grow Up” (USA, 7 mins.); “Raven Tales” (USA, 2006, 23 mins.); and three that have won awards at past film festivals: “Aston’s Stones” (Sweden, 2007, 9 mins.), “Piano Lesson” (USA, 2007, 6 mins.) and “Cookies For Sale” (USA, 2007, 3 mins.).

On Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. The Grand will show two additional films geared for young audiences, the 11-minute short “For a Few Marbles More” and the full-length “The Natural History of the Chicken.”

Once the festival is over, The Grand will continue offering free admission for youth every weekend morning through November (11 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday) as part of the theater’s annual Children’s Film Series. More information on this is available at www.GrandCinema.com.

The festival officially kicks off Oct. 2 with an opening night reception for the filmmakers, 6:30 p.m. at United Methodist Church. For the $17 admission guests will dine on hearty appetizers courtesy of The Harmon Pub, The Harmon Brewing Company and Corina Bakery, and view a selection of trailers and opening night movies: “Pierre” (comedy, local, 7 mins.) follows the misadventures of a mouse, living in a hole in the wall, who falls madly in love with a beautiful human girl. “Light Years” (drama, subtitles, 15 mins.) focuses on four relationships spanning the four corners of the globe and how they are put to the test when each person learns the world may end in eight minutes. “On Paper Wings” (documentary, subtitled, 67 mins.) is about four Japanese women who worked during World War II on bombs carried to the United States via balloons, which resulted in the deaths of six people in Oregon. This is their story and that of the families of those killed, and the man whose actions brought them all together 40 years after WWII.

The week of film screenings ends on a festive note Oct. 9 with a closing night gala and “The Grandies” awards ceremony for best films at the Temple Theater ballroom beginning at 6:30 p.m. A fully catered buffet dinner will be served, there will be live jazz by Pearl Django and filmmakers and film enthusiasts can meet and mingle. Tickets are $50.  

Over the past year organizers of the festival received more than 200 entries from filmmakers across the globe. A panel made up of more than 30 volunteers took the task of viewing the films in teams of two. “It was quite an undertaking,” Marecle said. Winning films were chosen using the “two thumbs up” or “two thumbs down” method. Upon a split vote, a third volunteer would step in and cast the deciding vote.

To come up with a poster design for the 2008 festival, The Grand Cinema held a contest and received about 50 submissions. Lori Davenport’s design was chosen as winner. “There’s just so much artistic ability out there,” Marecle commented. “It’s just so exciting as a non-profit in a small community to get the response we did.” The rest of the entries are on display in The Grand Cinema lobby.

Advance tickets for all film fest movies are now on sale at The Grand Cinema. Day of show tickets will also be available at the venue door half an hour prior to the show. For information, call (253) 572-6062 or visit www.TacomaFilmFestival.com.