Saturday was awash with ticklish tee-hees like Aramgan Ballantyne’s Nude Tuesday and Nick Richey’s 1-800-Hot-Nite, which was one of the films in contention for a CICAE award. There was also a celebration of films from Greenland, including Inuk Sillis Hoeg’s documentary Sume: The Sound of a Revolution about the first rock band in the 1970s to record in Greenlandic language and the decolonization that resulted.
Also playing was Justin Lerner’s Cadejo Blanco and Bradford Thomason’s Butterfly in the Sky, a documentary about the PBS show Reading Rainbow. The big show that night was Mike Plante’s and Jason Willis’s Anatomy of an Arthouse: 50 Years of the Loft Cinema in Tucson at a sold-out showing on the main screen. Some may remember Tucson-based Ellis’s famous Sundance award-winning short Catnip: Egress to Oblivion. The late-night flick that night was the supernatural-tinted Nanny by Nikyatu Jusus, also a winner at this year’s Sundance.
Daughter of a Lost Bird
Sunday unfurled with Brooke Swaney’s powerful documentary Daughter of a Lost Bird, which was timely as the Supreme Court is currently reviewing the indigenous adoption law the documentary focuses on. Also unspooling was legendary British director Stephen Frear’s The Lost King, a true story about the hunt for Richard III’s grave that the audience completely ate up.
Also shown was the 7th Annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase, a collection of short films from a Latina-led organization founded by women and non-binary artists. Another screening was CICAE contenders Oscar Harding’s A Life on the Farm and Claudia Huaiquimilla’s My Brothers Dream Awake, and Hot documentary Good Night, Oppy by Ryan White, rolled out with plenty of snap and sizzle. Also showing again was Amil Shivji’s Tug of War about the “Free Zanzibar movement for those that didn’t catch it on Thursday.
Monday and Tuesday offered plenty of opportunity to catch up on the films already screened with encore screenings, like Reid Davenport’s Sundance winner I Didn’t See You There, Iliana Sosa’s What We Leave Behind, Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film and CiCAE contenders After Sherman by Jon Sesrie Goff, Liquor Store Dreams by So Yun Um and Scarborough by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson.
The big show Monday night was Cannes Grind Prix winner Close by Lukas Dhont prior to its release through A24. Tuesday’s big show was Cannes Jury Prize winner and Poland’s Oscar entry, EO, an existential donkey ride by the great Jerzy Skolimowski. I know some festgoers were earnestly trying to see it all, as one commented during a Q&A they had seen 20 films that week. Even for a city of a million people, Tucson has an unusually high amount of hardcore film lovers.
Triangle of Sadness
Wednesday was a very special day as it was focused on honoring the great Jacqueline Bisset with the presentation of her Loft Lifetime Achievement Award. In the afternoon, there was a screening of her film for Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night, the 1975 Oscar winner for best foreign language film. Then was the gala screening of her new film Loren & Rose, with the writer/director Russell Brown joining Ms. Bisset onstage. I have seen some great Q & A’s at the Loft Fests, with the ones featuring Bobcat Gothwaite and Allison Anders being exceptionally notable and the Udo Kier one being completely insane. Ms. Bisset was a class act on the highest level.
Rarely have I experienced such a sophisticated perspective on modern cinema presented in an entirely down-to-earth manner. The excitement the actress had over her new film by Brown was in evidence, as was her gratitude over such a great role. A warm glow enveloped the entire theater during her talk, and boy, didn’t the kids of yesteryear just love it. The very first movie preview I ever saw in the theater was Ms. Bisset in The Deep when I was 4. It was a profound experience.
Thursday was the final catch-up day with the fest closer being the Tucson premiere of Ruben Ostulund’s festival juggernaut. A packed house greeted all the vomit-soaked splendor with audible reactions, and it is definitely a theatrical experience to savor both going down as well as coming back up. Made for quite a closing night party. Overall it was a wonderful return to the in-person format for one of the great fests of the West. Whether you were from away and enjoying Tucson’s sunshine and internationally recognized cuisine or lucky enough to live in town, the Loft Fest 2022 was a celebration to remember.
