Traverse City Film Festival 2022: The Return
Written by Cameron Geiser
This year the Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan returned, last seen in the waning summer days of 2019, and what a welcomed homecoming it was! There were, of course, substantial financial hurdles to overcome in missing two years of the festival’s local financiers- Not to mention the rising waters of Lake Michigan threatening all low-lying theaters in the interim years. So Michael Moore and his team of festival organizers made some necessary changes to this year’s theater venues so that the festival could still take place, albeit in a more limited fashion than years’ past. The State Theater on Front Street in downtown was up and operational, as was the Bijou by the Bay just feet away from the marina and sandy shores of the Traverse City Bay. The team decided to take over a wing of the local AMC Multiplex and show a smattering of features and shorts there during the week as well.
All in all the festival was a success in my opinion. I’ve been going to the Film Fest on and off since 2012- but this year’s selection of films may have been the strongest overall that I’ve seen in my attendance over the years. Below I’ve listed the feature films I was lucky enough to secure tickets to with a following section dedicated to all of the short films that were shown at the festival as well. Each will be a blurb, more or less, on each film with an accompanying score. Though the short films will not be scored, these are simply to showcase the talent involved and the execution of ideas at play. Hopefully you’ll find something to seek out here and enjoy, I certainly did!
Feature Films
Breaking Surface: 3.5/5
This Norwegian Thriller from writer-director Joachim Hedén was easily the most intense film I saw at the fest this year. We follow two sisters, Ida and Tuva, who return home to visit their mother for a planned excursion to scuba dive together to relive a family tradition. There's some good character building in the first act establishing older sister Ida's childhood trauma in saving Tuva from a watery grave and the guilt piled on by their mother, then and now. Ida and Tuva have led different lives since their upbringing, Ida has a family where she fears she is retracing her mother's mistakes while Tuva leads a more solitary and playful life, diving professionally to clear large ships of potential debris on their propellers and hulls. After the sisters realize their mother isn't healthy enough to dive this time, they head to their familial diving spot without her. Once in the water it isn't long before a breakaway boulder crashes into the ice cold water from the cliffs above, hitting Tuva directly and pinning her to the ocean bay floor. The rest of the film is a great exercise in how to craft consistently evolving tension as Ida frantically scrambles from one problem solving fiasco to the next. Highly recommended.
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time: 4.5/5
This documentary from writer-director Robert B. Weide has been in progress, in some way shape or form, since 1982 after a 23 year old Weide had written a fan letter to Kurt Vonnegut inquiring if he'd be interested in a documentary being made about his life. To Weide's surprise Vonnegut not only responded to the letter, but agreed to the prospect of such a documentary. After spending an inordinate amount of time together shooting footage, having long discussions on writing, life, and the complex abstraction that is human nature- the two developed a surprisingly deep and thoughtful friendship. The documentary is as much about Kurt Vonnegut's life and books as it is about their friendship that developed in that time. There's a wealth of insight into the celebrated author's life and mindset, his successes, failures, warts and all. Vonnegut essentially saw Weide as his personal archivist and was constantly sending him old family film reels, photos, old manuscripts, a treasure trove for any fan. The documentary dives deep into Vonnegut's idiosyncrasies and past like nothing else before, it often tries to meld stylistic and non-linear notions on a macroscale like the best of Vonnegut's fiction, notably his magnum opus Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death. The documentary works just as well for fans familiar with Vonnegut's work as it is for newcomers, and I highly recommend giving it a shot.
The Professor and The Madman: 3/5
Have you ever wondered how the Oxford English Dictionary first came to be? No? Well, I hadn't either- but with a title like this, starring both Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, I simply had to know how the film would unfold. This historical drama about the true story of how the academic underdog James Murray (Mel Gibson) set out to use the greater public's contributions of English words, their definitions and histories, was a fascinating one due mostly to the odd couple relationship between Murray and Dr. William Minor (Sean Penn), an American Civil War veteran and patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Murray's fraught relationship with his academic superiors at Oxford, who consider him as lesser due to his self-taught and technically under-qualified resume, is but one half of the story at large. The other half lies with Dr. Minor, who fled America under duress, believing he was being pursued under the threat of death.
While in a panic on the streets of London late one night Dr. Minor believed he saw his pursuer and chased the man down to end the hunt once and for all. Unfortunately for Dr. Minor, the man he shot to death upon his own doorstep was not the culprit he imagined, but an innocent man fleeing for his life. While at Broadmoor, Dr. Minor came across Murray's public pamphlet detailing his quest to chart every single word in the English language. This challenge, deemed impossible by many at the time, energized and calmed Dr. Minor as he saw fit to contribute to the massive undertaking. With Dr. Minor's unprecedented contribution to the project, over 10,000 entries submitted by him alone, Murray was able to prove his theory of leaning on public support, on the democratization of words- and successfully paved the way for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. While a little dry at times, the film has an interesting story to tell. The Professor and The Madman leans heavily on the two lead performances of Penn and Gibson, with notable cast around them in Eddie Marsan, Natalie Dormer, and Steve Coogan. Watchable, and certainly worth your time if the cast or subject piques your interest.
Operation Curveball: 3.5/5
What seems as an impossibly stupid tale, and too farcical to be true, is the unfortunately quite true story of how the Iraq War began through the involvement of the German Government and its secret service agency, the BND. Our point of contact protagonist here is Dr. Wolf (Sebastian Blomberg), a bioweapons expert who spent time in Iraq during the Desert Storm era of the 1990s. Years later in the final period of that same decade Dr. Wolf is called upon by the BND to head an ongoing investigation into the veracity of the claims being made by an Iraqi citizen seeking asylum in Germany. Codename Curveball, Rafid Alwan (Dar Salim), claimed to have been an engineer for Saddam Hussein's secret bioweapons program producing Anthrax within mobile labs, thereby giving the BND palatable reasoning as to why the UN never found any proof of this in their own investigations. Curveball certainly knew his value to the German Secret Service and his claims appeared enticing enough that the German officials overlooked the lack of direct and credible proof of these claims. If true the BND would finally have a leg up on the CIA and they planned to use that for clout within their government and on the world's stage. How it all unravels makes this political satire an entertaining, if frustrating, time. If you're looking for a cynical, slightly slapstick, dark comedy about the farce that is international espionage, look no further.
The Hidden Life of Trees: 3/5
Renowned forester and best-selling author Peter Wohlleben takes the core thesis and ideas of his popular book of the same name and translates them into Documentary form. Wohlleben guides us through some of the most fascinating facts to come out of scientific expertise on the slow and often overlooked world of trees and forests throughout several countries in the northern hemisphere. This meditative and illuminating tour of the ecological, biological and academic expertise used to understand how nature works was the most educational film of the festival. I left the theater more appreciative of how nature operates, and just how intrusive some human practices can be. Thoroughly engrossing and surprisingly spellbinding, The Hidden Life of Trees is well worth your time.
Bo Burnham: Inside: 3.5/5
As possibly one of the twelve people who had yet to catch comedian Bo Burnham's latest special, Inside when it was released last year on Netflix- I quite enjoyed this manic and darkly cynical microcosm of what living through the year 2020 was like for us. Being the same age as Bo Burnham made it doubly relatable as I also had a long period of isolation indoors, though his 2020 was far more productive than mine. In the future, if anyone ever wants to know what living through the god awful year that was 2020, especially in America, I will immediately point them to this comedy special. Burnham's frequent breakdowns, general malaise, sardonic self-awareness, and on-point songs that perfectly satirize so much of our modern lives is enough to mark him down as a herald of our times. My favorite song was How the World Works with Welcome to the Internet being a close second. If you haven't seen this one yet, go give it a watch.
Stray: 3/5
What’s life like for a stray dog? This documentary film is the unexpected answer to that question. This is a slice of life doc about the lives of three dogs in Istanbul, Turkey. Though mainly, this is Zeytin’s story. Zeytin is the fiercely independent lead of the film, she’s a spunky and sociable tan mutt whom the camera follows most throughout the runtime. She does however often interact with the other two “characters” of the doc in Nazar, the sleepy and protective cafe dweller, and Kartal- a shy white and black spotted puppy that gets quite the attention from some local Syrian boys. In fact, some of the best parts of the film are when Zeytin wanders around the city and the camera unintentionally picks up random bits and pieces of conversations that people are having. Through following Zeytin’s footsteps we hear from all corners of Istanbul’s populace. Political debates, the trials of being a refugee in a new land, an argument between a couple about the intentions behind Instagram posts, Zeytin even cordially invades a women’s march at one point. We’re also treated to quotes from philosophers about dogs that are peppered throughout the film. Most are from the Greek philosopher Diogenes, “The Dog”, but my favorite quote in the film was from Themistius, “Dogs keep watch over human beings, not to ensure that they do not lose their property, but rather that they do not get robbed of their integrity”.
Luckily, the filmmaker, Elizabeth Lo, was at our showing for a Q and A after the film in which we learned more about Turkey’s history with stray dogs. Sometime near the end of the 19th century, or possibly the beginning of the 20th, a high ranking British Official visited Istanbul and was inadvertently chased off a cliff by a pack of stray dogs and fell to his death. The British did not take the news well and ordered the authorities in Istanbul to round up all the dogs and send them to an offshore island. The cries of the starving dogs could be heard in the streets of Istanbul and thereafter the citizen’s would consider this act to be “The Curse of The Dog” as the city experienced widespread and dangerous fires that the stray dogs used to alert people to, and all of this before the terrors of both World Wars. For roughly a hundred years the Turkish authorities tried to wage various crusades against the strays, usually using them as political scapegoats.
The people remembered the wails of those dogs though and would often hide the dogs during these raids. Today Turkey is the only country in the world where stray dogs have their safety enshrined into law, they cannot be held captive, put into shelters, or harmed in any way. As for the actual documentary itself, there is no narration, hardly any dialogue, and it can be a bit slow at times- as it turns out, stray dogs sleep a lot. However, if you love dogs, you’ll likely enjoy this meditative documentary. In the streets of Istanbul, the stray dogs are well fed, and treated with respect.
Short Films
More Than I Remember (dir. Amy Bench, 14min)
This animated short is simultaneously heartbreaking and full of hope in the kindness of strangers. This is Mugeni’s story, a young African woman from a small village in the Congo who fled her home and family when a neighboring village attacked them one night. Mugeni describes her struggles in detail over an animation style closely resembling that of most children’s books. Eventually she becomes involved in a refugee program in Kenya and is sent to a family in Michigan where she sees new struggles in a strange land. This time though she has a supportive family that also helps her track down her mother. After the reunion Mugeni even helps set her mother up with a solid business acumen too. This was a charming short film on the power of the refugee experience, and why we should all try to help each other as best as possible- especially in trying times.
Bill’s Records (dir. Chuck Pryzbyl, 9min)
This short was a delightful little tale about the owner of the largest vinyl record store in America. We get a bit of history on how Bill spends over a hundred hours a week at the store, virtually working by himself. It’s an easygoing and relaxed story about the connective power of music.
Stranger at the Gate (dir. Joshua Seftel, 30min)
I was blown away by the power of this short film. The short was quite clever in its setup, framing interviews with all of the people involved with the subject of the short, U.S. Marine Mac McKinney. McKinney is wisely edited around initially. The filmmakers shrouded the event in question with an air of mystery and intrigue. What exactly did this former Marine do? Once we get introduced to the members of an Islamic family that run a small mosque in rural Indiana- the assumptions one makes aren’t exactly of goodwill. The longer the short goes, the more stressful it becomes for the viewer as we get closer to what we can only assume was a horrible event drenched in blood and tears. It was not, in fact, about McKinney killing those people in that Mosque. McKinney was indeed approached by the FBI, and headlines were made, but not in the way that you would expect. When McKinney had made up his mind to go and see the people of that Mosque before performing a terrible act- he was met with kindness and a greater welcoming that he ever knew. McKinney went there with hate in his heart, but eventually his heart was changed. He even converted to the Islamic faith! I cannot stress how astounding and impressively hopeful this story was. If only stories like these were more abundant, maybe we could turn the tide against hatred and towards love.
Traverse City’s Not So Haunted Past (dir. Katie Clark, 10min)
This was a cute little short made by a local Traverse City middle schooler who was doing a report on the old Hospital buildings in town that used to be a mental asylum. Granted, Katie Clark went in expecting the pulpy dime novel ghost stories and salacious slasher tales from the crypt. However, she instead learned about the history of the style of Hospitals for the mentally ill and how they were designed to ease anxiety and assist people in relieving their minds of paranoia amongst other ailments. Not bad for an eighth grader!
Holding Moses (dir. Rivkah Beth Medow, Jen Rainin, 17min)
This one was tough. Not in terms of quality, but in emotional weight. This short follows a former Broadway performer from Stomp who wanted to be a mother more than anything else in life. She got her wish with the birth of her son, Moses. She also never expected a child to come with so many debilitating health and cognitive issues. After diving into the depths of her despair we see her and Moses (now with a couple more children years later) living joyfully, through the tears, the pain, and the rhythm of it all. Through all the strife, they continue to march forward in life and to take joy in the time that they can.
OSHO (What They’ve Been Taught) (dir. Brit Hensel, 9min)
This one was a gentle reminder to respect nature. There wasn’t much to it overall, but it’s always good to eat a little humble pie and to give nature something in return when it gives you what you need.
Life Rendered (dir. Emma Needal, 25min)
I was taken aback by the unassuming tenderness of this short film. It’s the first I’ve ever seen to incorporate virtual reality as a storytelling device in an effective manner that enriches the tale being told too. Out in the rural middle of the country, Mark (Owen Teague) helps his aging cowboy father keep the family ranch afloat while traveling to the virtual world nightly where he nurtures a burgeoning romance. After putting the final touches on a new digital world that he’d just finished Mark invites a guy over that any audience will quickly realize is more than a friend. Initially the real world Mark seems shy, he’s quiet and doesn’t begrudge his father for needing help until he can get a prosthetic leg fitted- but ranch work isn’t exactly the life Mark wants. It’s clear that Mark fears his father discovering his sexuality, but the old man isn’t as cantankerous as he may have seemed at first. Keenly aware of his son’s emotional state, Mark being shaken by opening up to his partner and getting rejected carries over into the real world, the wheelchair cowboy puts on his detective’s hat to try and understand his son. Once Mark has gone out for his daily duties his father puts on the virtual reality headset and stumbles upon undeniable proof of his son’s sexuality. The note Mark finds the following day, clearly written by his father, simply said, “Love who you want- I just want you to be happy”. Wholeheartedly recommended.
Sleeping Bear (dir. Johanna Oswald, 6min)
I’d wager that most children that grew up on the western shores of Michigan likely know this Native American story. I certainly had a picture book of this one growing up, and this short does a wonderful job translating the mythology of the Sleeping Bear Dunes and the two Manitou Islands. Essentially, there was a massive wildfire in Wisconsin and a mother black bear and her two cubs swam out into Lake Michigan to escape the flames. When the mother bear clambered onto the beaches of Leelanau, her two cubs were nowhere to be seen. So the mother bear climbed high atop the massive dunes to watch for her cubs, but they never came. The spirits took pity on the bear and turned her lost cubs into the two islands and her into the giant sleeping bear dunes so she could forever watch over her cubs.
I am a Collector (dir. Nat Soti, 5min)
This short was about a locally famous Chicago Art Collector. The short goes into his past focusing on Black Artists’ contributions to the art world and how he originally disliked the stigma that came with being called “an art collector”- but eventually came to realize that he was truly a collector of art, just without all the frills or assumed snobbery. Delightful, and certainly recommended.
Created Sleep Transmissions (dir. James Francis Ginty, 10min)
This was easily the most creative short of the bunch. Children’s book author Emily Dormer (Madison Vomastek) has an absurdist abstract dream where she debates moving out of her partner’s house and onto broader pastures. There’s a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Shower, football player ballerinas, and a man in a bunny suit that tells her to follow the purple flowers. She abruptly wakes up from the dream and is called with a job opportunity, to make dreams. Though in the business they call them Created Sleep Transmissions. Neat idea, executed with deadpan delivery, and oddball charm. Highly recommended!
The Sentence of Michael Thompson (dir. Kyle Thrash & Haley Elizabeth Anderson, 25min)
This was an informative short about Michael Thompson’s prison sentence, which was the longest active sentencing in the state of Michigan related to the sale of marijuana. In 1996 Michael Thompson was sentenced to a life sentence of 40 to 60 years for the attempted sale of 3 pounds of marijuana to an undercover cop. Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018 in the state of Michigan there have been and continue to be non-violent inmates serving long sentences for something that is now legally available, and profitable on a massive scale. Luckily for Michael Thompson, Governor Whitmer granted him Clemency and he was released from prison. In fact he was at our showing of his short film to further speak on his and others’ injustices. There are still people serving similar sentences to this day, and that’s just plain wrong. Pretty good short documentary, definitely worth a watch!
Deep Sea Mining (dir. Julia Barnes, 9min)
This educational short film was about the potential dangers of industrial deep sea mining projects that are being pushed by profit hungry corporations. Obviously, they have no regard for how this will affect not only the areas they plan to mine in, but the potential spread of the plume clouds generated by kicking up the dirt from the sea floor. This has consequences for huge areas of the seas and the myriad of species that live or migrate through the affected areas. This one was a warning, will we heed the call to abide by nature within responsible means? Time will tell.
Ball & Vase (dir. David Baram, 32min)
This was my favorite short of the festival! From writer-director Dave Baram comes one of the few fictional shorts of the festival in Ball & Vase. We follow Ed (Austin Pendleton), an older gentleman living alone in his apartment who’s picked up several books and kits for learning magic tricks. Initially he’s depicted practicing these tricks as he talks to his grandson Wally via a Christmas card with his family’s photo on it. Ed doesn’t seem to have had all that much luck or skill in performing magic tricks, we see him fail a few times as he assures “Wally” that “Well, it’s not supposed to go like that. Don’t worry Wally. Next time”. It’s close to Christmas and we see bits of Ed’s life, that he’s a widow and is still grieving somewhat, that he’s got a friendly repertoire with his neighbors and their children too, but mostly that Ed’s living a profoundly lonely and sad life.
Then Ed gets the news that his family won’t be able to make it to see him for Christmas, so, he goes out on Christmas Eve to an old Pub that he used to frequent with his wife. While there he’s shuffling his cards and has a beer or two by himself. Right before the bar closes the last table left invites Ed over to see a Magic Trick. Ed seems tired and isn’t sure of himself. However, just when everything seems like it’s going to go wrong and Ed might embarrass himself- he performs a miraculous magic trick, saves the night, and goes to bed that night with a smile and a chuckle. Excellent short film, seek this one out!
Daddy’s Girl (dir. Lena Hudson, 10min)
From writer-director Lena Hudson, Daddy’s Girl is a quirky and charming short comedy about Alison (Tedra Millan), a thirty-something millennial who’s moving out of her boyfriend’s apartment with the help of her father, Robert (Peter Friedman). This short alternatively borders between the tones of a Judd Apatow comedy with something along the lines of the animated comedy show Tuca and Bertie (Check it out!). I quite enjoyed the jabs at class dynamics between both Alison and her father, “We’re not fancy apartment people Aly”, and her older, chic, Giorgio Armani-styled boyfriend. Together the two smoke weed out the window and decide to steal her boyfriend’s couch. It was an entertaining ten minutes and I do recommend giving this one a watch if you can find it.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.