Tahoe Film Fest is a welcome addition to the cultural atmosphere in one of the most spectacular places to visit. Those who live in and around Lake Tahoe respect their environment and care about protecting beautiful Lake Tahoe. Tahoe Film Fest ticket sales benefit science research and education at U.C. Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
 
The 8th Annual Tahoe Film Fest brings many award-winning films to North Lake Tahoe with special guests and filmmakers introducing several of the films.

Schedule of Events

December 1, 2022

5:30 PM - Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2021 (USA) 118 minutes Directed by: Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine

A deep-dive into the iconic hymn, Hallelujah, this film chronicles the life of musician Leonard Cohen, whose poetry evolved into a successful career as a singer-songwriter. Leonard's story is told here by those who knew and loved him, including record executive Clive Davis and collaborator Judy Collins, who chart Leonard's life, from his beginnings as a child from a wealthy family in Montreal through his multi-year stint in a Zen monastery—as a man and an artist. The film spotlights the writing, recording, and singing of the song "Hallelujah" and its ever-evolving lyrics, performed here by a multitude of artists, including Bono, Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan and k.d. lang, a song that's been sung everywhere from weddings and funerals to Coachella and movie soundtracks. This in-depth exploration of an artist and his process, weaving intimate interviews with rarely seen personal and performance archival footage. Fans of Cohen and his well-loved song will come away with a deeper connection to both.

6:00 PM - Women Talking at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 104 minutes Directed by: Sarah Polley

This adaptation of Miriam Toews' acclaimed novel grants us access to a tight-knit, cloistered religious colony in which women struggle to recover from an epidemic of abuse. Featuring riveting, emotionally complex performances from a stunning ensemble that includes Oscar nominees Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley and Oscar winner Frances McDormand, WOMEN TALKING is a drama of harrowing revelations, fraught alliances, and the search for grace. Reeling from multiple counts of sexual abuse, newly uncovered within their Mennonite colony, a group of women gather in a hayloft to discuss how to respond. While the men are away, the women narrow their options down to three: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. Some fear that any act of defiance will jeopardize their entry into heaven, while others believe they cannot survive without husbands and sons. Some are willing to take any measures to escape the terror of their domestic lives and insist that "the truth is stronger than the rules." The film is at once ferocious in its critique of patriarchal oppression — a critique that clearly extends to our broader, secular culture — while respectful of the beliefs and traditions in which its characters were raised. Though it is suffused with the pain of trauma, a stubborn sense of wonder and quiet joy in community permeate the film.

7:30 PM - Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2021 (USA) 93 minutes Directed by: Brent Wilson

When Rolling Stone editor and longtime friend Jason Fine drops by the L.A. home of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, Fine suggests they cruise around the city he knows so well to visit old haunts and give Brian the opportunity to reflect on his life and music. They first head to Paradise Cove – photo session site for the Beach Boys' first LP – then to Hollywood, Malibu, and the stomping grounds of hometown Hawthorne. Spontaneously "spinning" Mp3s of his favorite cuts along the way, Brian delves into his childhood, his contentious relationship with dad Murry, the nine-year "prison sentence" under the "guidance" of Dr. Landy, his struggles with depression and mental illness, his love for brothers Dennis and Carl, and the many recording sessions. Weighing in are admirers and those close to him, including Al Jardine, Don Was, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Linda Perry. Punctuated with memorable concert, studio and interview footage, this entertaining and at times heart-tugging road trip provides both an intimate look into Wilson's storied life and further inspiration to anyone who has been touched by his music.

December 2, 2022

5:45 PM - The Fabelmans at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 151 minutes Directed by: Steven Spielberg

THE FABELMANS finds the director reflecting on the experiences that made him the filmmaker we know and love, in a story based on his childhood in Arizona. Gabriel LaBelle gives a breakout performance as the teenage Sammy Fabelman, always desperate for a new piece of gear so he can make ever-bigger movies with his friends. Michelle Williams is the heart of the story as Sammy's encouraging mother, a skilled pianist. She brings life to their household, a fact Mr. Fabelman (Paul Dano), a computer engineer, finds as enchanting as he does discombobulating. Their family is rounded out by his loveable co-worker Benny (Seth Rogen), who becomes an uncle to Sammy and his sisters, always along for the ride with the Fabelmans. This unique combination of parental figures eventually becomes a source of tension with Sammy at the center, and that seeps into his creative work. Spielberg has Sammy navigating the interpersonal fragments of home and school life, in what may be the most emotionally expansive film of his career. Starting with gunslingers and war stories, the way any Boy Scout in the late 1950s might, Sammy/Spielberg shows us not only what sparked Spielberg's love for cinema, but also how empathy and human relationships have sneaked their way into the work of this master filmmaker.

6:30 PM - Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2022 (USA) 90 minutes Directed by: Frank Marshall

At the genesis of their now 50 years of friendship and collaboration, six-time Grammy Award-winner James Taylor and four-time Grammy Award-winner Carole King, famously performed together in 1970 at The Troubadour, the storied Los Angeles club. The pair came together to reprise that concert for The Troubadour's own 50th anniversary in 2007. As Taylor recalls in the film, those 2007 performances including "So Far Away," "I Feel the Earth Move," and "You've Got a Friend," during six sold out concerts, were so much fun, that he and King hatched plans for a 2010 world tour. CAROLE KING & JAMES TAYLOR: JUST CALL OUT MY NAME documents the beloved songwriters' triumphant 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour of arena concerts around the world along with archive footage from other concerts, and through interviews with them and those associated with their joint act, including longtime band members and producers.

7:00 PM - Pretty Problems at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 103 minutes Directed by: Kestrin Pantera

Jack and Lindsey Simpson are officially stuck. But when they get invited on a getaway trip to a Sonoma Chateau by affluent strangers, they end up on the most unhinged weekend of their lives. With the "haves", anything goes — including their bearings on reality. Can their relationship survive this new wild west of wealth? Do they even want it to? Smash a glass and take the ride.

8:30 PM - Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2022 (USA) 95 minutes Directed by: Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka "Jazz Fest," is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America's greatest festival. Celebrating the music, food, and arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, Jazz Fest is an essential showcase of the rich heritage of the region, and hundreds of thousands attend the event each year. Local music heroes are joined on 14 stages by some of the most important figures in entertainment, highlighting the connections between Louisiana culture and the world. JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY weaves together live performances and interviews featuring Herbie Hancock, Aaron Neville, Al Green, Bruce Springsteen and Earth Wind and Fire, along with a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic festival. This film not only captures the Festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.

8:45 PM - She Said at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 128 minutes Directed by: Maria Schrader

A poignant testament to the power of investigative journalism, SHE SAID captures the journey of New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) as they uncover harrowing accounts of sexual harassment and assault perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein—and the powerful Hollywood machine that enabled and protected him for decades. Based on the book by Kantor and Twohey, this heart-racing and emotional drama highlights the journalists' unflinching tenacity in the face of institutional barriers and resistance, brilliantly captured with nuance and complexity by Kazan and Mulligan. Aided by an exceptional ensemble cast, acclaimed director Maria Schrader spotlights the remarkable courage of the women who came forward as well as those who helped bring their stories to light. This game-changing story marked a momentous shift in Hollywood and beyond, and serves as a reminder of the ever-relevant impact and importance of uncovering the truth and amplifying otherwise silenced voices.

December 3, 2022

2:00 PM - Retrograde at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 94 minutes Directed by: Matthew Heineman

Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner Matthew Heineman's (CARTEL LAND, THE FIRST WAVE) newest work captures the final nine months of America's 20-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives: one of the last US Special Forces units deployed there; a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds; and the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses and the Taliban take over. From rarely seen operational control rooms to the frontlines of battle to the chaotic Kabul airport during the final US withdrawal, RETROGRADE offers a cinematic and historic window into the end of America's longest war, and the costs endured for those most intimately involved.

2:00 PM - Wildcat at Northstar Village Cinema

Directed by: Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh 2022 (USA) 106 minutes

After returning from Afghanistan with severe depression and PTSD, Harry Turner went to the Peruvian Amazon to end his life. There, he met conservationist and scientist Samantha Zwicker, and through their work together raising orphaned wildlife he is finding a reason to live. WILDCAT takes viewers to the remote Las Piedras River to witness how two orphaned ocelots and the solitude of the rainforest help a young man and young woman with traumatic pasts. This feature-length documentary is an intimate, character-driven story about the impact of wild places on us – and our impact on them.

4:00 PM - Fire of Love at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA, Canada) 98 minutes Directed by: Sara Dosa

Intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft devoted their lives to uncovering the mystery of volcanoes, chasing fire around the world and in the process capturing some of the most spectacular imagery of the earth ever recorded. Told through the lenses of this magnetic couple, FIRE OF LOVE is a visual romance that takes place on an intimate and awesome scale, exploring how their shared passion enabled pioneering research in the 1970s and '80s that helped save lives, but ultimately ended their own. Directed by Sara Dosa and narrated by Miranda July, this lyrical archival collage pulls from hundreds of hours of rare and never-before-seen footage and photographs shot by the Kraffts, channeling the humor, affection, and insatiable curiosity that was integral to their partnership and which left behind a legacy that has forever enriched our understanding of the natural world.

4:00 PM - Only In Theaters at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 94 minutes Directed by: Raphael Sbarge

Four generations of the Laemmle family have dedicated themselves to supporting, encouraging, innovating and elevating the art of filmmaking. Responsible for bringing foreign film to Los Angeles and popularizing countless foreign independent films and their filmmakers, the Laemmle Theatres' impact on Hollywood and world cinema cannot be overstated. Established in 1938 by two European immigrants escaping World War II—cousins of Hollywood movie mogul Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Studios – The Laemmle Theaters are an integral part of cinema. With appearances from Cameron Crowe, Ava DuVernay, Nicole Holofcener, James Ivory and Alison Anders. The film is further enhanced with critics, writers, and filmmakers including Edward Goldman, Kevin Thomas, Kenneth Turan, Bruce Joel Rubin plus Leonard Maltin, Ross Melnick, Michael Renov, and Mark Ulano. ONLY IN THEATERS works as both a state-of-industry insight for those with a professional interest, and an irresistible story of an American dynasty and love letter to cinema for a general audience.

6:00 PM - Close at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (France) 105 minutes Directed by: Lukas Dhont

Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond shapes the days and nights in their idyllic rural community. But when their intense friendship is suddenly torn apart, provoked by bullying classmates, their friendship is changed forever which leads to tragedy. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi's mother, in the hopes of finding solace in a new reality. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, heartbreak and healing.

6:15 PM - What Comes Around at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 85 minutes Directed by: Amy Redford

In this immersive thriller, a young love affair becomes a menacing game of cat and mouse. Nothing and no one are as they seem. It's a worrying combination for many parents, and when Anna (Grace Van Dien) tells her mother, Beth (Summer Phoenix), that she's met a boy online, Beth goes on full alert. It turns out Anna's new crush is not a boy but a man — 28 years old, and saying all the right things to a girl on the verge of 17 as she cradles her phone in her bedroom. Then, without invitation, there he is, on the family's doorstep. WHAT COMES AROUND has a terrific starting premise, drawn from the experiences and anxieties of so many families. But it twists beyond that to take the film into a territory that's both thriller and thoughtful moral drama. The familiar conflicts between a mother and her adolescent daughter get ever more complicated by the presence of Anna's boyfriend Eric, who seems nice but is disturbingly persistent. Beth, a single mother, may need to call on her fiancé Tim (Jesse Garcia), who is a cop.

6:30 PM - Free Puppies at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2022 (USA) 68 minutes Directed by: Christina Thomas and Samantha Wishman

Although transports have moved dogs from the South for decades, when Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure of modern pet transport for a nation-wide dog rescue effort was born. Since then, individual volunteers, transporters, shelters and rescue groups have created a movement to place millions of southern dogs in areas of the country with high demand for adoption but low supply. By following a group of women dog rescuers from Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, FREE PUPPIES! reveals the challenges that contribute to the rescue dog crisis in the first place. These women not only save dogs from euthanasia, but also organize affordable and accessible spay and neuter, reform local ordinances, advocate for humane education, and fight urgent and complex challenges facing underserved areas of the rural South.

8:00 PM - Path of the Panthers at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 89 minutes Directed by: Eric Bendick

Perched on the edge of extinction, the panther is an emblem of our once connected world. A vision of what could be again. Or else, a forerunner of what could befall our planet. This odyssey of hope and heartbreak is the culmination of more than five years in the field, 500,000 still images, and over 800 hours of ultra-high-definition camera trap footage. Against all odds, wild panthers have been stunningly captured in their native ecosystem, as they've never been filmed before. These wide-ranging apex predators, one of the most elusive and endangered wild cats in the world, are also the inspiration for a visionary idea: a wildlife corridor. It's the beginning of a wild ‘path' that could one day stretch into every corner of the American continent. This groundbreaking story inspired the passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act – the first legislation of its kind and a blueprint for addressing habitat fragmentation and species extinction across the globe. Today, the movement continues to grow. The world stands at a crossroads – and the panther is showing the way.

8:30 PM - Lost Illusions at Incline Village Cinema

2021 (France) 149 minutes Directed by: Xavier Giannoli

Lucien de Rubempre (Benjamin Voisin) is an ambitious and unknown aspiring poet in 19th century France. He leaves his provincial town, arriving in Paris on the arm of his admirer, Louise de Bargeton (Cecile de France). Outmatched in elite circles, Lucien's naive etiquette prompts Louise to retreat back to her husband, leaving the young poet to forge a new path. Lucien makes a new friend in another young writer, Etienne Lousteau (Vincent Lacoste), who introduces him to the business of journalism where a salon of wordsmiths and wunderkinds make or break the reputations of actors and artists with insouciant impunity. Lucien agrees to write rave reviews for bribes, achieving material success at the expense of his conscience and soon discovers that the written word can be an instrument of both beauty and deceit. Xavier Giannoli's adaptation of Honore de Balzac's epic novel, Lost Illusions is a ravishing vision of the birth of modern media.

8:30 PM - Moonage Daydream at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2022 (USA, Germany) 135 minutes Directed by: Brett Morgan

A kaleidoscopic weave of archival performances and candid interviews immerses us in the restless starman's singular galaxy of music, art, and identity. David Bowie had a multitude of personas as a musician, painter, actor, and world traveler. This documentary portrait, told in his own words from decades of interviews, is as bold and visually inventive as he was. Coming six years after his death, the film celebrates the immortality of his art, drawing upon an astonishing depth of rare footage including live performances of quintessential songs. The film moves through the artist's different phases — from the experimental identities of Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane in the 1970s, to the mass appeal of "Let's Dance" in the 1980s, to his later explorations when Bowie's main goal was to please himself. Despite his reputation as a trickster, Bowie's interviews are surprisingly frank, reflecting on his suburban childhood, his years of restless seeking, and falling in love with his wife of 24 years, Iman. The film reminds us how frequently he was ahead of his time, including his normalizing attitude toward bisexuality and gender bending in the early '70s. Bowie described himself as a generalist who's comfortable in chaos.

December 4, 2022

2:00 PM - All That Breathes at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (India, United Kingdom, USA) 97 minutes Directed by: Shaunak Sen

For decades, Muslim brothers Saud and Nadeem have tirelessly devoted their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting black kites—majestic birds of prey that are essential to the ecosystem and have been falling from New Delhi's darkening skies at alarming rates. Amid pervasive environmental toxicity and social turbulence, the brothers spend day and night caring for these creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. ALL THAT BREATHES is a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence amidst an ever shifting social and environmental landscape.

2:00 PM - The Flagmakers / Dark Hobby at Northstar Village Cinema

The Flagmakers / Dark Hobby DOUBLE FEATURE

THE FLAGMAKERS poses one of today's most pressing questions: who is the American flag for? Employee-owned Eder Flag in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, sews and ships five million American flags a year. The flagmakers – locals, immigrants and refugees – stitch stars and stripes as they wrestle with identity and belonging. Sewing manager Radica, a Serbian immigrant, believes every flag has a soul. Ali, a war survivor from Iraq, is learning how to use a sewing machine after arriving in the United States just 90 days prior. Midwestern-born Barb's genuine friendships with her immigrant co-workers belie her staunchly conservative beliefs. SugarRay, a Black man born and raised in Milwaukee, reflects on his complicated relationship with this country. Each considers: What does the American flag represent in a changing nation and world, and for whom? THE FLAGMAKERS is an intimate glimpse into the people whose hands make America's most recognizable icon.

4:00 PM - Kaepernick & America at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 82 minutes Directed by: Ross Hockrow and Tommy Walker

Colin Kaepernick's personal awakening, as a biracial adoptee raised by white parents, coincided with the growing cultural tensions during the waning years of the Obama presidency. After years of unrest prior to the tragic murder of Philando Castile in 2016, the superstar quarterback began to sit for the national anthem. In an ironic twist, his decision to respectfully kneel at the behest of a veteran teammate transformed a quiet protest into one of the most recognized political statements of our time. Filmmakers Tommy Walker and Ross Hockrow examine the upbringing of the enigmatic athlete, how the fateful protest came to be and why Kaepernick's decision struck a pivotal nerve with the American populace. With perspectives from media figures, experts, and those close to the inciting protest, the documentary reveals how Kaepernick's simple act of taking a knee unearthed deep social fractures that have become ever more apparent in the current political zeitgeist.

4:00 PM - The Territory at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (Brazil, Denmark, USA) 85 minutes Directed by: Alex Pritz
 
THE TERRITORY provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by illegal settlers and an association of non-native farmers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape, and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community, and provides unprecedented access to the settlers illegitimately clearing land and a network of desperate farmers advocating for access to colonize the protected rainforest. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film uses verité-style footage, captured over three years, as the activists risk their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.

6:00 PM - Broker at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (South Korea) 129 minutes Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Song Kang-ho deservedly won Best Actor at this spring's Cannes Film Festival for his performance in writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda's latest bittersweet exploration of the de facto families we form across our lives. In BROKER, he plays Sang-hyeon, who operates a black market business with his pal ****-soo (Gang ****-won), selling infants left at baby boxes to parents looking to adopt. But when one of the mothers, So-young (Lee Ji-eun), has second thoughts about surrendering her child, the men work with her to find a good home for the infant. Filming in South Korea for the first time, the acclaimed Japanese auteur (whose Shoplifters, won Cannes' 2018 Palme d'Or) has crafted a road-trip drama full of gentle observations about the ways in which we all sometimes feel abandoned — and how the search for home can be a perpetual quest.

6:00 PM - God's Country at Northstar Village Cinema

2022 (USA) 102 minutes Directed by: Julian Higgins

In this character-driven thriller, Thandiwe Newton stars as a Black professor in a remote college town, whose confrontation with two hunters trespassing on her land escalates as she refuses to back down. The gorgeous cinematography of snowy Montana gives the viewer an immediate sense of her isolation as she grieves for the recent loss of her mother, navigates her all-white, predominantly male colleagues, and struggles to enlist the support of the local sheriff before taking matters into her own hands.

6:00 PM - Subject at Crystal Bay Club Casino

2022 (USA) 93 minutes Directed by: Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall

Unpacking the ethics and responsibility inherent in documentary filmmaking, this powerful rallying cry for the film industry puts some of the most successful documentaries of the past three decades under a microscope, revealing the impact their commercial success has had on the lives of the onscreen participants. Focusing on the present day "stars" of THE STAIRCASE, HOOP DREAMS, THE WOLFPACK, as well as THE SQUARE and CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, this film brings together a plethora of influential names in the doc space—Sonya Childress, Sam Pollard, Thom Powers, Gordon Quinn, and more—who speak to the ethics of documenting people's trauma. It's an insightful and satisfying watch that explores the role that festivals and audiences play in supporting today's unprecedented golden era of documentaries.

8:15 PM - Corsage at Incline Village Cinema

2022 (France, Germany, Luxembourg) 113 minutes Directed by: Marie Kreutzer

Magnetic star Vicky Krieps (Bergman Island) vividly inhabits Empress Elisabeth of Austria in writer-director Marie Kreutzer's examination of the beloved, restless, and occasionally scandalous 19th-century ruler at midlife, a performance for which Krieps won Best Actress at Cannes' Un Certain Regard. In this whimsical portrait, the woman known as "Sissi" is coming to terms with turning 40 and feeling constricted — as much by her social role in her dysfunctional marriage to the emotionally distant Emperor Franz Joseph I (Florian Teichtmeister) as by the corset that lends the film its name. Using a cool palette and a preference for understatement, Kreutzer deftly renders the social realities of the period, while offering fresh insight on the plight of a woman trapped by the beauty of her public image. With complex intelligence and verve, Krieps refreshes our notions of female regality, and of costume drama.

Date: December 1-4, 2022

Locations:
Crystal Bay Club Casino, 14 Highway 28, Crystal Bay, NV 89402
Incline Village Cinema, 901 Tahoe Boulevard, Incline Village, NV 89451
The Village Cinemas, 3001 Northstar Drive, Truckee, CA 96161

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