The Twin Cities Film Festival schedule is out, will be the largest yet
By Melissa Turtinen

The Twin Cities Film Festival is only a few weeks away, and event organizers just announced the schedule for the 11-day festival.This year’s event, held from Oct. 21-31 at the ShowPlace ICON at The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park, will feature 120 films – the largest festival yet, Anahita Ahrar of the Twin Cities Film Festival told BringMeTheNews.It features films – both full-length and short films – from national and international filmmakers, as well as local talent, a news release says. The films range from documentaries about homelessness and video games, to comedies and horror movies.

The festival also includes live musical performances, red carpet galas, cocktail mixers, panel discussions and other special events. Click here for more information.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights at this year’s festival (for a complete schedule and ticket package information, click here):

‘Too Late’

The official centerpiece film at this year’s festival is “Too Late”, starring Alexandria, Minnesota-native John Hawkes. Hawkes plays a troubled private investigator who is tasked with finding a missing woman who has a connection to his past.

The film will be screened Oct. 26 at 8:30 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 10:15 a.m., tickets are $20.

The Twin Cities Film Festival will be honoring Hawkes’ career as well – he will receive the Northstar Award for Excellence.

‘A New High’

The festival opens with the adventure documentary “A New High”, which received critical acclaim from the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this year.

It features a group of men and women who literally climb out of homelessness and drug addiction through a recovery program, which uses mountain climbing as a form of rehabilitation. This is among several films at this year’s festival that tell stories of homelessness.

The film will be screened Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m., and again Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.

‘Thank You For Playing’

“Thank You For Playing” – a family documentary dubbed as the “most important film ever made about video games” – will close this year’s festival.

It follows the story of a graphic designer who turns to creating a video game when his 1-year-old is diagnosed with a brain tumor.

It will be screened Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.

‘The 33’

A biopic starring Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche, “The 33” tells the story of the Chilean miners who were trapped underground for two months in 2010.

The film will be screened on Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20.

‘The Adderall Diaries’

“The Adderall Diaries”, starring James Franco, is based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, who was a novelist paralyzed by writer’s block and an escalating Adderall dependency that became fascinated with a high-profile murder case.

The film will be screened Oct. 29 at 7:10 p.m. and again on Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20.