TCFF 2024 Spotlight: For the Living

2024 marks 15 years of the Twin Cities Film Fest, which runs October 17-26 at the Marcus West End Cinema at the Shops at West End in St. Louis Park.

Nearly 150 films – including features, shorts, animation, and documentaries – will screen over the course of the festival, both in-person and online (through TCFF’s Streams platform). Additionally, directors, producers, and actors will walk the red carpet, present their films, and take part in Q&As and discussions about their work.

Over the course of TCFF 2024, we’ll be chatting with some of those filmmakers and stars to find out more about what they’re bringing to the TCFF screens.

---

Film: For the Living (tickets/info)

In-person screening: 7:15 p.m., Saturday, October 26

Filmmaker in attendance: Yes    

Streams Pass:  Yes

Fresh off its world premiere in Newport Beach, documentary “For the Living” is set to make its Midwest debut on closing night of this year’s festival. While shot in Poland, the film is part of the MN Connected series, thanks to producer and Twin Cities native Lisa Effress, who took some time to discuss the film in advance of its Saturday screening.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your film.

Our documentary follows 250 cyclists on a meaningful cycling expedition, retracing the liberation path of a 10-year-old Holocaust survivor in 1945 from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Krakow, Poland. This young boy’s perilous journey inspired this pilgrimage decades later and also inspired the riders (and our team) to examine another dangerous path: humanity’s struggle to free itself from centuries of dehumanization and to finally embrace empathy.

Q: Now tell us something about it that we might not be able to glean from the trailer or description.    

While this film involves the Holocaust and some Jewish protagonists, it is not what you’d consider a “Holocaust movie.” It is about so much more. The road that the young survivor and the riders travel is intentionally symbolic. The journey down this road represents how difficult and grueling it can be to escape the dark legacy of humanity’s past. Can we keep moving forward away from a centuries-long pattern of brutality? Or will we be dragged backwards? These are big, vital contemporary questions we pose that help our audiences realize that history is not a straight line. History is more “a wheel” in actuality.

Q: If someone is only going to see one film at the Twin Cities Film Fest, why should it be this one?  

We feel this film is not only insightful, but also quite urgent. While it delves deeply into history, it is also about a very intimate, emotional relationship between two lovely people. But not just them … this film is about all of us. Every single one of us, and it is about what we’re all going through at this very moment. If you are alarmed at the recent decline in human empathy in our society and the rise of dehumanizing and genocidal language online and in our discourse, you need to see this film. In other words, if you care about your fellow human beings, this is the movie for you. I know that sounds incredibly broad, but it truly is the case. “For the Living” is a love letter to Humanity.

Q: Prior to TCFF, where has the film screened, and what has the response been so far?

Our world premiere took place on October 20 at The Newport Beach Film Festival. Even though we had screened for some test audiences, it was remarkable to witness the overwhelmingly positive response last week from a new, diverse audience. Feedback was fantastic and people seem to find it absorbing, hard-hitting but ultimately emotionally inspiring. 

Q: What was it that drew you to submit your film for the Twin Cities Film Fest? 

I am a native of the Twin Cities. I grew up in St. Paul and graduated from U of M back in the early ’90s. I love this community so much. I’ve always known that TCFF is a very strong, regional festival and I’ve attended it several times as an audience member. Exhibiting our film here is so incredibly moving and a meaningful experience for me personally, and, knowing what I know about the big heart of the Twin Cities, I’m very confident local audiences will really embrace our film.

Q: What’s next for your film after this festival?

We have submitted and are pending notification from nearly 30 festivals. Our next confirmed showings are at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Fest in November and the Miami Jewish Film Festival in January. In between those could be many more and we’re anxiously waiting to hear! Our mission is to make sure that as many people as possible see this film, engage in the story and keep the conversation going. Because, in the end, that really is our objective: start an urgently needed conversation that leads us all to embrace our common humanity and break the patterns of the past. A lot of filmmakers call their films “important.” Our belief as it relates to our film is in the importance of the CONVERSATION. I encourage all my fellow Minnesotans to come out, give our film a look, and let’s start talking!