UPDATE 5/2/23 9:30 p.m.
Traverse City leaders were caught off guard Tuesday when the Traverse City Film Festival Board voted unanimously to end the festival permanently. The decision comes after a bumpy past couple of years, including, most recently, when the festival violated its contract with the city.
Traverse City Mayor Pro Tem Amy Shamroe says it’s a big blow to the city.
“The Traverse City Film Festival has become part of the fabric of summer in Traverse City like the Cherry Festival and other events hosted every year. So, it was sad to hear,” Shamroe admits.
However, Shamroe says after the film festival’s recent struggles she’s not all that surprised by their decision and understands “where they’re coming from.”
After operating at a loss for years the founder of the film festival Michael Moore said in a statement that even after breaking even last year they wanted ‘to go out on top.’
The president and CEO of Traverse City Tourism, Trevor Tkach, says the move will have a negative impact on the city’s economy.
“It was a huge economic driver for our region, especially because it came mid-week. It was something that drew people here in between weekends,” Tkach explains. “Seeing something like that disappear is going to have an impact no doubt.”
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And while leaders from both the city government and Traverse City tourism are disappointed in the boards decision they say they’re optimistic about the future and the doors that could be opened.
“I don’t think that there will be anything that comes to replace it in that timeframe and I don’t know that we need to necessarily focus our energy on that. My optimism is that with this new opportunity, we may see the film festival work on developing events in other times of the year,” Tkach says.
TCFF will now be focusing all their efforts on providing movies year round at the State Theater and the Bijou by the Bay.
They say they have no future plans of bringing the festival back for now.
5/2/23 4:22 p.m.
On Tuesday, Traverse City Film Festival organizers announced the end of the annual event.
The TCFF has been a staple event in Michigan for nearly 20 years, started by documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.
He says organizers voted unanimously to end the festival, but did not give much information on the reasons why.
The festival has had issues in the past few years. In 2021, TCFF received an early contract extension to operate through 2033. Part of that agreement included plans to improve the air filtration system at the Bijou by the Bay theater, but a report shows they never made those improvements. The Bijou was also only open about 120 days, falling short of the agreement with the city to operate 200 days a year.
Last year, TCFF had to apply for an almost $1 million grant to make those repairs and keep the festival going.
You can read Michael Moore’s full statement below:
Our Decision about the Film Festival and Our Hopes for the Future
Dear Friends,
After nearly 20 years of presenting one of the best film festivals in the country, bringing the top filmmakers in the world here to our wonderful little town by the bay, sharing all of this with incredible audiences, volunteers and donors, surviving the pandemic when many local businesses couldn’t —and then having one of our best festivals ever last summer where we finally broke even for the first time in years — we’ve decided, after much heartfelt discussion, that it’s best to close this era of the film fest now while we’re ahead, no longer in debt, and go out on top with many years of fond memories that we will all collectively cherish for the rest of our lives.
So, with that assessment, and a hopeful eye to the future, as each of us move on to other urgent projects that are necessary for the times we find ourselves in, we now echo the words of the great George Harrison that “all things must pass,” and bid a loving and fond farewell to the Traverse City Film Festival of old that we all knew and loved so well and move forward to our next phase. We have voted unanimously to bring this incredible, moving and exhilarating endeavor to a sweet and graceful conclusion for now — the end of an era and the beginning of a new mission.
First up of course is our #1 cinematic priority which is our two historic downtown movie houses that we restored and rebuilt — the 107-year old State Theatre and the 1934 FDR gift to Traverse City that we saved from ruin and re-opened as the Bijou by the Bay. We will redouble our efforts and focus our attention on building back a post-pandemic audience and continue to provide great movies at these beautiful venues 365 days a year — creating, in essence, a permanent “year-round TCFF.” We reaffirm to you our belief, as always, that one great movie can change your life, and that powerful films can help change the world.
We are well aware that we all live now in a different time, where much of what we hold dear — democracy, choice, facts, books, art, critical thinking, a fair shake and a decent living — hangs in the balance.
Personally, I’ve decided to continue working on my next film and to spend my time fighting to restore Roe v Wade, ending the mass gun slaughters and preventing the racist, misogynist crime boss from re-entering the White House. But you probably already knew that.
I love Traverse City. I love the people here. The majority of our Board, including yours truly, was born in Flint — yet we all chose to live here. We probably each brought a bit of hardscrabble Flint with us — a sense of union, solidarity, equality, inventiveness, a search for the perfect Coney Island and always trying to do work for the greater good. We are honored to have had the opportunity to help save and turn around downtown TC, to be part of a new social and political majority in this city, to have inspired other art and cultural projects that have found large audiences here, and for the chance we’ve had to give the young people of the area some exposure to a world outside of the narrow-minded view one gets from a lack of diversity, where the wealthy are in charge and one race with its privileges is all you see.
Yes, we show movies, but our mission has always been to be good citizens first. When our local Planned Parenthood was under attack, we stepped in to help. When our school system refused to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we convinced them to change their minds. We stood with the local LGBTQ+ community when many others were afraid to, and I was honored to be asked to officiate one of the first same-sex weddings in TC on the stage of the State Theatre on the opening night of our 2015 film festival (right after the Supreme Court made it legal). Each year we’ve done over 100 free screenings and events for students and schools throughout the area. Those who serve here on the Coast Guard base are never charged for a movie ticket. No one is ever turned away who can’t afford a ticket. I guess that’s what I mean by “Flint.” We were raised to be different, to fix things, to better our community — and so because Traverse City and its kind-hearted people shared the same ethos, well, it was a perfect fit and I thank all of you for giving me this opportunity to do what feels like a blessing and a life’s-worth of shared joy, more than any of us could have hoped for.
So, we all move forward. It is a new time in need of a new TCFF. The film fest that we knew and loved is now a piece of wonderful history. It is time for us to invent something new, something bold that is progressive and sustainable and based in the belief that those who work in this city should be able to afford to live in this city. We will keep showing great movies at the State and the Bijou. And together we’ll keep trying to make this world a better place.
My sincerest, deepest thanks to all who’ve been on this journey with me — and I with you. We’re not leaving. We’re not done. We’re just excited about what lies ahead.
With much love and friendship,
Michael Moore
