Traverse City Film Festival

Overview

The Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF), founded by Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore in 2005, no longer operates as a traditional multi-day summer festival. In May 2023, the TCFF board unanimously voted to end the annual summer format and transition to a year-round weekly programming model called TCFF Tuesdays. The organization now operates the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay as full-time cinemas, programming one film every Tuesday, 52 weeks a year.

The 2026 TCFF Tuesdays winter season ran from January 13 through May 19, with 13 weekly screenings at 1pm and 7pm. The summer season runs June 16 through September 1. Films are curated by Moore and include a mix of current festival selections, classics, and new releases. Screenings are frequently paired with introductions by Moore and live Zoom Q&As with filmmakers.

For filmmakers: TCFF is primarily an invitation-only festival. The organization accepts unsolicited submissions but charges a small fee, does not guarantee that submitted films will be viewed, and does not offer feedback. There is no formal competitive submission process. Filmmakers whose work is selected receive travel and hospitality support and participate in post-screening conversations.

Current Format: TCFF Tuesdays

TCFF Tuesdays is the active programming model as of 2026. The format replaced the traditional 5-day summer festival that ran from 2005 through 2022 (with 2020 and 2021 cancelled due to COVID-19).

How it works:

• One film screens every Tuesday at the State Theatre in Traverse City
• Showtimes at 1pm and 7pm
• 13 films per season (winter and summer seasons)
• 52 films total across the year
• Michael Moore provides introductions and hosts Zoom Q&As with filmmakers
• Films are curated by invitation, not through a public call for entries

2026 Winter Season highlights (January 13 to May 19):

• Opening film: "The Life of Chuck" (directed by Mike Flanagan, based on Stephen King novella)
• Other selections included "Rental Family," "A House of Dynamite," "Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5," "Cover-Up," "Weapons," "Sense and Sensibility" (anniversary screening), "Bugonia," "No Other Choice," "Sentimental Value," "The Perfect Neighbor," and "The Voice of Hind Rajab"

2026 Summer Season: June 16 through September 1

Ticket Prices

• Single ticket: $10
• Student ticket: $6
• Season Pass (13 films, matinee or evening): $69
• Student Season Pass (13 films): $48

Tickets are available through the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay website.

Submission Details

TCFF does not operate a standard open submissions process. The festival states on its FilmFreeway page that it is "primarily by invitation only" but accepts submissions that are "passed on to the programmer." Key facts for filmmakers considering submission:

• A small submission fee is charged
• There is no feedback mechanism
• The festival does not guarantee that submitted films will be viewed
• The programming team (Moore and executive director Deb Lake) watches 500+ films per year through a combination of submissions, festival scouting, and industry connections
• The most reliable path to a TCFF screening is through Moore's personal network and festival circuit visibility

Filmmakers should not treat TCFF as a primary submission target. The festival's programming is driven by curation and invitation, not by a competitive submission pipeline.

Why the Summer Festival Ended

Michael Moore announced the end of the traditional summer festival in May 2023. The decision was driven by financial and operational factors:

• The Open Space outdoor screenings, a signature free public program, cost $200,000 per week to produce. Ben & Jerry's had originally underwritten this cost but no longer sponsored it.
• The festival broke even for the first time in years in 2022, but maintaining the traditional format without the Open Space underwriter would have required either cutting the free screenings or taking on debt.
• Declining theater attendance nationwide and reduced theatrical film output post-COVID made the 30-showings-per-week model unsustainable.
• The board voted unanimously to end the summer format and redirect resources toward year-round theater operations.

The organization received a $1 million government grant in 2021 as part of a program to help entertainment venues recover from the pandemic. Moore stated that the TCFF organization would "redouble our efforts and focus our attention on building back a post-pandemic audience" at the State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay.

Board of Directors

The TCFF board includes filmmakers and artists:

• Michael Moore (founder and president)
• Rod Birleson (producer, "Capitalism: A Love Story")
• Larry Charles (director, "Borat")
• Terry George (director, "Hotel Rwanda")
• Jeff Daniels (actor, "The Newsroom")
• Tom Morello (musician, Rage Against the Machine)
• Christine Lahti (actor, "Running on Empty")
• Mark Cousins (director, "The Story of Film: An Odyssey")

Festival History

The Traverse City Film Festival was founded in 2005 by Michael Moore, who lives in the area. The festival ran annually each summer in late July or early August, screening approximately 240 films at its peak across multiple venues including the State Theatre, Bijou by the Bay, and the Open Space outdoor screen on Grand Traverse Bay.

The festival was known for its free outdoor screenings, which made it one of the most accessible festivals in the US. At its height, TCFF drew large audiences to Traverse City, a resort town on Grand Traverse Bay surrounded by cherry orchards and vineyards.

The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19. The festival returned in 2022, breaking even for the first time in years. In May 2023, Moore announced the end of the traditional summer format. The State Theatre and Bijou by the Bay continue operating as year-round cinemas under TCFF management, with TCFF Tuesdays as the primary programming vehicle.

Venues

• State Theatre - 263 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49684. Primary venue for TCFF Tuesdays.
• Bijou by the Bay - 617 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49684. Secondary venue, used for special screenings and TCFF Tuesday overflow.

Both venues operate 365 days a year as independent cinemas.

See Also

Use the Festival ROI Calculator to compare submission costs against potential attendance returns for festivals with open submissions. For documentary filmmaking, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy.