Editor

The Tucson Film & Music Festival (TFMF) kicks off today -- Thursday, October 8 -- with the Southwest premiere of  "Till You're Told to Stop," the story of singer-songwriter James Blunt's extraordinary rise to fame. Q&A with director Ruth Somalo will follow the screening, which takes place "under the stars" outdoors at La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Ave. in the heart of downtown.

Friday, October 9 marks the Opening Night of the fest, with the premiere of "Largo" at The Loft Cinema, with music and events to follow at Hotel Congress and PLUSH.

TFMF will take place over five days, and will host a selection of World, US and Regional premieres, with a strong focus on music documentaries.  Documentary highlights showing at the Crossroads Cinema (4811 E. Grant Rd.) include "I Need That Record" (playing with Dig Comics!) featuring Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and other artists discussing the decline of record stores (Saturday, October 10 @11:30 AM); "Mellodrama" (Saturday, October 10 @ 3:30 pm), the story of how the little-known instrument the Mellotron changed the production and texture of popular music, from the Beatles to Radiohead; "Berlin Playground," the often hilarious tale of delinquent rock bassist Hans Narva, whose wanderings through present-day Berlin illicit a trip into East Germany's past (Saturday, October 10 @7:00 pm); and "D tour," documenting the rise of indie rock band Rogue Wave and its drummer's quest for a new kidney (Sunday, October 11 @ 5:00 pm).

Other not-to-be-missed film events include "Rock Night at the Rialto Theatre" (318 E. Congress St.) on Saturday, October 10 starting at 7:30 pm with the Kid Rock documentary "The Detroit Thing" followed at 9:30 pm by "Such Hawks, Such Hounds" surveying the four decade history of America's hard rock underground.

The TFMF weekend concludes on Monday, October 13 with the "After Party at The Hut" (305 N 4th Ave.). The event begins at 7:30 pm, and features the premieres of "One Man in the Band," highlighting an eclectic selection of one-man-band artists, and "The Heart is a Drum Machine," an exploration to discover what music is, featuring interviews with Elijah Wood, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Penelope Spheeris, Jason Schwartzman, Bijou Phillips, MGMT, Juliette Lewis, and John Doe, among many others.

TFMF badge holders will have access to all film and music events.

Individual tickets range from $5 to $15 and will be available at the venues on the day of the show. The all-access TFMF badge is $40 and available now at:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/10008