NAME OF FESTIVAL: Phoenix Film Festival
SINCE: 2000
WHERE: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The Phoenix Film Festival started in 2000 by 3 local filmmakers as a way to get their films some exposure in their home town. The Phoenix Film Foundation has grown from a 3-day exhibition to an 11 day celebration of film with over 300 films, filmmaking seminars, parties and student workshops for over 27,000 attendees all at the Harkins Scottsdale 101.
The Phoenix Film Festival has been named one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals and a Top 50 Worth the Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine and has been called the most filmmaker-friendly festival out there.
Phoenix Film Festival
The artwork has been released for the 2015 Phoenix Film Festival taking place March 26 to April 2, 2015. Under the theme “Find your new favorite movie”, the festival’s art team, lead by 2014’s Volunteer of the Year Marty Freetage, came up with these images based on some of their favorite films.
The House That Jack Built directed by Henry Barrial
The House That Jack Built directed by Henry Barrial is the big winner of the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival, winning the awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Henry Barrial, and Best Screenplay posthumously went to Joseph Vasquez. According to the filmmakers, The House That Jack Built took nearly 20-years to complete. The script was written by Joseph Vasquez, whose life was cut short in 1995 when he died of AIDS after an extended struggle with severe Bi-polar disorder, a story documented in Entertainment Weekly.
in the film, Jack Maldonado is an ambitious young Latino man who, fueled by misguided nostalgia, buys a small apartment building in the Bronx and moves his boisterous family into the apartments to live rent-free. His parents, Carlos and Martha, sister Nadia, brother Richie and his wife Rosa, Grandmother / Abuela and cousins Hector and Manny, all under one roof. Tension builds quickly as Jack imposes his views on everyone around him, including his fiancée, Lily. All the while, he hides the fact that his corner store is a front for selling marijuana, but soon has to deal with new unwanted competitive forces. It’s only a matter of time before Jack’s family and ‘business’ lives collide in tragic fashion
Actress Lea Thompson in THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH
Actress Lea Thompson is among a long list of Hollywood stars headed to the 14th annual Phoenix Film Festival taking place Thursday, April 3rd through Thursday, April 10th, 2014, at the Harkins Scottsdale 101. Lea Thompson will be present to screen her latest film, THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH on Monday, April 7th.
LOCKE has been selected as the opening night film of the 14th Phoenix Film Festival taking place April 3 to 10, 2014. Directed by filmmaker Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things) and driven by what the festival describes as an unforgettable performance by Tom Hardy, LOCKE is a thrillingly unique cinematic experience of a man fighting to salvage all that is important to him.
The 13th Phoenix Film Festival, which ran from April 4-11, 2013, and screened more than 150 films, wrapped on Sunday night with the announcement of this year’s Copper Wing Award winners.
The Retrieval, a civil war drama, scored three awards including the Cox Audience Award. Best Picture, went to Putzel, a heartwarming and hilarious tale of a man who realizes that sometimes you have to leave home to find yourself and to find true love. Best Documentary went to Los Wild Ones, a music documentary about LA based indie record label, Wild Records, directed by Phoenix’s own, Elise Salomon.
The Spectacular Now, which premiered earlier this year at 2013 Sundance Film Festival, will have its Arizona Premiere on April 4th as this year’s Opening Night film selection at the 13th Annual Phoenix Film Festival! James Ponsoldt, the director of The Spectacular Now, will also be on hand to introduce the film and participate in a post screening Q&A. This is Ponsoldt’s third feature film and an adaptation of Tim Tharp’s novel The Spectacular Now. The Spectacular Now is described as […]
The 2013 Phoenix Film Festival announced more films scheduled to be included in this Festival’s film lineup. This lineup features the exciting Fox Searchlight release, THE EAST. The East directed by Zal Batmanglij, follows Sarah Moss (Marling) as a brilliant operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele.
The 2013 Phoenix Film Festival runs this year from Thursday, April 4th to Thursday, April 11th, announced its films scheduled to be included in this Festival’s film lineup. The week-long Festival will be held once again at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.
“We’re very excited about how this year’s lineup is shaping up,” says Jason Carney, Executive Director of the Phoenix Film Foundation. “Having three world premieres is a great start and we’re excited about other potential films joining our lineup.”
Some of the highlighted film titles include:
‘SHUFFLE,’ the tale of a man that begins to experience his life out of order, took home Best Picture at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony on Sunday night, April 1st. The film, which stars TJ Thyne, also picked up the award for best director, which went to Kurt Kuenne. The Cox Audience Award, given to the film that received the highest grade from festival goers, went to Gary King’s ‘How Do You Write […]
Director Rebekah Chaney, and actors Tom Sizemore and Charles Mattera are expected to be in attendance at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival screening of Slumber Party Slaughter. Showing support for the film, Sizemore says, “I had a great time working on Slumber Party Slaughter. I think horror is a fun genre, especially with Chaney’s perspective and how she as the writer and director has built in so many seeds for the sequel. Being able to […]
Academy Award® and Tony Award ® winning actress Marcia Gay Harden will be in Phoenix Arizona on Saturday, March 31 to receive the coveted Copper Wing Tribute Award at the 12th Annual Phoenix Film Festival. “Searing,” “heartbreaking,” “inventive,” “pure and profane simultaneously,” “astonishing,” “authentic,” and “sensuous;” as a chameleon changes from role to role, so has Marcia Gay Harden in her body of work. Known for her signature style of “becoming the character, she has […]
The multi-award winning concert documentary, Andrew Bird: Fever Year, which had its World Premiere at Lincoln Center last October as part of the prestigious New York Film Festival will screen its Arizona Premiere with the Phoenix Film Festival on Friday, March 30, with an encore on Saturday, March 31. Filmed during culminating months of the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s most rigorous year of touring, Andrew Bird crosses the December finish line in his hometown of Chicago – […]