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
http://youtu.be/9ID7C6jBpC8
The Joe Show, a documentary about America’s most controversial Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, and his ringmaster’s approach to media, politics and law enforcement, directed by Randy Murray won the award for Best Documentary. The Cox Audience Award went to Life Inside Out directed by Jill D’Agnenica. The film tells the parallel stories of Laura, a devoted mother of three teenage boys, and her youngest son Shane, the family misfit. When Laura stumbles upon her long forgotten guitar, the former passion of her youthful life, and Shane begins to discover musical gifts of his own, their lives change in complex and unpredictable ways.
Complete list of awards and winners of the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival.
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest Awards
Best Sci-Fi Short – The Developer
Best Sci-Fi Feature – S.O.S: Save Our Skins
Best Horror Short – The Carriage or Dracula and My Mother
Best Horror Feature – Billy Club
Short Film Awards
Best Grade/High School Short – As Always
College – Til Death
Arizona – Long Way
Best Arizona Short Documentary – For the Love of Dogs
Short Documentary – Eugene
Animated – Estefan
Live Action – Ice
World Cinema Awards
World Cinema Short – Mr. Invisible
World Cinema Documentary – The Aryans
World Cinema Director – Petr Nikolaev, Godfather’s Story
World Cinema Best Picture – When I Saw You
World Cinema Audience Award Winner – The Aryans
Foundation Awards
Arizona Filmmakers of the Year – Josh Kasselman and Stephanie Lucas
Volunteer of the Year – Marty Freetage
Feature Film Awards
Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award – Eddie Jemison and Sean Richardson – King of Herrings
Special Achievement in Acting – Elias Koteas, Jake Squared
Best Ensemble – Teddy Bears
Best Director – Henry Barrial – The House That Jack Built
Best Screenplay – Joseph Vasquez – The House That Jack Built
Best Documentary – The Joe Show
Best Picture – The House That Jack Built
Cox Audience Award – Life Inside Out
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.
http://youtu.be/nftNSEexUXU
Academy Award® nominated Director, Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things) will attend the April 3rd opening night party and screening of his new film, LOCKE. Director Richard Shepard (The Hunting Party), will also attend for a special showing his new film, DOM HEMINGWAY, on Sunday, April 6th at 7 pm.
Appearing at this year’s International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival as part of the Phoenix Film Festival, is actress Dee Wallace (E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, The Howling). Dee Wallace will participate in a post-screening Q&A on Friday, April 4th following a 7:30 pmscreening of the 1983 classic horror film, CUJO.
BOYHOOD
Academy Award® nominated Director and Writer Richard Linklater’s (Dazed and Confused, Before Midnight) critically acclaimed hit from this year’s Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival, BOYHOOD, will be a treat for festival goers as the closing night film on Thursday, April 10th at 7:30 pm. The star of the film, Ellar Coltrane, and Producer Cathleen Sutherland will both be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
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.
Ivan Locke (Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride, LOCKE is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life.
The week-long Festival will be held once again at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.
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The Retrieval[/caption]
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.
2013 Phoenix Film Festival
Copper Wing Award Winners
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest Awards
Best Sci-Fi Short: White Room: 02B3
Best Sci-Fi Feature: Channeling
Best Horror Short: Killer Kart
Best Horror Feature: Found.
Short Film Awards
Best Grade/HS: Alone Together
Best College Short: If You’re Serious
Best Arizona Short: Say What You Want
Best Documentary: Short:Ivan and Arnold: Day Laborers From Both Sides of the Border
Best Live Action Short: 6 Years, 4 Months & 23 Days
Best Animated Short: Head Over Heels
World Cinema Awards
Best World Cinema Short: Half Good Killer
World Cinema Best Documentary: Occupy The Movie
World Cinema Best Director: David Ondricek, In the Shadow
World Cinema Best Picture: Inch’Allah
World Cinema Audience Award Winner: Ninah’s Dowry
Foundation Awards
Arizona Filmmaker of the Year: Bob Marquis
Volunteer of the Year: Bill Mondy
Board Member of the Year: Chris LaMont
Feature Film Awards
Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award: Fredrik Stanton, Uprising
Special Jury Prize: Lou Taylor Pucci, The Story of Luke
Best Ensemble: The Retrieval
Best Director: Chris Eska, The Retrieval
Best Screenplay:Paul Osborne, Favor
Best Documentary: Los Wild Ones
Best Picture presented by FX Movie Channel: Putzel
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 a funny, compassionate and poignant look at young adulthood. The film captures the insecurity and confusion of adolescence without looking for tidy truths. Sutter Keely (Miles Teller from Footloose), lives in the now. It’s a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he’s the life of the party, loves his job at a men’s clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whiskey-fortified thirst-master cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky (Shailene Woodley from The Descendants) hovering over him. She’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. While Amy has dreams of a future, Sutter lives in the impressive delusion of a spectacular now, yet somehow, they’re drawn together.
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 EAST, directed by Zal Batmanglij, Sarah Moss (Marling) is a brilliant operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele.
UNDERDOGS, directed by Doug Dearth, the story of a small-town high school football team destined to play their cross-town rival, a perennial powerhouse, while standing up for an entire community.
THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, about three unhappy teenage boys head into the wilderness with a plan to build a house and live off the land.
STUCK IN LOVE, directed by Josh Boone, a touching comedy-drama about a successful novelist whose obsession with his ex-wife has sent his perplexed family into a tailspin.
UNFINISHED SONG, directed by Paul Andrew Williams, a funny and inspiring story about Arthur, a curmudgeonly old soul, who is perfectly content sticking with his dull daily routine until his beloved wife introduces him to a local seniors singing group.
KON-TIKI, directed by Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, which is about the of legendary explorer Thor Heyerdal’s epic 4,300 miles crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, in an effort to prove it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.
RENOIR, directed by Gilles Bourdos, a film a painter whose life is changed when a young girl enters his life, filling it with an unexpected energy.
STILL MINE, directed by Michael McGowan and starring James Cromwell, is about an elderly couple fight against local authorities in rural New Brunswick to build their final home.
The 13th Annual Phoenix Film Festival occurs this year from Thursday, April 4th to Thursday, April 11th. The week-long Festival will be held once again at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.
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UPRISING[/caption]
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:
LOS WILD ONES, the Wild Records Documentary directed by Elise Salomon making its debut at SXSW, who produced the 2009 hit PAPER HEART.
UPRISING, directed by Fredrik Stanton, which tells the inside story of the Egyptian revolution from the perspective of its principal leaders and organizers, including four Nobel Peace Prize nominees.
WALKING, directed by Ben Shelton, about an engaged man on the verge of success, who meets a beautiful woman who he can connect with in his dreams.
THE STORY OF LUKE, directed by Alonso Mayo, a comedy about Luke, a young man with autism who is on a quest for a job and a girlfriend.
THE RETRIEVAL, the Civil War era film, directed by Chris Eska, about a boy is sent north by a bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man, which will also be debuting at SWSW.
PUTZEL, directed by Jason Chaet, which is about a young man named Walter Himmelstein endearingly known as Putzel, whose life literally doesn’t go beyond his family’s fish store and his community on the upper west side of Manhattan.
LONELY BOY, directed by Dale Fabrigar, about the romantic misadventures of a schizophrenic bachelor.
FAVOR directed by Paul Osborne, a film about true friends and the things they do for each other, which will be having its World Premiere at the Festival
DOWN AND DANGEROUS, directed by Zak Forsman, an action crime thriller, also having its World Premiere at the Festival.
MUSIC CITY USA, directed by Chris McDaniel, which is a documentary about Nashville, and is also having its World Premiere at the Festival.
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TJ Thyne stars as Lovell Milo in SHUFFLE[/caption]
‘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 a Joe Schermann Song’ which also earned King the Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award.
Other notable awards given out Sunday included Best Documentary, won by ‘We Run Shit,’ and Best Ensemble to the film ‘Searching for Sonny.’ ‘Sonny’ writer, Andrew Disney, also picked up the Festival’s Best Screenwriter Award. From the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, which featured some of the best genre specific cinema from around the world, ‘Pig’ won for best Sci-Fi feature, and ‘It’s In The Blood’ took home the award for best horror feature. “I was blown away by the quality of films this year,” said festival director, Jason Carney. “In our twelve year’s of existence, this is the best line-up that we’ve had. Congratulations to the filmmakers!”
A full list of winners from Sunday night’s ceremony is featured below:
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Fest Awards
Best Sci-Fi Short Film
Secret Identity
Best Sci-Fi Feature Film
Pig
Best Horror Short Film
Brutal Relax
Best Horror Feature Film
It’s In The Blood
Short Film Awards
Best Grade/HS Short Film
Trolley
Best College Short Film
The Life Smugglers
Best Arizona Short Film
Parallax
Best Documentary Short Film
Sacred Poison
Best Live Action Short Film
Play By Play
Best Animated Short Film
Masks
World Cinema Awards
World Cinema Short Film
La Media Pena
World Cinema Documentary
Wolves Unleashed
World Cinema Director
Ruggero Dipaola, Apartment in Athens
World Cinema Best Picture
Apartment in Athens
World Cinema Audience Award Winner
Lidice
Foundation Awards
Arizona Filmmaker of the Year
Diane Dresback
Volunteer of the Year
Tiffany Hutson
Board Member of the Year
Lori Alderfer
Feature Film Awards
Dan Harkins Breakthrough Filmmaker Award
Gary King, How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song
Best Documentary
We Run Sh*t
Best Ensemble
Searching for Sonny
Best Director
Kurt Kuenne, Shuffle
Best Screenwriting
Andrew Disney, Searching for Sonny
Cox Audience Award
How Do You Write A Joe Schermann Song
Best Picture
Shuffle
The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival continues at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054 until Thursday night, April 5th. The Festival will continue to feature the winners and other popular films at various screenings throughout the week.
via Phoenix film Festival
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Tom Sizemore [/caption]
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 share the opening of her film at the Phoenix Film Festival will be fun. Be sure to come prepared to have a great time.”
About Slumber Party Slaughter: On a secretive outing to a bizarre strip club, Tom Kingsford (Tom Sizemore) is unaware that his life is about to take a dramatic turn. Club owner and real estate mogul, William O’Toole (Ryan O’Neal) is a sadistic voyeur whose desire for fear and torture is put to the test as the night’s dirty deeds return to haunt him. Tom hires a few dancers: Casey Reitz (Rebekah Chaney), Victoria Spencer (Stephanie Romanov), Nicole and Nadia, from the Lingerie Lounge, to accompany him for the evening; while, unbeknownst to them, the group is secretly followed by a psychotic, obsessive club-patron, known only as Dave (Robert Carradine). Things quickly turn dark when, what seems like an innocent shortcut through a haunted cemetery is actually a set up, and the group is placed in the middle of an existing crime scene. Panic and fear escalates and tragedy befalls Tom when he is accidentally killed and buried in the supernatural cemetery. The girls make a pact of silence: agreeing to start new lives in order to avert suspicion from the local law enforcement. One year later, on the anniversary of Tom’s death, one of the dancers is found decapitated, prompting the others to reunite at a Slumber Party and wait out their worst fear; vengeance. Innocence and body parts are lost as death takes its penance and the slaughter begins.
The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival takes place at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.
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Leonor Watling and Marcia Gay Harden (right) in a scene from If I Were You[/caption]
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 forged a remarkable resumé that has touched fans and critics alike. Starring in roles ranging from the glamorous Ava Gardner in Sinatra, to the artist Lee Krasner in Pollock (for which she won Best Supporting Actress Oscar®), to the down and out Celeste in Mystic River (another Academy Award® nomination), Harden has truly created a unique identity based largely in character transformation. Her roles in films Millers Crossing, The First Wives Club, Meet Joe Black, Mona Lisa Smile, The Hoax, and Used People have all been praised for their versatility and wide-range on-screen.
Harden will also attend the Arizona premiere of her new film, If I Were You, at the festival; in which she plays Madelyn, a successful, self-possessed, middle-aged businesswoman who discovers her husband is having an affair. Her attempts to stalk his young mistress take a surprising turn and the two wind up forming a rather unconventional pact. If I Were You is described as a charming, very funny look at the unexpected places life can take us. It co-stars Leonor Watling and Aidan Quinn.
Previous winners of the Copper Wing Tribute Award, considered the Festival’s most prestigious award, include Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Bacon, Peter Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert Forster, and Virginia Madsen.
The 12th Annual Phoenix film Festival takes place at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.
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 – feverish and on crutches from an onstage injury. Is he suffering hazards from chasing the ghost of inspiration? Or merely transforming into a different kind of animal “perfectly adapted to the music hall?”
Fever Year is described as the first to capture Mr. Bird’s precarious multi-instrumental looping technique and features live performances at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater with collaborators Martin Dosh, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Michael Lewis, and Annie Clark of St. Vincent.
Andrew Bird: Fever Year recently received the Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Omaha Film Festival and the Audience Award from San Francisco’s 20th Anniversary Noise Pop Film Festival, as well as strong reviews from Variety, RogerEbert.com, indieWIRE, and others.
Fever Year will only be released in festivals – by choice of Andrew Bird, who owns and commissioned the film.
This 80-minute film is the directorial debut from Xan Aranda, a long-time Bird collaborator and producer with Chicago’s acclaimed documentary powerhouse Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams.)
Ms. Aranda is directing her newest project, Mormons Make Movies, inspired by religious educational films her mother starred in while a student at Brigham Young University during the 1960s.
Andrew Bird: Fever Year screens Friday, March 30, 2012 at 4:35 PM and Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 7:25 PM.