Phoenix Film Festival

Robot & Frank will have its Arizona Premiere on March 29 as this year’s Opening Night film at the 12th Annual Phoenix Film Festival.  On opening night Bob Oldfather, the founder of Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange, and Macerich, the owners, operators, and developers of over 65 diverse retail properties including the home of the Phoenix Film Festival, Scottsdale 101 will be presented with the festival’s annual Visionary Award.  Both are being honored for their continued community service and their support of film in Arizona.

Set sometime in the future, Robot & Frank is a delightful dramatic comedy, a buddy picture, and, for good measure, a heist film. Curmudgeonly old Frank lives by himself. His routine involves daily visits to his local library, where he has a twinkle in his eye for the librarian. His grown children are concerned about their father’s well-being and buy him a caretaker robot. Initially resistant to the idea, Frank soon appreciates the benefits of robotic support—like nutritious meals and a clean house—and eventually begins to treat his robot like a true companion. With his robot’s assistance, Frank’s passion for his old, unlawful profession is reignited, for better or worse. Frank Langella makes acting—and acting with a robot, no less—look effortless, and his relationship with the machine is filled with poignant exchanges and amusing adventures. First-time director Jake Schreier creates a lush world with futuristic flourishes and tells a beautiful story about family and the implications of humankind’s ever-changing relationship with technology.  Schreier will be on hand to introduce the film and also participate in a post screening Q&A session.

The 12th Annual Phoenix Film Festival kicks off with the Premiere event and will screen over 100 short and feature films from all over the world before concludes on April 5th.  The Festival will be held once again at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054.

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[caption id="attachment_2074" align="alignnone"]Darling Companion[/caption]

Some well-established Hollywood actors and actresses, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Diane Keaton, Kathleen Turner, Ethan Hawke and Lizzay Caplan headline the showcase films at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival.

The full list of showcase films include

Darling Companion – Beth (Diane Keaton) saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway on a wintry day in Denver. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal. When Joseph loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, the distraught Beth enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious young woman (Ayelet Zurer) in a frantic search.

The Perfect Family – A devout Catholic who’s in the running for the coveted Catholic Woman of the Year award at her church, Eileen Cleary (Kathleen Turner) must prove that her family conforms to the image of the ‘perfect family’ as envisioned by the church, an image she’s put forth with considerable effort her whole life.

6 Month Rule – A romantic, charming, and poignant look at relationships, seen from the eyes of Tyler (Blayne Weaver), who lives by a philosophy that allows him to avoid making any significant connections with women.

Intouchables – A true story of a quadriplegic aristocrat whose world is turned upside down when he hires a young, good-humored ex-con as his caretaker.

Queens of Country – Living in a fantasy era long gone and obsessed with old time country stars, the prettiest girl in a small Arizona town finds a lost iPod filled with songs that speak to her sensitive heart. Jolene Gillis (Lizzy Caplan) is convinced the owner is her soul mate and she is shot down the rabbit hole and into a surreal adventure of mistaken identities, ATVs, line dancing competitions, kidnappers, time machines and doppelgängers.

Diana Vreeland – An intimate portrait and a vibrant celebration of one of the most influential women of the 20th century, an enduring icon whose influence changed the face of fashion, beauty, art, publishing and culture forever. During her fifty year reign as the “Empress of Fashion,” she launched Twiggy, advised Jackie O and coined some of fashion’s most eloquent proverbs such as “the bikini is the biggest thing since the atom bomb.”

The Woman in the Fifth – American writer Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke) arrives in Paris to be closer to his young daughter who is living with his estranged ex-wife. Completely broke, he accepts a job as a night guard for a local crime boss. Stationed in a basement office, his only task is to push a button when a bell rings. The tranquility of the night, he hopes, will help him focus on his new novel. His days become more exciting when he starts a romance with Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas), a mysterious and elegant widow who sets strange rules to their meetings: she will only see him at her apartment, at 5 pm sharp, twice a week and he should ask no questions about her work or her past life.

The 12th Annual Phoenix Film Festival runs this year from Thursday, March 29th to Thursday, April 5th in Phoenix, Arizona.

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[caption id="attachment_2484" align="alignnone" width="550"]How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song[/caption]

The 2012 Phoenix Film Festival has announced the ten films scheduled to compete in this year’s Feature Film Competition.  In addition to featuring some of the brightest new talent that the industry has to offer, the competition films are also rife with established Hollywood names and former festival favorites, including ‘Friday Night Lights’ alum, starlet Minka Kelly (Searching for Sonny), and 2008 Arizona Filmmaker of the Year Bivas Biswas (Paranoia).  See the full list of titles from the genre bending slate below.

Connected – This acclaimed Sundance feature documentary offers an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness ride through the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, progress and morality at the dawn of the 21st century.

Hollywood to Dollywood – On the fumes of a dream, twin brothers Gary and Larry Lane have written a script with a plum roll for one of their idols, Dolly Parton.  Having had no luck getting the screenplay into her hands, they embark on a cross-country journey to personally deliver it to her.

How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song – After landing an opportunity to write for an Off-Broadway musical, Joe is forced to cast either the love of his life or his newly discovered muse. The realities of show business prove to Joe that writing is easy, living is hard.

Into the Wake – A psychological thriller that follows a man lured from the city to the remote river banks of his youth by a cryptic phone call. Caught in a violent clan war that he ran from years ago, his life unravels rapidly behind him as he descends further into his past.

Must Come Down – This film chronicles Holly and Ashley, two listless 20-Somethings, and their brief commiseration as grown-up children stumbling through life’s final bout of growing pains.

Paranoia – A classic “Whodunit” and psychological thriller from award winning director Bivas Biswas.  An ambitious detective investigates the murder of his wife’s best friend’s husband.  His wife’s best friend holds the key to the mystery but she struggles with reality and imagination.

Searching for Sunny – Sonny Bosco is missing under mysterious circumstances, and the investigation turns meta when it’s realized that everything happening seems eerily similar to a play performed in high school – a play Sonny wrote.

Shuffle – Part Twilight Zone-style mystery, part Frank Capra fantasy, SHUFFLE is the terrifying tale of a man who begins experiencing his life out of order; every day he wakes up at a different age, on a different day of his life, never knowing where or when he’s going to be once he falls asleep.

Small, Beautifully Moving Parts – A comic and poignant look at one woman’s coming-of-parenthood in the age of technology.

We Run Sh*t – This film examines the struggle of five veteran event producers who travel to Miami during it’s annual Winter Music Conference.  It’s a never-before-seen expose into the darker side of nightlife entertainment.

The 12th Annual Phoenix Film Festival runs this year from Thursday, March 29th to Thursday, April 5th. 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 11th Annual Phoenix Film Festival, presented by Cox and Starz, takes place from March 31, 2011 through April 7, 2011 at Harkins Scottsdale 101. Ten films are set to compete for multiple honors, including Best Picture, in the festival’s Competition Feature Films Awards.

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