Phoenix Film Foundation to Receive $15,000 Award from the National Endowment for the Arts!

The Phoenix Film Foundation is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $15,000!

This grant will support the upcoming 2025 Phoenix Film Festival - marking the festival’s 25th Anniversary - and related programming. The Phoenix Film Festival annually showcases a diverse group of over 250 film screenings alongside multiple educational events and workshops celebrating the art of independent filmmaking.

The mission of the Phoenix Film Foundation’s is dedicated to promoting diversity and education in the arts, elevating underrepresented voices, and driving the growth of independent film in Arizona. Through film showcases and accessible educational initiatives, we cultivate a vibrant, inclusive cinematic community, utilizing it as a catalyst for personal growth, creative expression, and positive social change. The Phoenix Film Festival is the foundation’s largest annual event and provides the perfect space to support this mission.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place.”

The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants. We at the Phoenix Film Foundation are honored to be included in this group of incredible award recipients striving to support the growth of artistic endeavors across the country.

“As we celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we're proud that the National Endowment of the Arts has chosen as an awardee. We love to bring filmmakers and audiences together to experience cinema and we're proud to be supported by the NEA”

-Jason Carney, CEO / Executive Director, Phoenix Film Foundation

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Revealing the 2025 Phoenix Film Festival 25th Anniversary Posters!

Poster #1

Designed By: Nicole Henriques

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Poster #2

Designed By: Lisa Marie Lara

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Poster #3

Designed By: Marty Freetage

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Poster #4

Designed By: Heather Kant

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Poster #5

Designed By: Amy Betts

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….AND A BONUS POSTER?!!!

Poster #6

Designed By: Amy Betts

Let's Chat About Arizona's Film Industry

Check out this great article
“Lights. Camera. Action. Arizona Has High Production Values in the Film Industry”
by RaeAnne Marsh with In Business Magazine.

Some incredible local film industry professionals (including our very own Jason Carney!) gave some compelling insights into the history and future of the Arizona Filmmaking Industry. There’s exciting things happening for Arizona film and this is a great article to learn more about it!

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Congratulations to the Winners of the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

FIRST PLACE

Love, From Ellie  - Chantelle James
A young girl visits her veteran dad's memorial on his birthday to throw him the perfect party, when unforeseen circumstances get in the way of her plans, she must give up control to celebrate her dad.

SECOND PLACE

Morrigan’s Tree - Nicki Bosch
When a grieving father receives a directive from his dead daughter, he must choose between granting her request or conceding to the wishes of his suffering wife.

THIRD PLACE

Comeuppance - Lesley Lillywhite
A reclusive writer, haunted by her unsettled past, pursues her vengeance through a supernatural gateway.

FINALISTS

(In alphabetical order by last name)

Family Law - Tatiana Blackington James
A betrayed woman hires a divorce lawyer, who seems to be the perfect man. Is he too good to be true?

Once Upon A Diary - Frederic Donner & Rod Hewitt
Many people write detailed diaries. Others keep brief notations or mementos in scrapbooks. Others are so important that secretaries, aides, and hangers-on keep a recordation of accomplishments and failures. Diaries are a means of justifying our actions, and explicitly stating I was there, and I matter.

The Cargo - Chris Edgar
In 1939 Japan, after his ship wrecks, a Soviet convict manages to find safety in the home of a Japanese fisherman, and he must decide whether to go back to his ship or stay in his new refuge.

And The Hero Will Fall - James Ferda
A man is tasked with killing a hero

Casting Couch - James Ferda
A girl takes an uncommon interview.

Honed - Jeffrey Howe
An unexpected loss forces a military widow who took over her husband's knifemaking business to re-examine her grief.

You're Dating A Lesbian - Davis Eleanor Mathis
As high school student Greg prepares to go through with his and his girlfriend’s pact to lose their virginity to each other on prom night, he starts to wonder, what if she's not into guys?

Can't Shoot Without A Hat - Philip C. Sedgwick
A rising star female director, hell-bent on making a short old-fashioned western must contend with an eccentric cast and mysterious thieves who pilfer the talents' cowboy hats.

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Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com

Here They Are - The Official 2024 Phoenix Film Festival Posters!

Poster #1

"Baby, you can find me under the lights,
Diamonds under my eyes,
Turn the rhythm up,
Don't you wanna just
Come along for the ride?"

Designed By: Heather Kant

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Poster #2

Paying homage to THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH

Designed By: Amy Betts

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Poster #3

Can you dig it?

Designed By: Lisa Marie Lara

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Poster #4

"Let's go to work"

Designed By: Marty Freetage

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And we can’t forget our buddies over at the
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival!
Here’s the 2024 IHSFF Poster as well!

"All work and no play makes jack a dull boy."

Designed By: Nikole Henriques

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

FIRST PLACE

Do Unto Others - by Joseph Micheal Leone
An elderly woman and a middle-aged business banker form a bond based on mutual respect and the "Golden Rule."

SECOND PLACE

Edgar and the Undead - by Montgomery Burt
An amiable couple and their cynical house cat face tough choices trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. 

THIRD PLACE

Halverson and Halverson - by Karla S. Bryant
Two aging brothers, with a live entertainment show fading in relevancy, find unexpected appreciation in an unlikely venue.

FINALISTS

(In alphabetical order by last name)

G-String - by Fred Donner
(Synopsis not provided)

Vinnie Plays God - by Fred Donner and Rod Hewitt
A Wise Guy, Vinnie catches the attention of God. As Vinnie navigates himself through his Mafia family and criminal ways, he is always steadfast in his weekly confessions and financial obligation to the Catholic Church to repent for his sins.

Trapped - by Chris Keaton
A man searching for comfort from his past finds himself trapped.

Marshall and MacArthur - by Robert F. Redmond Jr.
Based on an actual event; Thurgood Marshall and General Douglas MacArthur have a dialog on race and the military in a empty courtroom in Korea during the Korean War

A Dream Come True - by Frank Scott
An evil wicked story about deception and immorality. Michael and Lizzie Judd are having marital problems. Both choose to go down a road of no return with no idea of its final destination.

Under the Influence - by Joseph C. Steely
Matt and Eric are two boys going for a night drive out on the town. They smoke and drink without a care in the universe. Until they are hit by the realization that the same universe is equally apathetic.

Sign Off - David Forrest Termuhlen
The fate of a TV repairman and his dying wife lies in the hands of devoted, but unusual supporters.

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Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com

Here They Are - The Official 2023 Phoenix Film Festival Posters!

Poster #1

“Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination.”

Designed By: Heather Kant

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Poster #2

“Everybody loves a winner”

Designed By: Amy Betts

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Poster #3

“This is the story of a lifetime.”

Designed By: Lisa Marie Lara

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Poster #4

“Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements!”

Designed By: Marty Freetage

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Don’t forget to check out the 2023 IHSFF Poster as well!

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search

Thank you to all who submitted their screenplays to the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Competition.

We are very excited to announce this year's winners!

FIRST PLACE

A Package of Dreams - by Bradley M. Look
A boy longs to be a television horror host when he grows up. But that dream gets derailed as adulthood pressures him into work with his father at a parcel service. Fate steps in connecting him with a hero from childhood in a supernatural way, proving that even dreams need a little help.

SECOND PLACE

A Long Road Ahead - by Bernhard Riedhammer
A trailblazing transgender woman, stranded in the middle of nowhere, must hitch a ride with an opinionated retiree in order to stop her ex from leaving the country with their son.

THIRD PLACE

The Smell - by Stephen Hansen
Jay goes to a Walgreens to pick up some items. He’s met with an unexpected smell, and challenge.

FINALISTS

Hugh Was Here - by Montgomery Burt
Fantasy and reality collide as an unassuming long-time employee struggles to make a big exit on his last day at work, but his indifferent co-workers are no help as his violent fantasies finally catch up with him.

Blackboard Billions - by Jamila Jackson
A woman who rocketed to the top in the 80s cutthroat world of chalkboard sales recounts her success, but an arch nemesis from the past might erase her accomplishments.

Applicant American - by John Kestner
Fearing the worst, three stoners flee to Mexico when the government decides to save the environment by euthanizing the homeless.

Dolores - by Michael Seabolt and Greg Schroeder
Ethan (20’s) is having trouble sleeping. Every night, while he’s getting ready to go to sleep, a ghost lies down in bed with him. It scares him, but he also misses the ghost when it leaves, for its appearance and smell remind him of his dead girlfriend Dolores.

Three Nights Only - by Philip C. Sedgwick
A comedienne has a chance encounter with a recently unemployed man rumored to be devoid of a funny bone.

Deep Hush - by Kristy Walsh
While writing her brother's eulogy, a young woman discovers an avant-garde photograph that sends her down a path of self-discovery.

Heritage - by Chasah West and Charliese West
Grace, an African-American teenager with Louisiana creole heritage, has a whirlwind day entertaining a visitor who only speaks French.

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Contact information for winning screenplays is available for producers by emailing submissions@phxfilm.com