Announcing Our 2014 Phoenix Film Festival Competition Features

It's time to start getting your must-see film list ready because after watching thousands of screeners, our programmers at the Phoenix Film Festival are proud to announce our slate of films for the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival April 3-10 at the Harkins 101 in Phoenix, AZ. These films will be competing for our coveted Copper Wing Awards to be awarded Sunday, April 6th at the Party Pavilion. Please click on the film title for showtimes, photos and trailers.

45 RPM:  An artist struggling with the source of her inspiration finds help from an obsessive record collector in the search for her deceased father's lost music.

Jake Squared: Jake's a guy whose problems compound exponentially when younger versions of himself invade his life and try to solve his romantic problems.

King of Herrings: In this Tom Waits tips-his-hat-to Woody Allen world, a group of small time wannabes, banter about the rickety streets of New Orleans to find themselves in a strange tug-o-war over a childlike woman who's looking for a way out.

Life Inside Out: When a mother returns to her musical roots, she rediscovers the passion of her youth, and finds a way to connect with her troubled teenage son.

Little Hope Was Arson: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches were burned to the ground in five weeks, igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history.

Misfire: The Rise and Fall of The Shooting Gallery: Misfire: The Rise and Fall of The Shooting Gallery is a documentary about the independent film company responsible for art-house hits You Can Count on Me and Laws of Gravity; a company that rose to the top of the independent film scene in the 90s before financial risk-taking and mismanagement caused it to crash.

Teddy BearsTeddy Bears is a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend Andrew heal from the loss of his mother. The friends plan a week of laughter and rejuvenation. Andrew does too, except his plan includes a therapeutic orgy.

The Frontier: A retired professor and his ranch hand son try to reconnect after years of estrangement.

The House That Jack Built: Jack, a Puerto Rican drug dealer, tries to go straight when he buys an old tenement building in the Bronx, restores it, and moves his whole extended family into all the apartments with the hope of rekindling a warm and supportive family life.  Things naturally do not unfold as intended.

The Joe Show: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 'America's Toughest Sheriff', accused of blurring the line between public image and public policy, accused of creating a 'culture of cruelty' and even murder... may be the most popular politician in America. Eight years in the making, our cameras had unprecedented access to the most notorious and controversial American lawman ever.

WE WANT YOU! (to volunteer for the Phoenix Film Festival)

Tiffany 2We sat down with 2012's Volunteer of the Year Copper Wing Award winner Tiffany Hutson, our Volunteer Director, and chat about some neat opportunities to participate in the festival this year.

PFF: Great to see you again, Tiffany! Let's start out with who you are and how you got involved with the festival.

Tiffany: Thanks! It feels good to be back. I actually started out as an intern for the Phoenix Film Festival back in 2010. I am an actress and I was in the school at the time for Special Events Management, and when I went to find an internship I thought the Phoenix Film Festival would be way out of my league. But, I pretty much bugged them until they said yes. I worked solely with the Volunteer Department that year for the 10 Year Anniversary and enjoyed every second of it. I guess they liked me too, because when the Volunteer Director position opened up for the festival the next year they asked me to step in.

 

PFF: Well, your Volunteer of the Year Award must have shown that they more than like you.

 

Tiffany: Haha, I guess that's true! I don't think they realized it meant they would be stuck with me forever!

 

PFF: I'm sure they don't have any objections to that! Now, what does it mean to be the Volunteer Director? What is it that you do for the festival?

 

Tiffany: Tons of emails. Thankfully, this year I have two interns from ASU helping me out with emailing and other administrative tasks. Basically, before the festival starts I communicate with each department regarding how many volunteers they need during which times of day and I create the schedule accordingly. We have some wonderful volunteers that work with us every year, along with lots of new faces.

 

PFF: How many volunteers would you say the festival needs every year?

 

Tiffany: Last year I think the number was around 275.

 

PFF: What?! That's crazy!

 

Tiffany: I know! Every single person that works for the festival is a volunteer. It's such a unique festival because we have no paid staff members. Well...except for the Executive Director, Jason. But, he started as a volunteer, so he counts too.

 

PFF: Why do you think so many people volunteer for this festival?

 

Tiffany: It's worth it! Majority of our volunteers are local to the Phoenix area and have watched this festival grow throughout the years. The film community in Arizona is a close-knit group of people and the Phoenix Film Festival/International Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival is the biggest celebration of film anywhere in the state. If you love film and you're in Arizona, this is the place to be.

 

PFF: But why volunteer? Why not just attend the festival?Tiffany 3

 

Tiffany: Well, I don't want to discourage people from straight up purchasing tickets and attending the festival. But, volunteering allows for the unique experience of interacting directly with filmmakers, guests, VIPs, and fellow film-lovers. Although, I will also say that we have several volunteers who aren't involved in the film community at all. They simply enjoy volunteering with us because we're nice, we're fun, the work isn't incredibly difficult, and it's a great environment to just spend time in.

 

PFF: So, what is your favorite volunteer position at the festival?

 

Tiffany: Oh that's not fair! They're all so much fun! Each department has a different personality that fits different kinds of people. But I will say that the only event I make sure I'm 100% available to help out with is Kids' Day. We have an amazing Educational Outreach program and Kids' Day is such a unique, fun experience to be able to help kids discover the art of filmmaking, sometimes for the very first time. Kids' Day is also the only event we accept one-time volunteers for.

 

PFF: One-time volunteers...meaning?

 

Tiffany: Every volunteer is required to spend 24 hours volunteering at the festival. The only exception to this is for people who want to volunteer only for the seven hour Kids' Day shift on Saturday, April 6th. It's a great option if you want to volunteer but just don't have the 24 hours available. For volunteering, you'll receive a cool Kids' Day t-shirt along with a pass to see a couple movies at the festival. Our regular volunteers get a festival t-shirt and a pass to the festival that allows them a ticket into any and every screening throughout the whole festival.

 

PFF: Those are some pretty sweet deals.

 

Tiffany: I sure think so!

 

PFF: So, I guess my next question would be who can volunteer?

 

Tiffany: Anyone! We do ask that you have reliable transportation in order to get to your shifts on time and we prefer that you be at least 18 years old. But we do have a handful of high school students that volunteer with us with their parent's permission every year.

 

PFF: How would someone who is interested in volunteering get more information?

 

Tiffany: I would encourage you to visit the Volunteer website - http://www.phoenixfilmfestival.com/volunteers/ - and check out the volunteer information. If you still have questions after reading through everything, then shoot an e-mail to volunteer@phxfilm.com and we'll get back with you.

We actually have our New Volunteer Orientation coming up this Saturday, March 1st at 1:00pm and Saturday, March 22nd at 2:00pm in the Festival Ticket Center next to the Harkins Theater at Scottsdale Rd. and the 101.

We hope to see you there!

Celebrate the Art of Film with Food, Fun and the 2014 PFF Films Announcement

pff2014poster4Mark your calendar!

 

DATE: Wednesday, February 5

 

TIME: 6pm - 8pm

 

LOCATION: Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill at Scottsdale Fashion Square



Join the Phoenix Film Festival for an exclusive celebration of The Art of Film at Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The evening will feature food and drink, music, a raffle, silent auction, networking and the reveal of some films for the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival.

Tickets are just $25 per person and just $20 for Reel Friends and members of the Phoenix Film Society. Only 60 tickets will be sold to this event. All proceeds benefit the student education programs of the Phoenix Film Foundation.

Your ticket price includes:

  • A welcome beverage
  • Appetizers
  • A complimentary raffle ticket
  • Exclusive access to announcement of film selections for the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival
  • An opportunity to purchase Phoenix Film Festival passes at a 30% discount

To purchase tickets CLICK HERE!

 

Our (R)EVOLUTION OF FILM series brings you Pulp Fiction on the big screen!

It's hard to believe that the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival is almost here. To get us into the festival spirit, the Phoenix Film Festival announces our (R)EVOLUTION OF FILM series — three classic, game-changing films on the big screen at the Harkins 101. Best yet, the screenings are FREE FOR ALL. Any donations you'd like to give are appreciated and will go to support the revolution (which is the Phoenix Film Foundation's education programs).

Check out our series and we hope you'll join the revolution!

January 23, 2014

Singin' In The Rain Hosted by Colin Boyd with Joel & Mike Massie

 

February 13, 2014

Jaws Hosted by Colin Boyd with Joel & Mike Massie

 

March 6, 2014

Pulp Fiction Hosted by Colin Boyd with Henry Cabot Black

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

ALL SCREENINGS START AT 7PM AT THE HARKINS SCOTTSDALE 101 AND ARE FREE FOR ALL!

PFF 2013 Posters Win International Award!

Congratulations to the Phoenix Film Festival's Art Director Martin Freetage and his crew for creating some of the best film festival posters in THE WORLD!

FFPA_Winners_2013

The website FilmFestivalPosters.com has announced the award recipients for the year 2013 and we are proud to announce that the 2013 Phoenix Film Festival posters have been recognized as some of the best of 2013!

The Film Festival Poster Awards are an annual collection of honors given for outstanding achievement in artwork and other promotional materials advertising film festivals and film events around the world. The awards are given by FilmFestivalPosters.com, an online database of artwork and promotional materials related to film festivals and film events around the world.

Marty and his crew are in some prestigious company! Here is the full list of winners:

2013 Award Recipients:

GOLD

Cannes International Film Festival 2013

SPECIAL JURY AWARD

OSCARS: 85 Years of Oscars

SILVER

Guadalajara International Film Festival 2013

Skopje Film Festival 2013

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2013

Sitges Film Festival 2013

Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2013

BRONZE

¡Cine Magnífico! Albuquerque’s Latino Film Festival 2013

Massachusetts Independent Film Festival 2013

True/False Film Festival 2013

San Diego Latino Film Festival 2013

Phoenix Film Festival 2013

Ann Arbor Film Festival 2013

Australia Spanish Film Festival 2013

Quinzaine des Réalisateurs 2013

Paris Festival for Different and Experimental Cinema 2013

Tokyo International Film Festival 2013

Looking for volunteer designers for the 2014 PFF marketing campaign

bird_th  Be part of the Phoenix Film Festival team!

We're looking for a few designers for the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival marketing campaign. Specialty in vector art design a plus. Must know Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Keep in mind these are volunteer positions, however you'll have the opportunity to be creative, get great exposure and plus you'll receive passes to the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival.

If you're interested in getting involved as part of our design team, please send questions and resumes to office@Phxfilm.com.

Submissions for the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival are now closed!

Thank you all for submitting your films and screenplays to the 2014 Phoenix Film Festival. The submission period wrapped up on December 16. Films are currently being screened and notifications will be made in late January.

Keep updated on our selections and submissions process for the 2015 festival by joining our mailing list.

Good luck and we'll see you in April!