Get to Know Your PFF Alumni-Liz Manashil
We reached
out to Liz Manashil, director of last year’s festival selection Bread and Butter, to get her thoughts on the Phoenix Film Festival.
What projects are you currently working on?
My movie, Bread and Butter was just released by The Orchard and it's playing on VOD almost everywhere. We also just landed an awesome airline deal so we'll be in the skies as well!
While we continue to spread the word about that movie, I'm finishing up the script for my second feature. It's a one location, four character surreal drama about facing Death. I'm incredibly proud of it and excited to make a movie that is pro-age. I find there are far too little movies that show the strength of seniors.
What are some of your all-time favorite PFF screenings?
I saw Wildlike at PFF as well as Listening. Great movies. Recently I watched another PFF alum film called Seven Hours in Heaven and I was really impressed by its quality as well. PFF curates great films, we're proud to be among those chosen!
What are you hoping to see more of at this year’s Festival?
Honestly, the people. I Love the PFF staff--they are positive, supportive, a lot of fun, and full of energy. I also have fallen in love with the city of Phoenix; so I'm a fan of it being in such a great location.
What’s your favorite genre at PFF?
I didn't get to see enough of them but I love that PFF has a whole subset devoted to genre films. It's great that the festival can support so many different types of film!
What w
as your biggest take-away from last year’s festival?
That there are good people out there who want to and have the resources to support indie films--it's rare. It's rarer than people may assume, but the amazing community that supports the PFF consists of some of the friendliest, kindest and indie-friendly movie goers I have ever met.
I made friends with several people in the audience of my films that I still keep in touch with on a weekly basis today. We got to go to several festivals with Bread and Butter, and got to experience several different types of festivals. The infrastructure at Phoenix is... stellar.
Which PFF event did you most enjoy attending, and why?
I liked the pre-festival filmmaker dinner. Looking back on it, I got to meet other filmmakers who were on the circuit with me for months, and it was great to connect with them before the festival began.
The Phoenix Film Festival welcomes Scorpius Dance Theatre for a one-night-only encore of their wildly popular show, CATWALK!
Staged on a runway, this original contemporary dance production fuses funky, local fashions, sexy athleticism and the distinct choreography of Lisa Starry. Catwalk features different choreographic works that are connected by video montages and fashion runway spoofs.
