Phoenix Film Festival - Opening Weekend

Spring in Arizona is notorious for fitting in almost any major event you can think of. And while most people probably count down to the Super Bowl, Waste Management Open, Spring Training and the Renaissance Festival; spring in Arizona always means Phoenix Film Festival to me.

This year the festival will be held from March 23-April 2 at Harkins Scottsdale 101, and it is a year not to be missed. 

Opening weekend is jammed pack with films that have made their marks at Sundance Film Festival, Fantasia, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Some of the big hitters include LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, ALIENS ABDUCTED MY PARENTS AND NOW I FEEL KINDA LEFT OUT, KOKOMO CITY, A BUNCH OF AMATEURS, I LIKE MOVIES, MEGALOMANIAC, and STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE.

There is literally a movie for everyone.

Mark your calendar and get ready to buy your tickets now. I have a feeling many films will sell out quickly.

https://www.phoenixfilmfestival.com/

Here are the films I plan to hit up opening weekend:

March 24

COYOTE – 

I love stories that revolve around time travel and teleportation; probably because I love to travel and I'm a daydreamer. COYOTE doesn't sound like your sweet daydream story, but I'm intrigued by it.

Synopsis: COYOTE is a story of forbidden love in a dystopian future where teleportation technology enables two refugees to escape genocide. When they trust the wrong back-alley teleporter, Ekaterina and Anya are separated. In a desperate attempt to be reunited, our heroines are entwined in an insidious human trafficking ring involving corrupt politicians.

BIRTH/REBIRTH –

Phoenix Film Festival has 3 genre films written/directed by women, including BIRTH/REBIRTH. If you follow my articles, you don't need me to explain why I will be at all of them.

BIRTH/REBIRTH made its debut at Sundance Film festival and is being declared the feminist take on the Frankenstein myth.

Synopsis: Rose is a pathologist who prefers working with corpses over social interaction. She also has an obsession — the reanimation of the dead. Celie is a maternity nurse who has built her life around her bouncy, chatterbox six-year-old daughter, Lila. When one tragic night, Lila suddenly falls ill and dies, the two women's worlds crash into each other. They embark on a dark path of no return where they will be forced to confront how far they are willing to go to protect what they hold most dear.

KING ON SCREEN* -

I'm actually seeing this documentary film about Stephen King on March 31st but wanted to point out it does have a time slot opening weekend.

If you're a King fan, add this one to your ticket list first before it sells out.

Synopsis: More than 50 directors have adapted the master of horror’s books, in more than 80 films and series, making him the most adapted author still alive in the world. KING ON SCREEN showcases the unique relationship as they reimagine his work.

March 25

BAD CONNECTION –

This film has an interesting premise for a slasher film, and I’m excited to see how it plays out.

Synopsis: When a downtrodden young waitress buys a stolen cell phone and discovers a snuff film on it, she soon finds herself on the run from a maniacal madman with a hunting knife who is hellbent on getting it back, and willing to slaughter anyone who stands in his way.

ALIENS ABDUCTED MY PARENTS AND NOW I FEEL KINDA LEFT OUT –

Out of all the films on my watch list, this one probably has the biggest heart. It will be a welcome relief from some of the darker topics/films I tend to gravitate towards. 

This film is also family-friendly so you can bring the whole gang and start a new family tradition of attending the Phoenix Film festival. 

Synopsis: Miserable after her family moves to a small town, teenage aspiring journalist Itsy befriends Calvin, her strange, space-obsessed neighbor who believes his parents were abducted by aliens and joins him on his journey to find them.

FOREVER HOME –

I like to support local, and this horror comedy is in the Arizona Features category. 

Synopsis: FOREVER HOME is a new haunted comedy about a young couple who unwittingly spend all their money on a new home only to discover a terrible secret that puts not only their lives, but their afterlives at risk.

POLARIS –

POLARIS is the film I'm most excited for. I was dying to see it virtually through Fantasia but alas they were only doing one live screening and I feared I’d never get an opportunity to see it.

Luckily, I’ll get to see it on the big screen now and cheer on this female MAD MAX-style story.

Synopsis: Set in 2101, against the backdrop of a subarctic wasteland, Sumi, a human-child raised by a Polar Bear, narrowly escapes capture from a brutal MORAD hunting party. When Sumi stumbles across Frozen Girl, an unlikely friendship is forged. Together they race ahead of the vindictive hunters towards the only guiding light Sumi knows, the POLARIS star.

FROM BLACK -

FROM BLACK is getting quite a bit of buzz but is only showing one night – and overlaps with POLARIS. My schedule only allows me to see one and I chose POLARIS. But don’t miss out on this feature if you can make it work. Book your ticket now as I anticipate it selling out.

Synopsis: A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?

March 26

IN A DARK, DARK ROOM –

Not going to lie, the title alone got me. But then I watched the trailer and got even more intrigued by this Ukrainian horror feature.

Synopsis: In a small town, misfit teens discover an ominous site of pagans, awakening a dark force that is fought by a mysterious biker – a history teacher by day and a witch hunter by night.

MISS VIBORG –

Every year, Phoenix Film Festival has an amazing line up of foreign feature films under World Cinema. And every year I miss out.

This year I am making sure to finally catch one. I love stories of female friendship and will be catching MISS VIBORG opening weekend.

NOTE: If you love foreign films, the World Cinema films are only showing opening weekend March 24-26 so mark your calendar!

Synopsis: A former beauty queen, crushed dreams, and an unexpected friendship with the neighbor’s rebellious daughter make up this countryside drama, set in the Danish provincial town of Viborg, about an unlikely friendship, which reminds us that we all share the same human condition in all its complexity.

BROOKLYN 45 –

BROOKLYN 45 sounds like an interesting ghost story – and is also on the line up at SXSW. Check it out in Arizona and support your local film festival.

Synopsis: Friday, December 27,1945. Five military veterans gather in the ornate parlor of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they've reunited to support their troubled host–but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal. Trapped in their host's lounge, the Greatest Generation now finds themselves put to one final test, with their only route to freedom being more bloodshed.

Special Mention 

March 28

POLITE SOCIETY -

Not quite during opening weekend but POLITE SOCIETY caught my eye at Sundance Film Festival. It's only showing Tuesday, March 28 so I will be enjoying a mid-week movie to get away from work stress.

Synopsis: A merry mash up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment and bold action, POLITE SOCIETY follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.