More than 140 films have been selected for live screenings during the upcoming 28and Annual Sedona International Film Festival, February 19-27.
“We’re coming back strong,” said executive director Pat Schweiss. “The selection committees have once again created a range of remarkably creative, captivating and entertaining films in various genres and on equally diverse subjects. We can’t wait to see people back in theaters experience the movies the way they should be seen – on the big screen.
The films will screen at the Mary D. Fisher Theater, the Sedona Performing Arts Center at Sedona Red Rock High School, and the two largest theaters at Harkins Theaters Sedona 6.
Schweiss said security protocols will be in place for the Festival. Masks will be required and theater capacities will be reduced to ensure proper social distancing.
This year’s Festival will feature 33 narrative feature films, 32 documentary feature films, 37 narrative short films, 2 animated short films and 38 documentary short films.
Among the recommended feature-length documentaries are
• River: A cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers, honoring the wild nature of rivers but also acknowledging their vulnerability.
• Ascent: A visual essay on the social and economic classes that divide contemporary China, following factory workers, middle-class consumers and elites as they pursue the elusive Chinese dream.
• A crack in the mountain: The story of the recent discovery and incredible experience of the world’s largest cave in Viet Nam, now threatened by over-promotional tourism and development.
• Refuge: A leader of a white nationalist hate group finds healing in the people he once hated – a Syrian Muslim immigrant heart doctor and his refugee town in the Deep South.
• The sound of us:Explore the healing power of music to connect and inspire mankind.
Filmmaker workshops will be scheduled throughout the week. Workshop leaders include award-winning writer/producer David Isaacs, who won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Drama Series for his work on the second season of Mad Men, and talent agents Talia Myers and Alyssa Lanz of United Talent Agency. Additionally, Emmy-nominated television and film stars Jason Cook and Emmy winner Jacob Young will be part of a “From Daytime TV to the Big Screen” symposium.
Among the expected special guests is former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona, Bruce Babbitt, who was instrumental in the formal formation of Red Rock State Park and the preservation of its riparian habitat. A film produced by Sedona filmmakers Ron Melmon and Bryan Reinhart is used by the park as part of its orientation program and Babbitt will discuss his involvement in protecting the park.
Also expected are Mariette Hartley and her husband, Jerry Sroka, for their film, Our almost entirely true story, which also includes Morgan Fairchild and Bernie Kopell.
The Festival will officially open on Saturday, February 19 with a performance by orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Elvis Francois, who garnered national attention for an impromptu rendition of “Alright” after a traumatic callout change in 2018. and again after a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Since then he has been featured on The Masked Singer, The Ellen Show, Good Morning America, Today and The View. He also starred in the Fox TV hit The Masked Singer and has been featured in Forbes and Rolling Stone.
• Dr. Elvis performed live on Monday Night Football and at the presidential inauguration. All proceeds from the sale of his albums were donated to a COVID-19 charity.
• Dr. Elvis will debut a new song at the Festival. His appearance is sponsored by the Healthcare First Foundation.
• Festival packages are now available and individual tickets will go on sale in February.
• Sedona International Film Festival memberships range from $90 to $50,000. Information can be found at www.sedonafilmfestival.com.
• For more information on the 28andAnnual Sedona International Festival, visit the website or follow the Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
28andSedona International Film Festival Annual Selections
Narrative characteristics
Ahed’s Knee, Albatross, Americanish, Atlas, Betrayed, Black Box, Black White and the Greys, De Gaulle, Dear Zoe, Delicious, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, Drunken Birds, Four for Fun, France, Helene, Implanted, Kiss Me Kosher, The Last Bus, Lifeline, Lune, Luzzu, Margrete: Queen of the North, Marvelous and the Black Hole, Our Almost Completely True Story, The Pact, Peace by Chocolate, Peeky, Pie in the Sky, Plan A, Tokyo Shaking, Two Eyes, Wake Up, You Will Remember Me.
Documentary Features
The 12th Hour, Addict’s Awakening, After Antarctica, The Art of Making It, Ascension, Boycott, Bring Him Home, Build A Bridge, Calendar Girls, Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight, Cat Daddies, Codename: Nagasaki, The Conductor, A Crack In The Mountain, Expose Muybridge, Faith Can Move mountains, Free Renty: Lanier c. Harvard, Life & Life: A Story of Redemption, Me to Play, Neutral Ground, The New Gospel, Representation, Powerlands, Refuge, The Return: Life After ISIS, River, Scenes from the Glittering World, The Sound of Us, Speer Goes to Hollywood, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, A Tree of Life, Trust Me.
Narrative Shorts
27 Children, : 60 Seconds, Beautiful Violence, Biology 101, Ruth’s Book, CA•DENCE, Meltdown!, Cyn, Distances, Dog Years, Dreamy, Enough., Faith, Goodnight, Gum, Johnny The Dime, The Lady Edison, Leylak, An Inner Life, Lioness, The Little Drummer, Mask-19, Nur et Abir, de nos trespasses., Orbital Christmas, Read No More, Ready Forward, Recipiphany, Sproutland, Tell Me Something, These Last Hours, To Be Saved, True Story: I Feel, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Urania Leilus, Volley, Welcome to Forever.
Animated short films
The park bench, Space Race.
Documentary short films
Ark of the Apocalypse, Añay Kachi: The salt workers of the Peruvian Andes, before they fall, The Bitter Root, California on Fire, Cloud of Witnesses, Coded, A Concerto is a Conversation, Fog, Not, For Our Girls: A Conversation with Black Women, From My Window, Full Picture, Give and Take, Guardians of Heaven, Inga, In the Circle, Joychild, Lawnmower Men, Learning to Breathe, Insects lovers, Lydia Emily’s Last Mural, The Mountain and the Maiden, Neurodivergent, Our Daughters, Second Sight, Senior Prom, A Ship from Guantanamo, Snowy, The Sound of Gravity, Sound of Judgment, Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth, The Spiritual Exercises, Tehachapi, Unlivable Oasis, Voice Above Water, When We Were Bullies, The Wild Inside.
Comments are closed.