Phoenix Film Festival Opening Night & Day 1

Post date: Apr 6, 2013 10:06:52 PM

It may have been 32 degrees when Director Sean Gaston left Philadelphia Thursday morning but he ended his day sweating it out at the Phoenix Film Festival's Opening Night Festivities which reached a high of 91 degrees. The festival opened with the film The Spectacular Now and was followed by a celebration in the "Party Pavilion." The 13th Annual Phoenix Film Festival is being held at the Harkins 101 Theater Complex in Scottsdale, AZ.

Producer Jennifer Goss arrived in Phoenix late on Thursday night and joined up with Gaston on Friday morning for an Educational Outreach Program. Gaston and Goss sat on the Documentary Panel with Elise Salomon (Los Wild Ones), Frederick Stanton (Uprising) and Chris McDaniel (Music City). The group shared documentary filmmaking experiences with an audience that included 150 students from schools in the Phoenix area.

The first screening of Misa's Fugue was held at 11:10 AM on Friday. The screening produced a solid audience that provided wonderful feedback and solid connections to future opportunities in the Phoenix regional area. The morning program was also attended by several area teachers who received copies of Misa's Fugue for their classrooms.

Throughout the remainder of the second day, Gaston and Goss took advantage of the fabulous networking opportunities offered by the festival. They also had the opportunity to check out some emerging technology in the ALMmCAM which enhances smartphones to shoot high quality film and videos. It shows great promise particularly for affordable classroom use and both producers hope to explore its use for high school media programs. Gaston was also interviewed by Dan Czerwonka on his use of instructional media in the classroom in conjunction with the possibilities that ALMmCAM can provide, as well as Gaston's participation at the Festival.

The evening ended with the World Premiere of the psychological thriller, Favor, which was directed by Paul Osborne. The film was outstanding and truly challenges the boundaries of longstanding friendships. Osborne previously screened his films Ten Til Noon and Official Rejection at previous Phoenix Film Festivals. The screening was followed by a reception in the Party Pavilion.