Phoenix Film Festival Days 2 & 3

Post date: Apr 10, 2013 3:35:32 AM

The second full day at the Phoenix Film Festival brought a first into Producer Jennifer Goss' life - never before had she eaten her breakfast while sitting in a movie theater. The new experience was completely worth rising early to view the stunning film Lonely Boy . The film was directed by Dale Fabrigar and was written by its lead actor, breakout star Alev Aydin. Troy Daniel Smith produced this narrative about a man's struggles with schizophrenia. Aydin portraying an emotionally compelling character in his first role and evokes feelings generated by actors like Sean Penn in I Am Sam. If this film is coming to your city, both Gaston and Goss cannot recommend enough that you make the effort to see it.

Action film Down and Dangerous was the second event on the day's agenda. Zak Forsman directed a solid and entertaining film in this genre that already has a good festival run lined up. The film tells a story loosely based on experiences in Forsman's own family about an "ethical" drug smuggler and his attempt to stay alive in a vicious game. As with Lonely Boy and Favor, if you have the chance to view it in your city - definitely take the opportunity.

Saturday afternoon, Director Sean Gaston participated in a panel discussion for selected Festival directors entitled "So You Think You Want to Make a Movie?" The panel was part of the Festival's ongoing educational outreach and other panelists including Paul Osborne (Favor), Elise Salomon (Los Wild Ones), Jason Chaet (Putzel), and Forsman. The group had a spirited discussion that shared the high points and challenges of bringing a story from script to screen.

After an evening of networking, the producers spent some time relaxing before the hectic final day of the festival. Sunday morning began with the final festival screening of Misa's Fugue. The audience contained a wide variety of viewers from area teachers to out of town friends of the Grunwald family. Attendance was strong and those who were in the audience were quite affected by Frank's experience.

A brief Q & A followed the screening. Participants queried about Frank's response to the finished film and his continued use of art as therapy. They also were interested in the educational and personal impact upon the students who participated in the creation of this project. Educators who were in the audience received complimentary copies of the film for use in their classrooms. Additional copies were made available to audience members who made donations to the project.

Sunday morning, Gaston and Goss had the opportunity to view the film Los Wild Ones. The film tells the story of the family atmosphere of the label, Wild Records, which specializes in rockabilly music and the production of vinyl records in that genre. The moving documentary featured beautiful cinematography. It would go on to win the Best Documentary at the Phoenix Film Festival, a well-deserved honor. Another film to add to your list of must views!

Sunday evening brought the main events of the Festival to a close with Awards Night. The awards given out in the festival are numerous and went to deserving recipients. Of the films viewing by Gaston and Goss, in addition to Los Wild Ones, Favor took home an award for Best Screenplay. The evening featured great entertainment and networking and the festival participants were sad to part ways when the evening ended.