The Phoenix Film Festival unleashes star power for 2024 edition

The Phoenix Film Festival starts on April 4, and it comes at a time when people still face the question of whether they should go see a movie in theaters or wait for streaming.

Of course, any film festival director wants you to sit down in their theater seats instead of your couch. The same is true for Jason Carney, who has been directing the Phoenix Film Festival since 2005.

In 2022, the moviegoing audience started to emerge from their caves after two years of pandemic hibernation. The Phoenix Film Fest that year did pretty well under the circumstances. Last year even more people showed up; in fact, the entire movie industry regained some footing last summer with the enormous successes of both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” The destination movie experience was back and in 2024, with the writers' and actors' strikes over, it could recover even more.

The Phoenix Film Festival joins Sundance and SXSW as the largest film festivals in their respective cities. It’s a time to discover movies again, ones that no one else will see until they are distributed by a major studio which can sometimes take up to a year.

Carney says this year’s 11-day event is going to be filled with some great movies, including a few getting their Arizona premieres.

“We have such a diverse, interesting and entertaining lineup,” he says. “Our team has such a thoughtful approach in programming these films and it’s not to be missed.”


There's “Babes” which Carney describes as being like “Bridesmaids,” but with pregnancy. “Also the comedy is dirtier,” he adds. “It’s the funniest movie that I’ve seen in some time.”

Then there's “Good One” directed by India Donaldson in her feature-length debut. It's the story of a teenage girl who takes a camping trip with her father and his friend, and Carney says this one has great performances, especially from the lead actress, Lily Collias. "I want more people to see this so I have people to talk to about it."

Then, there are other notable centerpiece films including “A Stage of Twilight,” starring Karen Allen and William Sadler, “Ezra” with Robert De Niro, and “Tuesday” with Julia-Louis Dreyfus.

As in past festivals, there will be some special guests attending this year’s event. If you’re lucky, you might rub elbows with some of the filmmakers and strike up a conversation about their craft. Film festivals are great venues to meet creatives, who are usually more than willing to discuss their works. Unlike big Hollywood premieres, festivals are a little more intimate, and casual conversations are more likely to happen.

Carney is excited about who is coming this year.

“I think they’re exciting because I love having filmmakers there to talk about the process,” he says. “Greg Kwedar, the director of ‘Sing Sing’; Noah Lang, the producer of ‘The Avenue of Giants’ and ‘Dust to Blood’; and India Donaldson, the director of ‘Good One,’ will all be attending, along with so many more filmmakers. Also, country music star Suzy Bogguss will be there in support of the film, ‘Everything Fun You Could Possibly Do in Aledo, Illinois.’”

He also says this year’s film festival includes some new programming that go beyond just the screening of the films. “Comedy On and Off Screen” on April 12 features standup comics performing along with three comedy short films. On April 13, attendees can see a staged screenplay reading of Coen Brothers classic "Raising Arizona" featuring a cast of local stage actors.

Additional activities will include the Party Pavilion, Opening Night, Industry Night, Film Prom and Kids Day.


This year’s opening night movie is “Sing Sing,” starring Colman Domingo. It follows John (Domingo), who is incarcerated in the notorious prison and finds solace by acting with other inmates in a prison theater troupe. Carney says this is one film he is excited for people to see, especially to experience Domingo’s performance. “He is such an electrifying actor, and he just kills it in this A24 film."

If chills and jump scares are to your liking, don’t forget the International Horror and Sci-Fi Festival, which is also a part of this year’s event. “Roswell Delerium” and “Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox” are two of the notable science fiction movies from this 18-movie block, and on the horror side, consider seeing “Creep Box,” “Property” and the highly anticipated “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person.”

For closing night on April 14, a 93-year-old woman becomes an action hero. Legendary comedic actress June Squibb stars in “Thelma” as a social vigilante who seeks revenge on the telephone scammer who conned her. Atop her motorized scooter, Thelma intends to have justice served.

This is just a smattering of the over 200 movies screening at this year's Phoenix Film Festival. Organizers have released a full digital program in PDF format which will list all the films, dates and showtimes. As the needle on the thermometer slowly inches toward the triple digits, this might be a great time to get off the couch, turn off the phone and head out to the theater for some top-notch entertainment.

“I’m a firm believer in the theater experience,” says Carney. “Watching things at home, we’re just binging and absorbing content. In a theatre, you get to shut down your brain and engage yourself in the film. No interruptions, no rushing to watch as many episodes as you can, and you get to see it in the format the artists intended. Plus going to a movie is still a great communal experience and you build memories of where you see a movie and who you see it with. I have so many memories of when, where and who I was with when I think of movies. I have nothing like that when it comes to streaming.”

Phoenix Film Festival. Thursday, April 4, through Sunday, April 14. Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatres, 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Tickets are $15 per film (not including the opening night premiere event). Packages and passes range from $45 to $350.