November 2016

Bleed for This

Starring: Miles Teller, Katey Sagal, Aaron Eckhart, Ciarán Hinds, Ted Levine, Stephanie McIntyre and Christine Evangelista. 

Director: Ben Younger

BLEED FOR THIS is the incredible true story of one of the most inspiring and unlikely comebacks in sports history. Miles Teller stars as Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Pazienza, a local Providence boxer who shot to stardom after winning 2 world title fights. After a near-fatal car accident leaves Vinny with a severed spine, doctors tell him he may never walk again. With the help of renowned trainer Kevin Rooney, Vinny becomes a legend when he not only walks again, but miraculously returns to the ring to reclaim his title belt only a year after the accident.

 

October 2016

Loving

Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Marton Csokas, Ruth Negga, Nick Kroll, Alano Miller, Bill Camp, Terri Abney, Jon Bass

Director: Jeff Nichols

Synopsis: Loving celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who fell in love and were married in 1958.The couple had grown up in Central Point, a small town in Virginia that was more integrated than surrounding areas in the American South. Yet it was the state of Virginia, where they were making their home and starting a family, that first jailed and then banished them. Richard and Mildred relocated with their children to the inner city of Washington, D.C. While relatives made them feel welcome there, the more urban environment did not feel like home to them. Ultimately, the pull of their roots in Virginia would spur Mildred to try to find a way back.

October 2016

American Pastoral

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning, Uzo Aduba and David Strathairn

Director: Ewan McGregor

Synopsis: Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philip Roth novel, AMERICAN PASTORAL follows an all American family across several decades, as their idyllic existence is shattered by social and political turmoil that will change the fabric of American culture forever. Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Beginners) makes his directorial debut and stars as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a once legendary high school athlete who is now a successful businessman married to Dawn, a former beauty queen. But turmoil brews beneath the polished veneer of Swede’s life. When his beloved daughter, Merry, disappears after being accused of committing a violent act, Swede dedicates himself to finding her and reuniting his family. What he discovers shakes him to the core, forcing him to look beneath the surface and confront the chaos that is shaping the modern world around him: no American family will ever be the same.  AMERICAN PASTORAL also stars Academy Award® winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) as Dawn, Dakota Fanning (The Runaways, The Twilight Saga) as Merry, Emmy® winner Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), and Academy Award® nominee David Strathairn (Lincoln, Good Night, and Good Luck).

September 2016

The Pickle Recipe

Cast: Jon Dore, Lynn Cohen and David Paymer

Santa Barbara Film Festival Official Selection
Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Audience Award Winner
Palm Beach International Film Festival Selection

Synopsis: Joey Miller is the undisputed king of Detroit party MC’s. He’s also a single father and deeply in debt. To make matters worse, during his latest, one-of-a-kind wedding performances, all his prized sound and lighting equipment is destroyed in a freak accident. To add insult to injury, his daughter Julie’s Bat-Mitzvah is only four weeks away and she’s counting on him to MC her party. After exhausting all his options, he turns to his shady Uncle Morty, who agrees to give him the money he needs to get back into business, but only under one condition. Joey must steal his grandmother Rose’s most prized possession: her famous top secret dill pickle recipe. It’s a recipe which she has vowed to take to her grave.

 

August 2016

The Hollars

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sharlto Copley, John Krasinski, Randall Park, Charlie Day, Richard Jenkins, Josh Groban, Margo Martindale and Mary Kay Place

Directed by: John Krasinski

Synopsis: John Hollar, a struggling NYC artist is forced to navigate the small middle-American town he left behind when news of his mother's illness brings him home. Back in the house he grew up in, John is immediately swept up in the problems of his dysfunctional family, high school rival, and an over-eager ex-girlfriend as he faces impending fatherhood with his girlfriend in New York.

August 2016

Anthropoid

Cast: Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan

Directed by: Sean Ellis

Synopsis: ANTHROPOID is based on the extraordinary true story of “Operation Anthropoid,” the code name for the Czechoslovakian operatives’ mission to assassinate SS officer Reinhard Heydrich.

Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution, was the Reich’s third in command behind Hitler and Himmler and the leader of Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia. The film follows two soldiers from the Czechoslovakian army-in-exile, Josef Gabčík (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubiš (Jamie Dornan), who are parachuted into their occupied homeland in December 1941. With limited intelligence and little equipment in a city under lock down, they must find a way to assassinate Heydrich, an operation that would change the face of Europe forever.

 

July 2016

Hell or High Water

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Gil Birmingham

Directed by: David Mackenzie

Synopsis: A story about the collision of the Old and New West, two brothers -- Toby (Chris Pine), a straight-living, divorced father trying to make a better life for his son; and Tanner (Ben Foster), a short-tempered ex-con with a loose trigger finger -- come together to rob branch after branch of the bank that is foreclosing on their family land.  The hold-ups are part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that powerful forces beyond their control have stolen from under their feet.  Vengeance seems to be theirs until they find themselves in the crosshairs of a relentless, foul-mouthed Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last triumph on the eve of his retirement.  As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their plan, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the last honest law man and a pair of brothers with nothing to live for except family collide. 

July 2016

Captain Fantastic


Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Viggo Mortensen, Missi Pyle, Frank Langella, Steve Zahn, George MacKay, Erin Moriarty

Directed by: Matt Ross

Synopsis: Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, isolated from society, a devoted father dedicates his life to transforming his six young children into extraordinary adults. But when a tragedy strikes the family, they are forced to leave this self-created paradise and begin a journey into the outside world that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent and brings into question everything he's taught them.

June 2016

Wiener Dog

Cast: Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Burstyn, Zosia Mamet, Julie Delpy, Tracy Letts, Michael James Shaw

Directed by: Todd Solondz

Synopsis: WIENER-DOG is a dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over her short lifetime. Man's best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip. After leaving Dawn, Wiener-Dog encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter-all longing for something more.

June 2016

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Cast: Julian Dennison, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Rhys Darby, Cohen Holloway and Mike Minogue

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Synopsis: Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family.

May 2016

Hunky Dory

Directed by: Michael Curtis Johnson

Cast: Tomas Pais, Edouard Holdener, Nora Rothman, Chad Borden, Jeff Newburg, Peter Van Norden and Chad Hartigan.

Synopsis: Sidney always wanted to be a rock star, but he ended working for tips as a dive bar drag queen instead. He manages to make his rent by swindling his friends and family. His life takes a dramatic turn when his ex vanishes after she unexpectedly drops their 11-year-old son off at his apartment. Sidney has always been best buds with his son George, but he’s never had to bear sole responsibility for him. Sidney has been able to hide his personal demons from his son for most of his life, but as the stresses of single parenthood take their toll on Sidney, his life starts to fall apart. George gets suspicious about his mother’s absence and Sidney lies to him. After Sidney learns that George’s mother might never return, Sidney falls into crisis. He binges on drugs and alcohol, lashes out at the only people who love him and George runs away to look for his mother. Can Sidney look after his son when he doesn’t have the power to save himself?

 

May 2016

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise

Directed by: Bob Hercules & Rita Coburn Whack

The film includes interviews with President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Common, Alfre Woodard, Cicely Tyson, Quincy Jones, Secretary Hillary Clinton, John Singleton and Dr. Angelou’s son, Guy Johnson.

Synopsis: Distinctly referred to as “a redwood tree, with deep roots in American culture,” icon Maya Angelou gave people the freedom to think about their history in a way they never had before. Dr. Angelou’s was a prolific life; as a singer, dancer, activist, poet, and writer she inspired generations with lyrical modern African American thought that pushed boundaries.

This unprecedented film celebrates Dr. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America’s most defining moments. From her upbringing in the Depression-era South to her work with Malcolm X in Ghana to her inaugural speech for President Bill Clinton, we are given special access to interviews with Dr. Angelou whose indelible charm and quick wit make it easy to love her.

March 2016

Welcome to Happiness

Directed by: Oliver Thompson

Cast: Kyle Gallner, Olivia Thirlby, Nick Offerman, Keegan-Michael Key, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Brener

A children’s book author, Woody Ward, is the gatekeeper to a mysterious door in his closet that only allows certain people to enter. One such person, a suicidal artist, is led down a rabbit hole of bizarre coincidences that ultimately bring him to Woody’s doorstep. Though he has no idea where the door leads, Woody happily shepherds people through until he finds out the truth and his life is forever changed.

March 2016

Dating Daisy

Directed by: Neel Upadhye

Cast: Sascha Alexander, Brennan Kelleher, Erica Dasher, Sara Amini, Diane Robin

“Dating Daisy” is a romantic comedy about the honest and crazy truth of dating in your twenties!  The story follows Michael and Daisy, two exes who decide to road trip home together for the holidays and get caught up in their crazy past.

February 2016

City of Gold

Directed by: Laura Gabbert

CITY OF GOLD chronicles Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold’s relationship to his beloved and sprawling metropolis, Los Angeles. Gold has long been adored in his hometown for his cultural writing about LA’s hidden culinary treasures; he was one of the first critics to review small family owned restaurants in far-flung ethnic enclaves with as much passion as the haute cuisine establishments of Beverly Hills.

With a stroke of his pen, he’s changed the lives of countless immigrant chefs, newly discovered by voracious foodies who avidly track his reviews. CITY OF GOLD explores the rigor, knowledge, and curiosity that make Gold’s style of criticism nationally recognized. Mapping Los Angeles through his Odyssey-like quests for new food experiences, Jonathan Gold reveals a complex, paradoxical urban landscape that will surprise newcomers and locals alike.

Featuring celebrity chefs Roy Choi, David Chang, and Ludo Lefebvre, as well as the chefs and owners behind some of Gold’s favorites: Jitlada (Thai), Guelaguetza (Oaxacan), Meals by Genet (Ethiopian), and Chengdu Taste (Sichuan). CITY OF GOLD offers the rare opportunity to discover the true Los Angeles through the eyes of its foremost cultural writer, and most loyal fan.

 

February 2016

Eddie the Eagle

Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, and Hugh Jackman

Synopsis: Inspired by true events, Eddie the Eagle is a feel-good story about Michael “Eddie” Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself – even as an entire nation was counting him out.  With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach (played by Hugh Jackman), Eddie
takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.  Eddie the Eagle is produced by the team behind Kingsman: The Secret Service and stars Taron Egerton as Eddie, the loveable underdog with a never say die attitude.  

January 2016

The Dark Horse

Directed by: James Napier Robertson

Starring: Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Sia Trokenheim, Kirk Torrance, Xavier Horan, Miriama McDowell, Baz Te Hira, Wayne Hapi

Synopsis: An inspiring true story based on the life of charismatic and brilliant chess champion, Genesis Potini. His emotionally-charged story is about finding the courage to lead, despite his own struggles – finding purpose and hope in passing on his gift to the children of his community.

January 2016

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Remember

Directed by: Atom Egoyan

Starring: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Bruno Ganz, Jürgen Prochnow, Heinz Lieven, Henry Czerny, Dean Norris

Synopsis: Remember tells the story of Zev Guttman (Academy Award® Winner Christopher Plummer), a 90-year-old struggling with memory loss who is living out his final years in a serene retirement home. A week following the death of his beloved wife Ruth, he suddenly gets a mysterious package from his close friend Max (Academy Award® Winner Martin Landau), containing a stack of money and a letter detailing a shocking plan. Both Zev and Max were prisoners in Auschwitz, and the same sadistic guard was responsible for the death of both their families—a guard who, immediately after the war, escaped Germany and has been living in the U.S. ever since under an assumed identity. Max is wheelchair-bound but in full command of his mental faculties; with his guidance, Zev will embark on a cross-continental road-trip to bring justice once and for all to the man who destroyed both their lives.

Academy Award® nominated director Atom Egoyan creates a thrillingly fast-paced revenge story that, in a highly original and deeply intimate way, deals with the aftermath of one of the most deplorable and significant events in recent history. With an incredible lead performance from Christopher Plummer as the frail but unstoppable Zev, Remember manages to keep audiences on the edge of their seats while giving them something to think about long after the film is over.

Phoenix Film Foundation

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Questions? Contact us.

The Phoenix Film Society is a program under the 501(c)3 non-profit organization Phoenix Film Foundation, and is a sibling of Phoenix Film Festival, International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival, IFP/Phoenix, Arizona Student Film Festival, Peoria Film Fest and Phoenix Critics Circle. The Phoenix Film Foundation is dedicated to promoting diversity and education in the arts, elevating underrepresented voices, and driving the growth of independent film in Arizona. Through film showcases and accessible educational initiatives, we cultivate a vibrant, inclusive cinematic community, utilizing it as a catalyst for personal growth, creative expression, and positive social change.