Directed by: Tracey Deer
Cast: Kiawentiio Tarbell, Rainbow Dickerson, Violah Beauvais, Paulina Alexis, D’Pharaoh Mckay Woon-a-Tai
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and delinquent adolescence; forced to grow up fast to become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Indigenous uprising known as The Oka Crisis, which tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.
Directed by: Edson Jean
Cast: Shein Mompremier, Alan Myles Heyman, Madelin Marchant, Success St. Fleur Jr., Plus Pierre, Kerline “Kae” Alce
Synopsis: Ludi, a hardworking and exhausted nurse, battles coworkers, clients and one impatient bus driver to learn her self worth as she chases the American Dream in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
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Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Reid Miller, Connie Britton, Gary Sinise
Synopsis: From filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green (MONSTERS AND MEN; upcoming KING RICHARD), along with the Academy Award-winning writing team behind BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry) and Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg, JOE BELL tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin, embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying.
Directed by: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff
Synopsis: A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.
Directed by: Morgan Neville ("Won't You Be My Neighbor", "20 Feet from Stardom")
Synopsis: It’s not where you go. It’s what you leave behind . . . Chef, writer, adventurer, provocateur: Anthony Bourdain lived his life unabashedly. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at how an anonymous chef became a world-renowned cultural icon. From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, this unflinching look at Bourdain reverberates with his presence, in his own voice, and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.
Directed by: Mariem Pérez Riera
Cast: Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo
Synopsis: Over a 70+ year career, Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in “West Side Story” (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.
Director: Andrew Heckler
Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Andrea Riseborough, Forest Whitaker, Tom Wilkinson, Tess Harper, Usher Raymond IV
Synopsis: When a museum celebrating the Ku Klux Klan opens in a small South Carolina town, the idealistic Reverend Kennedy resolves to do everything in his power to prevent long-simmering racial tensions from boiling over. But the members of Kennedy's congregation are shocked to discover that his plan includes sheltering Mike Burden, a Klansman whose relationships with both a single-mother and a high-school friend force him to re-examine his long-held beliefs. After Kennedy helps Mike leave behind his violent past, the Baptist preacher finds himself on a collision course with manipulative KKK leader Tom Griffin. In the face of grave threats to himself and his family, the resolute Kennedy bravely pursues a path toward peace, setting aside his own misgivings in the hopes of healing his wounded community.
Director: Giuseppe Capotondi
Starring: Elizabeth Debicki, Claes Bang, Donald Sutherland, Mick Jagger
Synopsis: Hired to steal a rare painting from one of most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control.
Directed by: Kitty Green
Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Dagmara Dominczyk, Julia Garner, Kristine Froseth, Makenzie Leigh, Jon Orsini
Synopsis: "The Assistant" follows one day in the life of Jane (Julia Garner), a recent college graduate and aspiring film producer, who has recently landed her dream job as a junior assistant to a powerful entertainment mogul. Her day is much like any other assistant's - making coffee, changing the paper in the copy machine, ordering lunch, arranging travel, taking phone messages, onboarding a new hire. But as Jane follows her daily routine, she, and we, grow increasingly aware of the abuse that insidiously colors every aspect of her work day, an accumulation of degradations against which Jane decides to take a stand, only to discover the true depth of the system into which she has entered.
Directed by: Todd Robinson
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Alison Sudol, Sebastian Stan, Ed Harris, Bradley Whitford, Christopher Plummer
Synopsis: THE LAST FULL MEASURE tells the true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen (also known as a PJ) medic who personally saved over sixty men. During a rescue mission on April 11, 1966, he was offered the chance to escape on the last helicopter out of a combat zone heavily under fire, but he stayed behind to save and defend the lives of his fellow soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, before making the ultimate sacrifice in the bloodiest battle of the war. Thirty-two years later, respected Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman (Sebastien Stan) on a career fast-track is tasked with investigating a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger made by his best friend and PJ partner on the mission (William Hurt) and his parents (Christopher Plummer & Diane Ladd). Huffman seeks out the testimony of Army veterans who witnessed Pitsenbarger's extraordinary valor, including Takoda (Samuel L. Jackson), Burr (Peter Fonda) and Mott (Ed Harris). But as Huffman learns more about Pitsenbarger's courageous acts, he uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting him to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.
Directed by: Tom Harper
Cast: Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Vincent Perez, Tom Courtenay, Phoebe Fox
Synopsis: In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Cast: Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce
Synopsis: From Fernando Meirelles, the Academy Award-nominated director of “City of God,” and three-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten, comes an intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront elements from their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world.
*Inspired by true events
Directed by: Annabelle Attanasio
Cast: Camila Morrone, James Badge Dale, Calvin Demba, Ben Rosenfield, Rebecca Henderson
Synopsis: It’s April in Anaconda, Montana, and headstrong teenager Mickey Peck (Camila Morrone) is doing what she can to keep her single, veteran father (James Badge Dale) afloat, navigating his mercurial moods, opioid addiction, and grief over the loss of his wife. Secretly, Mickey fantasizes of going to college on the west coast and finally living life on her own terms. When Hank’s controlling, jealous behavior turns destructive, Mickey must decide between familial obligation and personal fulfillment as she puts everything on the line to claim her own independence..
Directed by: Bill Condon
Cast: Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Mark Lewis Jones, Russell Tovey, Jim Carter
Synopsis: Career con artist Roy Courtnay can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish online. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life.
Directed by: Swati Bhise
Cast: Devika Bhise, Rupert Everett, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Lamb, Derek Jacobi, Jodhi May, Yatin Karyekar, Arif Zakaria, Milind Gunaji, and Ajinkya Deo
Synopsis: The Warrior Queen of Jhansi tells the true story of the legendary Rani (translation: Queen) of Jhansi, a feminist icon in India and a fearless freedom fighter. In 1857 India, this 24-year old General led her people into battle against the British Empire earning the reputation as the Joan of Arc of the East. This real-life Wonder Woman’s insurrection shifted the balance of power in the region and set in motion the demise of the notorious British East India Company and the beginning of the British Raj under Queen Victoria.
Directed by: Ira Sachs
Cast: Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear, Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Renier, Vinette Robinson, Ariyon Bakare
Synopsis: Unfolding over the course of a late summer's day in the fabled resort town of Sintra, Portugal, FRANKIE follows three generations who have gathered for a vacation organized by the family matriarch (Isabelle Huppert). In this fairy tale setting, husbands and wives, parents and children, friends and lovers - stirred by their romantic impulses - discover the cracks between them, as well as unexpected depth of feeling.
Directed by: John Crowley
Cast: Sarah Paulson, Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Finn Wolfhard
Synopsis: Theodore Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day...a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.
Directed by: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Cast: Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne
Synopsis: In LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE, Ronstadt is our guide through her early years of singing Mexican canciones with her family; her folk days with the Stone Poneys; and her reign as the "rock queen" of the '70s and early '80s. She was a pioneer for women in the male-dominated music industry; an early advocate for human rights, and had a high-profile romance with California governor Jerry Brown. Ultimately, her incredible voice was lost to Parkinson's disease, but her music and influence remain as timeless as ever. With moving performance footage and appearances by collaborators including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE celebrates an artist whose desire to share the music she loved made generations of fans fall in love with her - and the sound of her voice.
Directed by: Tyler Nilson, Mike Schwartz
Cast: Jon Bernthal, Dakota Johnson, Shia LaBeouf, Bruce Dern, John Hawkes
Synopsis: A modern Mark Twain style adventure story, THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON tells the story of Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, who runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). A strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler (LaBeouf), a small time outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak's unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor (Johnson), a kind nursing home employee charged with Zak's return, to join them on their journey.
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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.