Mark your calendars for April 15 to 25 when the Arizona International Film Festival will once again be showcasing the best in independent cinema over the last year.
The films will be shown at various Tucson locales such as The Screening Room at 127 E. Congress St., Crossroads Festival at 4811 E. Grant Rd. and Cinema La Placita at 110 S. Church Ave. The event has something for everyone with a wide variety of events and workshops bookending the films.
According to AIFF, the festival is a venue for independent filmmakers in search of independent audiences, and has been doing it for 19 years – the longest running film festival in Arizona. As of press time, the schedule was being solidified, but Zócalo screened a few of the “buzz” films.
Irish feature film 8.5 Hours is directed by newcomer Brian Lally. The film follows four employees working together at a software company in Dublin and their very harsh life circumstances that surround them outside of work. Rachel is a beautiful and talented young woman desperately clinging to an apartment out of her price range after being kicked out by her ex-boyfriend. Owen is planning on getting married to his fiancée despite his burgeoning homosexuality. Tony receives obscure and disturbing messages from an unknown sender. Frank is clinically depressed and filled with rage after finding his beloved wife in bed with his best friend. Though melodramatic at times, top-notch performances and stylish editing push the film beyond mediocrity.
The documentary 65 Red Roses details a young woman from Vancouver, British Columbia and her struggles with the debilitating and terminal illness Cystic Fibrosis. The documentary was co-directed by Nimisha Mukerji and Phillip Lyall. It is an inspired tale that will leave any audience member with a heart made of anything more than stone in shambles.
The Fence is an HBO-presented documentary directed and narrated by Rory Kennedy chronicling the numerous failures of the United States’ fence along the border. While not exactly saying anything groundbreaking to those familiar with the issues, the film at a modest 36 minutes is most certainly worth watching to those willing to become better acquainted with the border issues.
These are only a sliver of the films that will be screened. If you at all are taken with the world of independent filmmaking, be sure to check it out. See the website, FilmFestivalArizona.com, for schedule, costs and events.
