Now celebrating its sixth year, Arizona Film Society's shoestring fest kicks off Friday, April 30, with a reception for the filmmakers--and the public--from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Grotto at Arizona Center. "Art cars" will be on display in the vicinity, as will Steve Barker's Guinness Book-featured "Penny Suit." The screenings start at 7 p.m. Friday, and continue through Sunday, May 2, at AMC Arizona 24, Third Street and Van Buren.
The first night showcases several full-length features, among them the road comedy Midnight Mambo--an encore presentation from last year's fest; an Arizona work-in-progress called Final Rinse about "a cop, a killer, some bad acid and a whole lot of hair"; and Eight Days a Week, a teen romance starring Keri Russell of TV's Felicity that Roger Ebert has praised. In keeping with the Beatles theme implied by that last title, there's also a revival of Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night, with a newly restored negative and soundtrack.
Saturday kicks off with a filmmakers panel at 12:30 p.m.; and continues with screenings all day. The animated family feature Kiki's Delivery Service is slated for 1 p.m.; and A.J.'s Dogumentary, a 90-minute exploration of obsessed dog owners in L.A., is set for 7:15 p.m. But the emphasis for the day is a three-hour program of short films from around the country, beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Personals screens on this bill, as does Jill Chamberlain's nine-minute comedy The Tell-Tale Vibrator--a variation on Edgar Allan Poe in which the title implement haunts a single woman during a visit from her parents.
Sunday presents a showcase of several shorts by Arizona filmmakers--Reginald Spangler's The Last Words; Booking Nights by Alexandre Coscas; Mark Joseph Isham's The Cowboy and the Ballerina; and Jim Harsha's Bad Taste--at 5 p.m.; as well as reprises of several of the features from the previous two days.
The event's schedule tends toward a certain fluidity; for specific screening and event information, it's wise to call Arizona Film Society at 480-970-8711. Tickets for individual films are $5; various panel discussions cost $10; all-event passes are $35. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster 480-784-4444.
--M. V. Moorhead
