Directed by: Victor Kossakovsky
Synopsis: An extraordinary journey through the material that makes up our habitat: concrete, and its ancestor, stone. Victor Kossakovsky raises a fundamental question: how do we inhabit the world of tomorrow?
Directed by: Nick Rowland
Starring: Taron Egerton, Ana Sophia Heger, Rob Yang and John Carroll Lynch
Synopsis: In the gritty, explosive action-thriller She Rides Shotgun, Taron Egerton stars as newly released ex-con Nate. Marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) at all costs. Shy, precocious, and wary of her father, Polly is swept up in Nate’s dangerous plight as they flee to evade the corrupt sheriff and brutal leader of a gang who will stop at nothing to protect his criminal interests. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly form a bond forged under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive — and she teaches him what unconditional love truly means in this intense, moving story about loyalty, strength, and redemption.
Directed by: Emmanuel Courcol
Starring: Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Sarah Suco
Synopsis: Thibaut, an internationally renowned orchestra conductor, is diagnosed with leukemia and desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. His search for a donor leads him to discover, at 37, that he was, in fact, adopted… and actually has a biological brother somewhere in France. An equally hilarious and affecting crowd-pleaser from Emmanuel Courcol (The Big Hit, Rendez-Vous 2021), this Cannes favorite draws nuanced and sensitive portraits of affluence and working-class life in the northern town of Lille to bring texture and substance to a universally resonant story about the power of family.
Directed by: Embeth Davidtz
Starring: Lexi Venter, Embeth Davidtz, and Zikhona Bali
Synopsis: Based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name, DON'T LET'S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT captures the childhood of 8-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) at the end of the Zimbabwean War for independence in 1980. Growing up in the midst of this long running war, Bobo internalizes both sides of the struggle. Conflicted by her love for people on opposing sides, she tries to make sense of her life in a magical way. Through her eight-year-old gaze we witness Rhodesia’s final days, the family’s unbreakable bond with Africa, and the deep scars that war leaves on survivors.
Directed by: Gilles Legardinier
Starring: John Malkovich, Émilie Dequenne, Eugénie Anselin, Philippe Bas, Fanny Ardan
Synopsis: A widowed British businessman takes the job as a butler of a manor house in France to keep memories of his late French wife. His life takes a turn as he navigates the eccentric behavior of the lady of the manor and the household staff.
Directed by: Eva Victor
Starring: Lucas Hedges, Eva Victor, Kelly McCormack, Hettienne Park, Cody Reiss, Jordan Mendoza, John Carroll Lynch, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi
Synopsis: Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on - for everyone around her, at least.
Directed by: Shoshannah Stern
Synopsis: In 1987, at the age of just 21, Marlee Matlin shattered expectations as the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award® for her groundbreaking performance in Children of a Lesser God. Catapulted into the spotlight, she seized the moment to challenge an industry unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazer not only as a performer but also as an author and activist. Matlin's incredible journey continued with standout roles in acclaimed projects such as The West Wing and the Oscar-winning CODA, all while relentlessly advocating for greater inclusion and accessibility both within Hollywood and beyond its borders. Matlin opens up about her personal and professional struggles – her meteoric rise to fame, the challenges of navigating a predominantly hearing industry, the pain of a tumultuous high-profile relationship, getting sober and years of being overlooked by Hollywood – alongside her many triumphs.
Director Shoshannah Stern reimagines traditional documentary storytelling, elevating ASL as the film’s heart and soul while removing conventional voiceovers and including open captions, creating an authentic and visually immersive experience. Through split-screen interviews with both Deaf and hearing contributors, the film weaves a poignant and inspiring narrative of Matlin’s legendary career, highlighting her tireless fight for inclusion and representation in an entertainment world that at first had no place for her.
Directed by: Kim A. Snyder
Executive Producer: Sarah Jessica Parker
Synopsis: As an unprecedented wave of book banning largely addressing race and LGBT issues is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.
Filmmaker Kim A. Snyder (Newtown, Us Kids, 2025 Oscar®-Nominated Death By Numbers) takes us to an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy, free access to information, and our First Amendment Rights. As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities.
In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories—triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of White Christian Nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing their work—the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.
Directed by: Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu
Starring: Erana James, Rima Te Wiata, Nathalie Morris, Manaia Hall
Synopsis: Nellie, Daisy and Lou form a rebellious alliance at a 1954 island institution for delinquent girls. Their friendship empowers them against the system until the matron's tactics threaten their bond.
Phoenix Film Society membership includes tickets and fun perks for the annual Phoenix Film Festival each year!
This year’s 11 day celebration of film marked the Festival’s 25th anniversary and included over 280 film screenings, filmmaking panels, parties, student workshops, special guests including actor Billy Zane and Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone, and much more - all at the Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre.
It’s the perfect place to find your new favorite movie.
Phoenix Film Society membership includes tickets and fun perks for the annual Phoenix Film Festival each year!
This year’s 11 day celebration of film marked the Festival’s 25th anniversary and included over 280 film screenings, filmmaking panels, parties, student workshops, special guests including actor Billy Zane and Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone, and much more - all at the Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre.
It’s the perfect place to find your new favorite movie.
Directed by: Tracie Laymon
Cast: Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo, French Stewart, Lauren "Lolo" Spencer, Rachel Bay Jones
Synopsis: Often playing the role of caretaker to people like her father who should be caring for her, Lily Trevino longs for a familial connection, having been abandoned by her mother as a child and then suddenly by her father in her twenties.
Bob Trevino works long hours alone at a construction company to support his wife Jeanie’s scrapbooking habit. The couple has endured a lot in the past decade, and Bob has sought to put his wife first, to the point of ignoring his own feelings and need for friendship, meaning, and connection, That is, until he gets an unexpected Facebook message from a stranger.
Lily and Bob’s blossoming friendship becomes a vital source of connection and healing in both their lives. Bob’s small acts of fatherly kindness fill a familial void in Lily's life and hold the power to change her direction forever. In their own ways, these two must both learn they are worthy of extraordinary love exemplified through small acts of kindness.
Directed by: Rungano Nyoni
Cast: Susan Chardy, Elizabeth Chisela, and Henry B.J. Phiri
Synopsis: On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family, in filmmaker Rungano Nyoni’s surreal and vibrant reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves.
Directed by: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Natalie Morales, Sonequa Martin-Green, Ed Harris, Gloria Reuben
Synopsis: Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her dead best friend from the Army, a female Afghanistan veteran comes head to head with her Vietnam vet grandfather at the family's ancestral lake house.
Directed by: Jon Gunn
Starring: Zachary Levi, Patricia Heaton, Jacob Laval, Meghann Fahy
Synopsis: When his parents, Scott (Zachary Levi) and Teresa (Meghann Fahy), learn that Austin is both autistic and has brittle bone disease, they initially worry for their son’s future. But with Scott’s growing faith and Austin’s incredible spirit, they become “unbreakable,” finding joy, gratitude, and courage even in the most trying times — an extraordinary true story about a father and son learning together that every day can be the best day of your life!
Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino
Starring: Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Isabella Ferrari
Synopsis: Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino comes a monumental and deeply romantic story of a lifetime.
Directed by: Sareen Hairabedian
Synopsis: My Sweet Land is a coming-of-age story set against a multigenerational war in the post-Soviet Caucasus Mountains. It follows an 11-year-old boy named Vrej, growing up in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village with its roaming ducks and golden bees. His sweet land, however, is strewn with mines from previous wars, shaping a country that remains unrecognized to the world. Vrej’s life takes a sudden turn when war erupts, forcing him to flee with his family. He spends his days in exile impatiently waiting for victory, but reality takes a different turn; Armenians lose the war. Upon returning to his surviving village, he confronts the devastation, new power dynamics, and education that prepares children for near-future battles. Vrej must learn the rules of war… But can he carry a nation’s hopes on his young shoulders? The film is a testament to the people of Artsakh, where hope and trauma had shaped their resilience across generations.
Directed by: Gia Coppola
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman
Synopsis: The Last Showgirl, a poignant film of resilience, rhinestones and feathers, stars Golden Globe® nominee, Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl co-stars Oscar®, SAG® Award and Golden Globe® winner Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly’s best friend, who brings her own unique interpretation and brilliance to the story, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd. Written by Kate Gersten, the film is produced by Robert Schwartzman, Natalie Farrey and Gia Coppola and features a new original song “Beautiful That Way,” sung by pop superstar Miley Cyrus, produced by Academy Award nominee Andrew Wyatt and written by Wyatt, Cyrus and Lykke Li.
Directed by: Paul Schrader
Starring: Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, Victoria Hill
Synopsis: Aging filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), still fiery despite his battle with illness, wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it’s too late. As the director of acclaimed documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his Vietnam War draft-dodging and his past relationships harbor thorny truths. Leonard sits for an extended interview with his former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli), relating candid stories about his younger self (Jacob Elordi) in the tumultuous 1960s and beyond. At Leonard’s insistence, his wife and indispensable artistic partner, Emma (Uma Thurman), bears witness to it all. His successes are held up against his failings and, as the man is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left. Paul Schrader’s adaptation of Russell Banks’s novel sees him reunited with Gere more than 40 years after American Gigolo, and together they deliver a moving and deeply personal take on this story of an artist reflecting on a lifetime of storytelling.
Directed by: Edward Berger
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Ciarán Hinds, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley, Helen Behan, Clare Dunne
Synopsis: Oscar winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as devoted father Bill Furlong in this film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. While working as a coal merchant to support his family, he discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent — and uncovers truths of his own — forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.
Phoenix Film Foundation
7000 E. Mayo Blvd., #1059
Phoenix, AZ 85054 480-513-3195
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.