February 2023

All That Breathes

Directed by: Shaunak Sen

Synopsis: In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.

February 2023

Let it Be Morning

Directed by: Eran Kolirin

Cast: Samer Bisharat, Doraid Liddawi, Khalifa Natour, Salim Dau, Alex Bakri, Juna Suleiman, Ehab Salami, Izabel Ramadan, Yara Jarrar

About the film: LET IT BE MORNING is the story of Sami (Alex Bakri) a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen living in Jerusalem who receives an invitation to his brother’s wedding forcing him to return to the Arab village where he grew up. After the wedding finishes, with no explanation, Sami's hometown is put under a military blockade lockdown by the Israeli government. When chaos erupts overnight amongst the villagers stuck behind the wall due to the blockade, Sami is cut off from the outside world and trapped in an unexpected situation. As he deals with questions about his own identity and hidden secrets are revealed, Sami watches everything he holds dear begin to fall apart. Written and directed by award-winning Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit), and adapted from the international best-selling novel by Palestinian author Sayed Kashua, LET IT BE MORNING is a film about a state of siege, both internal and external – centered around a man who has built a wall around his heart, and how that inner wall starts coming apart when an actual, real wall goes up around his hometown.

January 2023

Calendar Girls

Directed by: Maria Loohufvud & Love Martinsen

About the film: A life-affirming documentary about Florida’s most dedicated dance team for women over 60. Recognizable by their wild and wacky costumes, The Calendar Girls perform at over 100 events each year. Through revealing conversations and choreographed dance sequences, the film captures the delicate balance these women strike between family, home, and dance.

November 2022

Memories of my Father

Director: Fernando Trueba

Cast: Javier Cámara, Nicolás Reyes Cano, Juan Pablo Urrego, Patricia Tamayo, Maria Tereza Berreto

Synopsis: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Fernando Trueba (Belle Époque) and based on the eponymous book Oblivion: A Memoir, the film is about prominent doctor and human rights activist Héctor Abad Gómez (Javier Cámara). Taking place in the polarized and violent Medellín (Colombia’s “City of Eternal Spring”) of the 1970s, the story tells of the life of the doctor, a father who is concerned about both his children and children from less favored classes. After a devastating loss in the family, Héctor gives himself to the greater cause of public health programs for the poor in Medellín to the consternation of the city’s authorities. This is an intimate story that we see from the eyes of a father’s only son, Héctor Abad Faciolince, one of the most outstanding writers in contemporary Colombia.

Are we the sum of the images we compile and display of ourselves, or are we something richer, and deeper?

October 2022

Armageddon Time

Directed by: James Gray

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb, Anthony Hopkins

Synopsis: From acclaimed filmmaker James Gray, ARMAGEDDON TIME is a deeply personal story on the strength of family, the complexity of friendship and the generational pursuit of the American Dream. The film features an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway, and Jeremy Strong.

October 2022

Aftersun

Directed by: Charlotte Wells

Cast: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio

Synopsis: At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal). As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't, in Charlotte Wells’ superb and searingly emotional debut film.

September 2022

Argentina, 1985

Directed by: Santiago Mitre

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Santiago Armas Estevarena, Laura Paredes, Norman Briski, Claudio Da Passano

Synopsis: Argentina, 1985 is inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo, and their young legal team of unlikely heroes in their David-vs-Goliath battle in which, under constant threat, they dared to prosecute Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship against all odds and in a race against time to bring justice to the victims of the Military Junta.

August 2022

The Good Boss

Directed by: Fernando León de Aranoa

Cast: Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor

Synopsis: Básculas Blanco, a Spanish company producing industrial scales in a provincial Spanish town, awaits the imminent visit from a committee which holds its fate in their hands as to whether they merit a local Business Excellence award. Everything has to be perfect when the time comes. Working against the clock, the company's proprietor, Blanco (Javier Bardem) pulls out all the stops to address and resolve issues with his employees, crossing every imaginable line in the process.

August 2022

Breaking

Directed by: Abi Damaris Corbin

Cast: John Boyega, Selenis Leyva, Olivia Washington, Connie Britton, Michael Kenneth Williams, Nicole Beharie

Synopsis: When Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley is denied support from Veterans Affairs, financially desperate and running out of options, he takes a bank and several of its employees hostage, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with the police. Based on the true story.

July 2022

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Directed by: Dean Fleischer Camp

Cast: Jenny Slate, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, and Isabella Rossellini

Synopsis: Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family. A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners.

June 2022

Don’t Make Me Go

Directed by: Hannah Marks

Cast: John Cho, Mia Isaac, Mitchell Hope, Jemaine Clement, Stefania LaVie Owen, Kaya Scodelario

Synopsis: When single father Max (John Cho) discovers he has a terminal illness, he decides to try and cram all the years of love and support he will miss with his teenage daughter Wally (Mia Isaac), into the time he has left with her. With the promise of long-awaited driving lessons, he convinces Wally to accompany him on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion, where he secretly hopes to reunite her with her mother who left them long ago.

June 2022

Flee

Directed by: Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Synopsis: Recounted mostly through animation, Amin opens up about his past for the first time of his journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan. He begins to look back over his life as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon-to-be husband.

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.