The Sedona International Film Festival is in full swing again, and Sedona is once again flooded with filmmakers and movie-lover tourists from Arizona and beyond. Visitors from all over the United States and around the world come to our city to show movies for us, for each other and for themselves.
Residents are encouraged to take advantage of this long-standing urban tradition and do all they can to attend at least one film- or festival-related performance or event between now and Sunday, February 26th. I strongly recommend it.
After two years of disruption related to COVID-19, the 27th annual festival was postponed from February 2021 to the summer, and the 28th returned to the winter schedule in 2022, although some People were still feeling uneasy, but SIFF was finally back to normal. For all intents and purposes.
Screenings will take place at Harkins Theater Sedona 6 in two large theaters, SIFF’s Alice Gilsheldon and Mary D. Fisher Theaters, and the 750-seat Sedona Performing Arts Center at Sedona Red Rock High School. Filmmaking workshops are held at Yavapai College’s Sedona Center campus, across Highway 89A from the high school.
2023 Sedona International Film Festival Schedule Grid
SIFF-Final-Grid-2023
Dozens of local businesses, restaurants, merchants, vendors and retailers donate rooms, food, gifts, services, products and labor to keep the festival running smoothly and enjoyed by celebrities and visitors. Make the most of your festival experience.
Check out the ad in this year’s SIFF guidebook that went out to Sedona and Village of Oak Creek readers last week. If you lost it, we have plenty of extra copies available during the festival. Filmmakers spend significant amounts of money in Sedona during our visits, contributing to Sedona’s tax base and enabling us to take advantage of the city’s services and facilities that we enjoy. Therefore, you can still benefit from the festival even if you don’t attend the movies.
Filmmakers and visitors to the festival generally feel lucky to be here, given that their films have to survive a competitive selection process and are here by invitation. The same is true for moviegoers who pay big bucks to enjoy a week of movies, performances and gala nights.
Many attendees spend most of their time at theatres, workshops and festivals, while others visit restaurants, trails, spas, retail stores and parks to see what life is like here. Don’t be surprised if you run into film festival tourists on the trails or around town. Ask where to eat good Mexican food or buy souvenirs.
You never know who you will meet. A few years ago my friend Claire Pearson and I met a young British filmmaker who wanted to see Oak Creek at a gala, so we took them to a location nearby. They set out mid-week to win an Oscar for best short film at the Academy Awards. After that, I spent a few days hiking in Colorado with one of them.
Please plan your travel time accordingly. SIFF visitors and regular non-movie visitors clog the roads near Harkins Theater and the official parking lot of Bashas, ​​eastbound and westbound on State Route 89A between Coffee Pot Drive and Rodeo Road. This is because there is a delay in .
If you know how to bypass the intersection of Coffee Pot, Shelby, Sunset and Rodeo along State Route 89A, remember that there are alternative routes through residential areas.
Festival events are now spread out across Sedona and are not as concentrated as they have been in years past, when all the films were shown at Harkins. The congestion there was not due to an influx of moviegoers, but because successive Sedona City Councils failed to provide an alternative route. But that is the subject of other editorials.
Either way, if you’re visiting Sedona for the Film Festival, welcome. You’ve worked hard on your film to get here. Don’t be afraid to ask locals for recommendations and directions. We hope you enjoy the movies and the views of our city, and that you enjoy your stay with us by providing our appreciation and support to the residents and local businesses of Sedona.
2023 Sedona International Film Festival Film Synopsis
SIFF-Final-Synopsis-pages-2023
