The 33rd Arizona International Film Festival begins this week, starting on April 3 and running until April 13. The festival will feature 107 films from 21 different countries, with 60 filmmakers in attendance.
Screenings will take place at Fox Theatre, The Loft Cinema, Main Gate Square, the MSA Annex and The Screening Room. In addition to the films, there will also be panel discussions and Q&A sessions with some of the filmmakers. Some of the panels will be held online and will be hosted on AzIFF’s Facebook page.
“I think the people that live in Tucson love to hear about other cultures, they love independent thought, they love independent film and they’re curious,” said Mia Schnaible, director of marketing and development for AZIFF. “Giulio Scalinger [the festival director] really believes in the filmmakers and that’s the whole point of our festival is to share independent film.”
The schedule features a variety of film genres, including comedies, dramas and documentaries. The films hail from across the globe, ranging from the United Kingdom, Iraq and South Korea to right here in Tucson. Playing at 2:00 p.m. on April 6 is “Long Shadows,” a Western film filmed locally at Old Tucson Studios.
Over 600 films were submitted to the festival this year. Every film is watched in full, from the opening title cards to the very end of the credits, for consideration in the lineup.
The films are divided among volunteers who can watch up to 30 films. Schnaible says that watching films in full is not standard practice for film festivals. She adds that this has allowed AzIFF to discover films that are often overlooked by other film festivals, citing the discovery of the 2005 documentary “Trespassing,” about the disposal of nuclear waste on Native American land.
Filmmaker David Damian Figueroa will show his documentary “They Call Me the Crossman” on April 12. Tucson is Figueroa’s hometown, and he explains he was attracted to the festival because of its prestige on the website FilmFreeway and its commitment to celebrating diversity.
“The festival gives filmmakers an opportunity to meet and network with other filmmakers from all over the world,” Figueroa said. “Like every filmmaker, I’m hopeful that we will win. It’s also an opportunity to showcase our filmmaking skills and bring awareness to our film’s subject, Alvaro Enciso.”
Through the event, short films will be shown by category, including animated shorts, global shorts and LGBTQIA+ shorts. The festival’s Indie Youth Shorts is a collection of 13 short films made by filmmakers under the age of 18. The films submitted by these young filmmakers cover topics ranging from social media and war to the history of historic restaurants.
“We’ve made it its own film festival, inside our film festival,” Schnaible said. “It’s hard to imagine, like, if I didn’t tell you they were under 18, 18 or under, you would never know.”
An all-access pass costs $100 and allows access to every film and priority seating. The Saver Pass is $30 and allows access to five films. Tickets for a single film are $10 each for general admission, with the price reduced to $8 for military, seniors and students. The festival is entirely run by volunteers, and all revenue generated goes back into festival operations.
For those interested in attending, more information is available on the Arizona International Film Festival website.
