Film fans rejoice! The Phoenix Film Festival is almost underway. With it comes eleven days of non-stop film appreciation and some incredible indie premieres. If you’ve never been, a film festival can be a pretty intimidating experience. There are lots of movies to see, and it can be challenging to manage one full day of screenings, let alone over a week.
The Phoenix Film Festival can especially seem pretty chaotic for first-timers. This year, the festival boasts 99 films and 114 shorts, a huge number that still pales in comparison to the event’s pre-pandemic numbers.
If this is your first time attending the Phoenix Film Festival, then you’ve come to the right place. I’ve compiled a list of five absolute must-see films screening at this year’s festival out the event’s packed roster. You can check out the list below, but do keep in mind that there are a plenty more films hitting the fest than what’s on this list. These highlights were selected subjectively, of course, so I strongly encourage you to see as many of the feature and short films as you can.
CODA
Kicking off the event this year is the Apple Original film CODA (read our full review here). Directed by Sian Heder (Tallulah), CODA follows Ruby (played by Emilia Jones), the only hearing member of a culturally Deaf family. Ruby helps her family with their local fishing business, but like any teenager on the cusp of adulthood, she longs for more. When opportunity comes knocking, and Ruby’s offered a full-ride scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, she’s forced to choose between her passion and her family.
Full of heart and an honest glance at the culture of the deaf community, CODA has been a festival favorite since it first premiered at Sundance earlier this year. So the PFF opening film definitely isn’t one to skip.
Try Harder!
High school only lasts four years, but the effect it has on the life of your average US student lasts much longer. The bright-eyed students of Lowell High School know this all too well. Lowell is ranked number one in the city of San Francisco, but this school of hard knocks is anything but a breeze; even when you’re almost out the door.
Director Debbie Lum takes us on an unfiltered trip through Lowell’s prestigious halls, documenting the lives of its senior class as they prepare and apply to get into their dream colleges. Unfortunately, getting into your dream school isn’t as easy as being an A-student with perfect attendance anymore. A rejection letter can come at any moment, for any reason, and as the title itself suggests, the only option these students are given to avoid crushing disapproval is to “try harder.”
Try Harder! also had its premiere at Sundance earlier this year. It was met with favorable reviews that cited an honest and sincere look at the final year of high school. If you’re a sucker for mind-opening documentaries, this one should be right up your hallway.
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Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Talk about a prophetic title. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is one of the most anticipated films of the festival. The film, based on the stage musical of the same name, follows the life of Jamie New (Max Harwood), an outspoken and hopeful high school student with dreams of becoming a drag queen. Jamie’s “unconventional” lifestyle puts him in the crosshairs of school bullies, unsupportive teachers, and a confused father. But together with the support of his friends, his mother, and his drag queen peers, Jamie sets his sights on the spotlight in a proud, loud, inspirational feature.
In his feature film directorial debut, Jonathan Butterell shows the glamour and the gloom of the drag queen world and the many ways it’s viewed in the public eye. Harwood is also a new actor, but the trailer shows him holding his own and practically stealing the spotlight from UK acting vets like Sarah Lancashire, Ralph Ineson, and Richard E. Grant. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is the festival closer, so it’s sure to leave audiences talking on the drive home.
The Night House
Most, if not all the films at The Phoenix Film Festival will keep you up at night for some reason or another. But none will leave chills down your spine in the late hours quite like The Night House. Directed by horror aficionado David Bruckner (V/H/S), The Night House spends a night in with newly-widowed Beth (Rebecca Hall), whose grief invites some potentially supernatural visitors into her and her late husband’s lake house.
This psychological horror film had its debut at, you guessed it, Sundance earlier this year. Early buzz promises a mysterious, personal tale as Hall dives deeper into the lake house, unearthing dark secrets about her husband and their life together.
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Cocoon
Themes of adolescence and the loss of youthful innocence aren’t strangers to modern indie films. These movies are a reflection of life, after all, so it only makes sense for the growing pains of young adults to be at the center of many new stories. Cocoon has plenty competition in this genre, but one look at the trailer for director Leonie Krippendorff’s teen drama will tell you why it deserves your attention.
Cocoon tells the story of 14-year old Nora (Lena Urzendowsky). Spending her summer days cooling off in her small community in Berlin, Nora begins to become more aware of the world surrounding her and wonders where her life will take her next. When she meets new kid Romy (Jella Haase), their newfound love sparks a permanent change in Nora’s life. It’s a story of self-discovery that’s sure to be a festival favorite for many.
Those are just five of the many films and short films showing at the Phoenix Film Festival this year. It wasn’t easy narrowing them down, and truly every film selected for the festival deserves your attention at least to some extent, but you can decide your top picks by checking out the full festival schedule here. And if you can do so safely, make sure to attend the Phoenix Film Festival as it runs from August 12-22.
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