More than 7,200 individuals reveled in the parade of films, celebrities and workshops provided by the 14th annual Sedona International Film Festival & Workshop’s weeklong program, up 1,300 from the prior year.
The festival began with preview screenings of “Strip Search” and “The Mist” on Feb. 25 and ended with the screening of “Under the Same Moon” on Sunday, March 2.
Many of those in attendance for the duration were local movie buffs, but many more were from out of town, bringing their credit cards and cash along with them.
By Susan Johnson
Larson Newspapers
More than 7,200 individuals reveled in the parade of films, celebrities and workshops provided by the 14th annual Sedona International Film Festival & Workshop’s weeklong program, up 1,300 from the prior year.
The festival began with preview screenings of “Strip Search” and “The Mist” on Feb. 25 and ended with the screening of “Under the Same Moon” on Sunday, March 2.
Many of those in attendance for the duration were local movie buffs, but many more were from out of town, bringing their credit cards and cash along with them.
For Patrick Schweiss, director of the film festival, this was good news.
Most of the movies and documentaries that he featured sold out of first-run tickets and then sold out again for standby tickets.
“We’ve maxed out the seats at the Harkins Theaters and had to add a new venue for our foreign films at the Sedona Red Rock High School to handle the overflow,” Schweiss said.
The festival is a nonprofit that pays for itself, according to Schweiss, who said that, after expenses, there’s enough seed money left over for the following year and also to fund scholarships for young movie-makers.
The festival’s budget of $600,000 is augmented by commercial sponsorships, annual dues from 500 Film Sedona members and grants from the city of Sedona, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Sedona Community Foundation.
“We have a great partnership with these supporters and the residual benefit is that people who attend for the first time return to Sedona year after year with their families and friends,” Schweiss said.
In terms of prestige and status, Schweiss described the Sedona event as being at the top of its tier of film festivals.
“You have Sundance, which is the granddaddy in the U.S. and you have Cannes overseas,” Schweiss said. “Nothing will displace them. Then you have Toronto and Tribeca as the top metropolitans and we’re at the top of the regionals.”
Further growth will be problematic unless more theater seats are built and more lodging is created in Sedona.
Many of the city’s hotels and motels were at capacity for the weekend and some restaurant managers and business owners felt that attendees might be monopolizing places to sleep, leaving no room at the inn for non-moviegoers.
Rob Holeman, owner of Sedona Reãl Inn, on Hwy. 89A, said that business during the week of films was up 20 percent over the prior year.
“We invested in sponsorship of the festival for the first time this year,” Holeman said. “It cost us a lot, but we got a lot in return through referrals from the festival’s Web site and from the call center.”
Efren Santa Ruz, the new owner of Café Jose, in Safeway Plaza, was also pleased with the extra traffic at his restaurant.
“Our weekend breakfast and lunch business was 12 to 15 percent higher than in the past three months,” Santa Ruz said.
However, K.B. Bren, manager of Art Mart Gallery, an artists’ cooperative, didn’t see the uptick at the cash register that might be expected when 7,000 people converge on the theater next door.
“As far as total income goes, we were down slightly from the prior week,” said Bren, who felt that the lack of parking in front of his store was the problem.
Free parking lots for the festival were donated by Paul Galloway and the owners of Bashas’ and Safeway. All three lots are less than a block away, within walking distance and also had free shuttle service provided by Sedona Trolley.
Moviegoers were asked to use those spots rather than park in front of the theater to preserve spaces for the U.S. Post Office and the other commercial businesses that share the
same plaza.
“Ridership of the trolley between the parking areas and the theaters was up dramatically over the last year,” Sedona Trolley owner Armor Todd said. “We transported more than 200 people a day.”
Other commercial operations up and down the block had varying reactions.
“Our business was up nominally,” said Joe Desalvo, owner of Relics, a restaurant located a few blocks west of the theater. “I couldn’t get tickets to the movies I wanted to see — they were sold out.”
Across the street from Harkins, Ed Conway, general manager of Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa, described the event as a boon for the city and for his hotel.
“This is Sedona’s premier festival; it attracts world-renowned directors, actors and filmmakers,” Conway said. “It’s a great way to start our high season.”
Sedona Rouge is one of the many area hotels that donate dozens of room nights for celebrities who attend while also benefitting from increased occupancy by paying guests.
Although sales tax figures for the period haven’t been compiled yet by the city, Sedona Economic Planner Jodie Filardo said that data from the prior year showed collections increasing significantly due to the festival and the Sedona Marathon which occurs earlier in February.
