If this were a horse race, they’d be coming down the final stretch with the finish line in sight.
For Patrick Schweiss and his staff, that’s kind of the feeling as the 25th annual Sedona International Film Festival is just two weeks away.
“It’s always stressful this time of the year but we understand that,” said Schweiss, SIFF’s executive director.
“We were dealing with 1,200 films from people who wanted to be in our festival and now we’re dealing with the finite number of 173 that are in the festival. It brings another whole set of challenges from their travel, hotel stays and screen times. But it’s been worth it. I know I say this every year but this truly is the best line-up we’ve ever had.”
The festival, which once was just two days long, will take place from Saturday, Feb. 23, through Sunday, March 3, at Mary D. Fisher Theatre, Harkins Theaters and the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
In the early days of the festival many films SIFF staff received for consideration were rejected right away. And while Schweiss said there are still some of those, the quality of filmmaking has continued to improve with each year.
“It’s an incredibly difficult process,” he said of having to narrow down the field of films.
“This year, for example, we turned away probably 60 to 80 really good ones that we just didn’t have space for. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really bad films out that shouldn’t see the light of day but there are by far more good ones than bad.”
He said that technology these days has not only resulted in better films but has enabled more people to get into filmmaking and to do so more economically. And while they receive more than a 1,000 films to choose from, the SIFF staff also seeks out those that have done well at other festivals from around the world. Of those they actively pursue, Schweiss said they have been successful more than 80 percent of the time.
“We are known as a filmmaker festival,” he said.
“Our filmmakers are our celebrities for the week. They are our bread and butter. They feel like that when they come here. They go around town and are treated like royalty because they have their film festival badge on. So we have gotten a very good reputation, not just how the film festival treats them but how the community treats them as well.”
Along with the films, celebrities are always a crowd favorite, whether it’s those currently in one of the festival’s films, those being honored for their achievements or those who starred in movies that are hitting a milestone in terms of release date.
Even though this year’s lineup of celebrities is subject to change, those who are anticipated include Ed Asner, Richard Dreyfuss, Billy Zane, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Smart, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Mackenzie Phillips, Blythe Danner and Elizabeth McGovern. In addition, there will be a pair of documentaries about Joni Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix.
Schweiss admits that with the 25th anniversary came extra pressure for this year’s festival to be the best one yet.
“All eyes are on us,” he said. “This year, though, we want to honor the community for its vote of confidence the last 25 years. We want to community to know how thankful we are. It’s going to be a cool celebration honoring our community as well as the film festival.”
