On the day following the end of the Sedona International Film Festival each year, Artistic Director Patrick Schweiss admits that he’s filled with mixed emotions.
“Years ago our box office manager, Lori Reinhart, explained it best this way: It’s the end of summer camp when you’re all getting on your buses and leaving,” he said. “You had a week of this intense and incredible fun: Films, filmmakers in town, parties and then it comes to a dead stop. Everyone goes home, the office is quiet, the phones aren’t ringing and we’re not taking orders. It’s the saddest day.”
Schweiss said this year that sadness was a little greater as he feels this was the best lineup of films in the event’s 26- year history. He wasn’t the only one. The feedback he and others received was mainly praise and audience scores seem to prove that. Each moviegoer is given a small sheet of paper and following the film are asked to rate the film or films on a scale of 1 to 5. Forty-one documentary features along with 35 narrative films received an average score of 4 or higher.
“On Monday we were so proud with what we did but sad that it was over,” Schweiss said. “Combine that with being exhausted, it’s a sad time. I tell people that I almost go into a bit of depression — it’s the post-festival blues. But we know we get to do it all over again next year.”
Singer James Brown was once dubbed the hardest working man in show business. For the nine days of the film festival, Schweiss could arguably give the Godfather of Soul a run for his money for that title. He could be seen introducing films, leading a question-and-answer session with celebrities, talking with filmmakers at the galas or grabbing a quick bite to eat in the VIP lounge. But that’s not what he enjoys most.
“I truly enjoy getting the feedback following the films,” he said. “Standing in the back of the theater and listening to an audience’s reaction or being in the lobby and hearing people talk about a film they just saw — that’s the most rewarding part for me.”
The goal for 2020, as it has been in the past, was to show films that people will talk about for days or recommend to family and friends. Schweiss said SIFF staff accomplished that this year and what made it even better is when someone saw a block of films and asked how it could get any better, only to have their experience topped the next day.
“We’ve never had so many people give a 5- rating on so many films,” he said, noting that “The Keeper” received a 4.88, the highest-rated feature narrative in SIFF history. “That says a lot about our screening committee who try to find the absolute best films to be shown here.”
In addition to the 1,200- plus films submitted for review, Schweiss said he and his staff and board also sought out, for a fee, some of the top-rated films throughout the festival circuit. But often, he said the average moviegoer would not be able to pick out the ones that were submitted compared to those that were scouted.
So how does a movie go from being seen at festivals to being seen in movie theaters across the country?
“It’s a crapshoot,” Schweiss said. “It’s depends on who picks it up from a festival and how much marketing they’re willing to do. There are thousands of great films that are seen at festivals that are every bit as good or better than those that win the Academy Award that never get a theatrical run. It’s incredibly sad.”
He added that a way an independent film gets noticed is by the number of festivals in which it appears. And if it wins awards at those festivals, even better.
Schweiss says that the success of the festival is not just about him or his staff but rather a collective effort that includes the moviegoers, volunteers and the numerous restaurants, hotels and businesses that support the event.
“The filmmakers notice that,” he said. “The responses I get each year aren’t just praising us but praising our community for welcoming them. It is truly a community effort.”
Sedona Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff said the film festival couldn’t come at a better time to give an extra $4 million boost to the local economy during a slow time of the year.
“SIFF is the most well-known of our ‘need season’ festivals that help spread visitation more evenly throughout the year — another sustainability tactic,” she said. “It is one of three festivals the chamber helps sponsor within a four-week window in February and March, including the mountain bike festival and the yoga festival in the middle of this month.” \
Wesselhoff added that these festivals have a total direct economic impact of more than $10 million, which has secondary and tertiary impacts in terms of employee wages that are ultimately spent in Sedona, business supplies purchased, taxes collected and then expended in Sedona, and much more.
“SIFF is a glamorous and culturally-significant lifestyle amenity, and like dropping a stone in a still pool, the ripple effect is a wonderful sight to see,” Wesselhoff said. “We are so fortunate that we can enjoy so many benefits — not to mention the incredible films.”
