The magic of a film festival,” says Prescott Film Festival Co-Founder and Director Helen Stephenson, “is diving into films you can’t see anywhere else, then chatting with the creative minds who made them, and interacting with fellow audience members.
Knowledge built over the festival’s 15-year history may be just the ticket to the most rewarding five days ever of immersion in indie and student films.
"The festival has been a labor of love for its founders and hundreds of dedicated volunteers,” Stephenson said. “Our efforts are designed to introduce audiences to the genius of independent films and the imaginative individuals bringing them to the big screen. Through festivals these films can gain momentum to commercial viability.”
This year’s festival, celebrating “Creativity, Culture and Community,” expands to venues that take us back to its early days, before it moved to the Yavapai College Prescott campus, including The Hazeltine, Mile-High Middle School’s Hendrix Auditorium and the Elks Theatre.
Back for encores will be the interactive Sing-Along, this year to The Wizard of Oz, and the grand finale Silent Symphony, a nod to Tom Mix, who jump-started Prescott’s film industry between 1913 and 1928. The symphony on July 20 will feature the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, a five-piece chamber ensemble from Boulder, Colorado, in support of Mix’s 1922 Western Sky High.
“Our Silent Symphony is always an opportunity to introduce new audiences to the history and nostalgia of the early days of film,” Stephenson said. “Tom Mix was an extraordinary talent in both acting and directing during the silent-film era. Although Sky High was shot in the Grand Canyon, Mix shot many of his more than 100 films in the Granite Dells and at his Bar Circle A Ranch, now Yavapai Hills.”
Workshops and tickets
Complementing the schedule of films, the YC Film and Media Arts Program will present a comprehensive range of free film-related workshops with accomplished professionals covering topics including improvisational acting, screenwriting and musical scoring.
You can view trailers for the festival films at prescottfilmfestival.com. Festival tickets and passes are available through YCPAC.com, the theatre’s box office, or phone 928-776-2000. Prices range from $7 for students and OLLI members to $305 for the Platinum Pass. Individual film tickets are $14.
Boosting film business here
The backstory is that the Prescott Film Festival, the Yavapai College Film and Media Arts Program, the Prescott Area Filmmakers Alliance (PAFA), and local businesses are partnering with the City of Prescott Film Office to market Prescott as a prime destination for multimedia productions.
Collaboration between the Film Office and the PFF “aims to strengthen Prescott’s reputation as a premier film destination in Arizona, enhance economic impact by encouraging local business engagement, and attract industry professionals through targeted outreach and networking events,” says Samara Rice, City of Prescott Film Officer. “By drawing attention to Prescott as a cultural and cinematic hub, the PFF not only celebrates filmmakers but also educates audiences and provides a platform for community dialog around film.”
Film activity here and its economic impact have been steadily increasing, Rice explained, with multiple productions over the past year attracted to Prescott’s sceneryand services, while generating direct economic benefits for local vendors, lodging, restaurants and support crews.
An example is Prescott Casting, a new venture by Kate Howell, which offers “a central database for actors of all ages, types and experience levels who are interested in film and stage projects being produced in the Prescott area.” Howell invites actors to email a headshot, resume and demo reel to prescottcasting@gmail.com.
Six Gun Studios announced plans in May to establish a 14,000 square-foot production facility and a casting agency.
“While exact numbers vary from year to year, recent projects have brought tens of thousands of dollars into the local economy in just a few months of filming,” Rice stated. Such projects include Frontier Crucible, directed by Travis Mills at the end of 2024, Out of Babel, filmed in April at Willow Lake, and Director Chris Lee’s feature Goblin II.
The festival has become a community liaison connecting indie creators with resources to help fulfill their cinematic visions. The all-volunteer PAFA consists of media educators, student filmmakers and regional production companies dedicated to supporting local talent and promoting the area as a production destination. Founded in 2023 with a handful of members, the group already includes more than 160 film professionals and enthusiasts.
More than watching
Rubbing elbows with cinematic professionals during the screenings and participating in their Q&A sessions afterward lend a personal touch. Attendees can discover the motivations and challenges of cinematographers in bringing their stories to life.” Stephenson makes sure the festival is about more than watching movies, “it’s about experiencing them.”
