The Early Bird Gets the Discounted Pass!

We may be a couple of months out from the 2015 Phoenix Film Festival, but you can purchase your passes to the Festival right now at a discounted price. We call it our Early Bird Sale, and you can take advantage of these great prices today:

PASS LEVEL	REGULAR PRICE	EARLY BIRD PRICE!
VIP	$250	$169.18
Festival	$125	$85.08
Flex Pass	$40	$27.90

Prices include service charges.

But don't wait! These prices will only be valid through JANUARY 7, 2015.

Click on the button below to purchase your early bird passes, and we will see you at the Festival!

[button link="http://www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/2093" type="big" color="red" newwindow="yes"] PFF 2015 EARLY BIRD PASSES[/button]

Join us for Amica Insurance Kids' Day!

Join us on Saturday, April 5th, 2013 from 9am to 2pm for Amica Insurance Kids' Day!

Kids' Day at the Phoenix Film Festival is a great way for kids of all ages to come out and experience the festival. They can select from a series of hands-on activity stations focusing on different aspects of film production and geared to various age and ability levels. Stations are age-appropriate and run the full gamut of the filmmaking process. And best yet, it's FREE! Check out just some of the cool things to do:

• Walk the red carpet and get your paparazzi photo taken from our friends at Bookmans.

• Miss Katie from the Musical Instrument Museum will help kids explore different sounds as they create a musical soundtrack to a fun film.

• Mr. Jesse from the Phoenix Public Library is back to read stories, talk about books that are made into movies and have fun with the littler festival fans.

• Write the next best-selling screenplay "Mad Lib" style.

• Test out your acting chops against a green screen.

• Older kids will create their own short film!

$5 Family Friendly Films

Saturday also has two family-friendly screenings of films at the Harkins 101 -- only $5 for our Kids' Day participants:

9:20 AM

The Pirate Fairy

When a misunderstood dust-keeper fairy named Zarina steals Pixie Hollow's all-important Blue Pixie Dust, and flies away to join forces with the pirates of Skull Rock, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends must embark on the adventure of a lifetime to return it to its rightful place. However, in the midst of their pursuit of Zarina, Tink's world is turned upside down. She and her friends find that their respective talents have been switched and they have to race against time to retrieve the Blue Pixie Dust and return home to save Pixie Hollow.

1:20 PM

Disneynature Bears.

In an epic story of breathtaking scale, Disneynature's new True Life Adventure "Bears" showcases a year in the life of a bear family as two impressionable young cubs are taught life's most important lessons. Set against a majestic Alaskan backdrop teeming with life, their journey begins as winter comes to an end and the bears emerge from hibernation to face the bitter cold. The world outside is excitingbut riskyas the cubs' playful descent down the mountain carries with it a looming threat of avalanches. As the season changes from spring to summer, the brown bears must work hard to find foodultimately feasting at a plentiful salmon runwhile staying safe from rival male bears and predators, including an ever-present wolf pack. "Bears" captures the fast-moving action and suspense of life in one of the planet's last great wildernessesAlaska! Directed by Alastair Fothergill ("Earth," "African Cats" and "Chimpanzee") and Keith Scholey ("African Cats"), "Bears" arrives in theaters April 18, 2014, to celebrate Earth Day. 

Kids' Day presented by IFP-Phoenix Returns

Join us on Saturday, April 6th, 2013 from 9am to 2pm for Kids' Day. Kids' day is a great way for children ages 5 to 12 to come out and experience the festival. They can select from a series of hands-on activity stations focusing on different aspects of film production and geared to various age and ability levels.

From coloring black line reproductions of the festival poster for the youngest to acting and creating their own short films for the oldest, kids will love this action-packed morning.  Everyone will get a kick out of the soundtrack station, where they create a musical soundtrack to a fun film, and the screenwriting station, where they write a script  “Mad Lib” style.

Stations are age-appropriate and run the full gamut of the filmmaking process.  At the conclusion of the activities, the whole family is invited to view the family-friendly film screenings that morning and afternoon.

Trailer: "Come Follow Me"

COME FOLLOW ME TEASER from APAIRUS COMPANY on Vimeo.

See the trailer for "Come Follow Me". See the short as part of the Arizona Shorts Program at the 2012 Phoenix Film Festival.

Olympic Fencer/Darth Vader Passes Away at 89

Bob Anderson, a former Olympic fencer who staged Darth Vader's light saber battles in two "Star Wars" movies, has died in West Sussex, England. He was 89. Anderson died peacefully Jan. 1 at a hospital, British Academy of Fencing President Philip Bruce wrote on the organization's website.

"He was truly one of our greatest fencing masters and a world-class film fight director and choreographer and both the fencing community and film world will miss him," Bruce wrote. "My heart felt sympathies and thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time."

Also read: 3D Version of 'Star Wars' Gets a Release Date

Considered to be Hollywood's go-to choreographer for sword-fighting, Bruce tutored Sean Connery and Lindsay Lohan, among others.

In "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," Anderson was Darth Vader's onscreen stunt double in the light saber battles -- including the scene in which the character cuts off the hand of Luke Skywalker. Anderson was uncredited in both films.

In a 1983 with Starlog magazine, Mark Hamill, who played Skywalker, said Anderson's contributions to the films should be made known.

Also read: 'Star Wars: The Complete Saga' Sets Blu-ray Sales Records

"Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting," he said. "It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told [director] George [Lucas] I didn't think it was fair any more. Bob worked so bloody hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it's all done by one man."

Anderson also lent his sword-fighting talents to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Princess Bride," "The Mask of Zorro" and the 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap," for which he tutored Lohan.

He was also Connery's stunt double in "Highlander" and performed sword-fighting stunts for Johnny Depp's and Orlando Bloom's characters in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."

Bruce is survived by his wife and three children.

Read more on Mr. Anderson’s life over on NPR.org. There’s also a bonus video of Viggo Mortensen talking about his time training with the sword-wielding legend.

Golden Globe Noms Are In!

The nominations are here and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to make a few predictions. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Hollywood Foreign Press has made their collective decisions on whom to nominate for a coveted Golden Globe Award. No real surprises here, although we are curious to see if Michel Hazanavicius’s (try saying that five times fast) critically-adored film ‘The Artist’ will take home an award for Best Screenplay or Best Motion Picture – Comedy. (View trailer)

Here’s a sampling of predictions from around the PFF office:

Best Motion Picture – Drama The Descendants

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Glenn Close (That’s right. She’ll steal it from Meryl Streep this year.)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Michael Fassbender

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical The Artist

View the entire list of the 2012 Golden Globe nominees.

A Conversation with Peter Weller

During this special event, Peter Weller will talk about his career, participate in a Q&A with the audience and receive the Copper Wing Tribute Award.  Purchase tickets here.