JOIN US FOR A SUMMER OF FUN WITH PFF’S
SUMMER CINEMA SERIES
You know what’s great for a Phoenix summer? Air conditioning. We know the perfect place to beat the summer heat - the movie theatre!
Join us for a celebration of cinema this summer as the Phoenix Film Festival presents its Summer Cinema Series. This series of epically awesome screening events is specially curated for filmgoers and festival fans as a way to keep the hype of the festival going through the summer! We’ll be showcasing some festival favorite encores, an insane trivia night, and more. Check out the full list of events below and make sure to check back for updates and additional details as we lock in events for June - September, 2025. See you at the theatre!
*All events will take place at the Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre (7000 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85054) unless otherwise specified in the event description.
Scroll down for the full schedule or click the buttons below to jump to the screenings available during a specific month!
Are you a Phoenix Film Society member, IFP member, or Phoenix Film Foundation Reel Friend?
Be sure to click the ticket links and take advantage of exclusive Summer Cinema Series discounts!
“602 DAY”
SHORTS SHOWCASE
FEATURING SHORT FILMS BY ARIZONA FILMMAKERS
Monday, June 2 at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $6.02
Q&A Host
Paul DeNigris
#HowDoYou602? Join the Phoenix community as it celebrates “602 Day” on Monday, June 2, 2025. Annually, the City of Phoenix partners with local businesses and organizations to offer special discounts and deals, and host events and activities that promote community spirit and honor 602 as the City's most historically significant area code.
This year, the Phoenix Film Festival celebrates local Arizona filmmakers! Join us for a special ENCORE presentation of seven Phoenix Film Festival Arizona Short Films from our 2025 festival selections. Stay after for a special Q&A from attending filmmakers. The best part? Tickets are only $6.02! What a deal!
showcasing:
Jacob & Jane: A is for Absent
Directed by: Samuel and Rebekah Varghese
Synopsis: Jacob is absent from class, Jane is absent from life; can they find common ground to learn from each other?
Let's Do It...?
Directed by: Tannis Starr
Synopsis: Two coworkers try to decide if it's worth it to become romantic.
Frames
Directed by: Nick Hawley
Synopsis: Two journalists investigate a strange desert phenomenon, but betrayal erupts when one harbors a deadly secret tied to their discovery.
The Other Place
Directed by: David Strbik
Synopsis: Two men share one last conversation about their lives before someone has to take a journey to the other place.
I'm Fine
Directed by: Aidan Sinconis
Synopsis: I'm Fine is a 1st-person tale of struggle with teenage depression told through private journal entries.
Obsidian
Directed by: Ramiro Villagomez
Synopsis: A world devastated by an invasion, a lone soldier carries cargo that can change the tide of the war.
Klaus Müller
Directed by: Zach Tolchinsky
Synopsis: Park ranger Tommy Dolan discovers a hidden nuclear bomb, summoning Klaus Muller, but secrets threaten their tense mission.
GUACAMOLE YESTERDAYS
TUESDAY, June 10 at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $15
VIP Package: $25
*VIP Package includes admission to screening plus an enamel pin and a hand-numbered, screen-printed poster.
Join the Phoenix Film Festival for a special screening of GUACAMOLE YESTERDAYS.
We'll kickoff with local stand-up comedian Jackie Tinsley (@jacktinsleitis), followed by a special screening of the Phoenix Film Festival 2024 Feature Film Audience Award Winner GUACAMOLE YESTERDAYS and a Q&A with director Jordan Noel and writer Hudson Phillips!
Directed by: Jordan Noel
Cast: Sophie Edwards, Randy Havens, Adetinpo Thomas
Synopsis: After a devastating separation, cartoonist Ames (Sophie Edwards, This World Alone) begins therapy with a specialist (Adetinpo Thomas, Hawkeye) who employs an experimental technology that enables Ames to relive and reshape the memories of her relationship with her husband, Franklin (Randy Havens, Stranger Things). As Ames revisits moments from their first date to their final goodbye, the boundaries between memory and reality start to dissolve. To avoid losing herself completely, she must confront the truth she's been desperately avoiding.
Director
Jordan Noel
Writer
Hudson Phillips
Q&A Host
PCC Film Critic
Jeff Mitchell
“JUNETEENTH”
SHORTS SHOWCASE
FEATURING SHORT FILMS BY AFRICAN AMERICAN FILMMAKERS
THURSDAY, June 19 at 7:00 PM
Tickets: $17
Happy Juneteenth! Celebrate Black culture, freedom, and progress with this special ENCORE presentation of a selection of Phoenix Film Festival African American Directed Short Films from our 2025 festival. These films were shown as part of the festival’s Community Spotlight categories which celebrates stories from diverse voices.
showcasing:
If They Took Us Back
Directed by: Holly Charles-Pearson
Synopsis: The U.S. returns all emancipated slaves to Africa in 1863. A century later, a descendant returns in exchange for reparations.
Alejandro!
Directed by: Christopher A. Brown
Synopsis: A sentient piñata embarks on a journey to discover its purpose.
Help!
Directed by: Alex Chew
Synopsis: A resilient nanny is trapped with a combative little boy and his abused mother in 1960s rural Texas.
Thomasville
Directed by: Alex Woodruff
Synopsis: Trapped in a rainswept car, a young man and his ailing father confront their fractured history before it's too late.
Calamity Jane
Directed by: Robin Cloud
Synopsis: A barrel racing champion, haunted by a fall, rediscovers courage and love through an unexpected bond.
Soul of the City
Directed by: Roger Melvin
Synopsis: A pedicab company in Leimert Park gives ex-convicts a second chance, pedaling through the city to reclaim what was lost.
The Fabulous Film
Olympics Extravaganza:
Wet Hot Arizona Summer
Thursday, July 24 at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $17
Think you can weather this dust storm of movie trivia? The monsoon’s rolling in, hotshot — slather on the sunscreen and prove you're the hottest film brain in the eye of the cinematic cyclone. Barbra Seville, the fiercest camp counselor in heels, is hosting the most unhinged, high-stakes Film Trivia Olympics yet.
Multiple games. One crown. Endless drama. Only one camper will emerge as the Fabulous Film Champion, so pack your trivia skills and emotional baggage. This is an Arizona summer at its most fabulous.
IFP “BEAT THE CLOCK”
48 HOUR FILM CHALLENGE
SCREENING AND AWARDS
Thursday, July 31 at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $17
The Beat the Clock 48 Hour Film Challenge is back! Teams wrote, shot, and edited their films in just 48 hours over a single weekend. Now it's time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Join us at Harkins Scottsdale 101 as we screen all of the completed films and present several different category awards to the winning filmmaker teams.
Doors are scheduled to open for seating starting at 6:30pm with opening remarks starting at 7:00pm. Then we will roll all of the films for you to enjoy the work of some of the best and brightest Arizona filmmakers. Don’t forget to stick around after the screening! After watching the films, all attendees can participate in voting for their favorite to win the coveted Audience Award - which will be announced after all other awards categories for the evening!
THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT
MONDAY, AUGUST 4 AT 7:00 PM
Tickets: $17
What does it mean to be a survivor? Generations of children have been left with this question in the wake of abuse suffered at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers. Decades later, they are fighting back. Filmed over the course of nine years, THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT is an intimate portrait of trauma following three families’ journeys as they work to shed light on the devastating impacts of institutional abuse, pursue healing in the absence of justice, and fight to hold abusers accountable.
Join us for a special PFF presentation of THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT, featuring a post-screening Q&A with director Mikaela Shwer as well as Cynthia Clark Harvey and Liz Ianelli who are featured in the film.
Run Time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Mikaela Shwer
Synopsis: Despite decades of documented abuse and hundreds of deaths, thousands of teenagers across the United States are held in cult-like reform programs that generate multibillion-dollar profits with little to no government oversight. Told through the personal lens of three families' journeys, The Kids Are Not Alright is an intimate portrait of trauma, what it means to survive, and if healing is possible in the absence of justice.
Director
Mikaela Shwer
Liz Ianelli
Cynthia Clark Harvey
Q&A Host
Josh Kasselman
MAMMA MIA! PARTY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
Time: TBD - More info COMING SOON!
Location:
Harkins Shea Theatre
7354 E Shea Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Tickets: $17
Grab your flared pants, channel your inner Dancing Queen, and get ready for a Mamma Mia! screening that’s all about sparkle, singalongs, and serious ABBA energy.
Join PFF at Harkins Shea for a summer party filled with music, mischief and Mamma Mia magic. Strike a pose at our photo booths, show off your best Super Trouper style in the costume contest, and belt out every word like you’re on a Greek island with your three maybe-dads.
Costumes encouraged. Dancing inevitable. Fun guaranteed.
Run Time: 110 minutes
Directed by: Phillida Lloyd
Cast: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski
Synopsis: Donna, an independent hotelier, is preparing for her daughter's wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile Sophie, the spirited bride, has a plan. She invites three men from her mother's past in hope of meeting her real father.
25 CATS FROM QATAR
MONDAY, sEPTEMBER 8 AT 7:00 PM
General Admission: $17
Join us for a special PFF presentation of 25 CATS FROM QATAR. It’s a purr-fect film for cat lovers, but really any animal lovers are welcome! Follow the harrowing journey of 25 cats as their rescuers and a determined cat café owner seek to save as many cats as they can and find them their forever homes 7,000 miles away. Stick around after the screening for a Q&A with one of the filmmakers. More details to come.
Directed by: Mye Hoang
Synopsis: When Katy McHugh, owner of Milwaukee’s Sip and Purr Cat Café, learns of the feral cat crisis in Doha, Qatar, she creates a brave and unsanctioned plan to fly 25 cats from Doha back to Wisconsin for adoption. From MFF alum Mye Hoang (CAT DADDIES, MFF22), this film offers a heartwarming, urgent look at strangers overcoming barriers to save lives, highlighting the global struggle for animal welfare.
