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A Magnificent Life
In 1955, 60-year-old Marcel Pagnol is a well-known and acclaimed playwright and filmmaker. When the editor-in-chief of ELLE magazine commissions a weekly column about Pagnol's childhood, he sees this as a great opportunity to go back to his artistic roots: writing.
Realizing his memory is failing him and deeply affected by the disappointing results of his last two plays, Pagnol starts doubting his ability to pursue his work. That is until Little Marcel — the young boy he used to be — appears to him as if by magic.
Together, they will explore Marcel Pagnol's incredible life and bring back to life his most cherished encounters and memories. His memories resurface as the words flow: the arrival of talkies, the first major film studio, his attachment to actors, the experience of writing.
The greatest storyteller of all time becomes the hero of his own story.
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A Night of The Mentalist
The Sedona International Film Festival is once again proud to present Red Rocks Magic “A Night of The Mentalist” for an encore performance — an extraordinary audience-driven magical experience — on Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. This is Sedona’s #1 magic experience!
Mentalist Brett Barry presents his mind-boggling Sedona themed magic show, exploring the incredible power of the mind and the unseen connections we have to one another. Red Rocks Magic is a "sleights of mind" tour-de-force, with extensive audience interaction and this will not be your typical magic show.
The 75-minute journey promises an afternoon of “mind-to-mind” magic and apparent ESP that will leave guests energized, inspired and amazed.
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A Private Life
The renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster) mounts a private investigation into the death of one of her patients, whom she is convinced has been murdered.
“Remarkable! A new landmark in Foster’s career which just continues to dazzle.” — Pete Hammond, Deadline
“A delightfully paired Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil. Foster jumps into it with a spiky vitality and an unexpected playfulness that buoy the movie as much as Rebecca Zlotowski’s zippy direction. It’s a pleasure to watch Foster.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Rebecca Zlotowski’s sleek, slippery psychological thriller. Expertly balanced by the intense focus of Jodie Foster’s performance. It’s a thrill to see Foster.” — Peter Debruge, Variety
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André Is an Idiot
“André Is an Idiot” was one of the top award-winners at the recent Sedona International Film Festival, garnering the Best of Fest Documentary Award and rave audience reviews.
Unexpected, irreverent, and defiantly heartfelt, “André Is an Idiot” is a wildly life-affirming film about death and about the strange clarity that arrives when time suddenly becomes finite.
When André Ricciardi, a self-proclaimed “idiot” for skipping the colonoscopy that could have saved him, learns he is dying, he turns his final chapter into an experiment in radical honesty, humor, and curiosity.
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Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes, and rare photos, “Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is an exhilarating documentary about the legendary Grammy-winning musician whose signature sound shaped the work of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, and countless others.
Billy Preston was perhaps the most unsung musical hero of his time. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1946, he arrived in Los Angeles with his family three years later. At just 5 years old, he was backing gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. By age 10, he was appearing with Ray Charles on film, and by age 15, he was touring with Little Richard in Hamburg, Germany, where he met Richard’s opening act — The Beatles.
He would later perform and record with the biggest names in music, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and countless others.
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Fantasy Life
An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters and falls for the girls' mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage.
A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.
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For Worse
Lauren, a newly divorced, sober mom, feels like she has a new lease on life after joining her first acting class and starting a fling with her hot, young scene partner. However, when they attend their Gen Z classmate's wedding together, things begin to fall apart, and Lauren finds herself behaving like a drunk 25-year-old bridesmaid. Luckily after a disastrous night she stumbles into a new day and a new beginning.
Funny and heartwarming, “For Worse” is a comedy starring Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Missy Pyle, Gabby Hoffman, Ken Marino, Simon Helberg, Paul Adelstein, Kiersey Clemons and Liv Hewson.
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FREE Sedona Poetry Slam
The Sedona Poetry Slam returns to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in West Sedona for a poetry slam on Saturday, April 4. Admission is free to all, thanks to the sponsorship of the Northern Arizona Book Festival, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that holds the annual festival the weekend of April 12, 13 and 14, in Flagstaff.
April is also National Poetry Month, so the best way to support poetry is seeing a showcase of the best poets in Northern Arizona. Many of the competing poets from the Sedona Poetry Slam will be showcasing their work, along with Flagstaff Poetry Slam, which are both festival partners.
Open Slam
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.
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Ghost Elephants
Directed, narrated and written by legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, “Ghost Elephants” is a lyrical tale of survival, reconnection and the enduring power of ancient knowledge in the face of modern loss.
In the mist-covered highlands of Angola, deep within its forests, a mystery endures: the elusive ghost elephants of Lisima, the potential living descendants of the largest land mammal ever recorded. Steve Boyes, conservation biologist and leader of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, is determined to prove their existence.
In order to find these elusive elephants, Boyes and fellow National Geographic Explorer Kerllen Costa have teamed up with three KhoiSan master trackers: Xui, Xui Dawid, and Kobus. Refugees from a war-torn past who have faced considerable marginalization in southern Africa, the trackers return to their ancestral lands to succeed where advanced technology could not.
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In the Living Room Music Series: Gary Simpkins, Tony Cook and Kris Baldwin
The "In the Living Room Music Series" continues its success with deep dives into the lives of local musicians at the Sedona International Film Festival’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
On Monday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m., series creator Shondra Jepperson sits down with singer-songwriter Gary Simpkins, fiddler Tony Cook, and Canadian bassist Kris Baldwin for an evening of their career and personal stories.
Modeled after the legendary "Inside the Actors Studio," this interactive series moves away from a standard concert format. With Award-winning songwriter Shondra as moderator, the audience is welcome to ask the artists questions during their concert. Gary Simpkins may be a new name to some in Sedona, although he is a celebrated musical treasure in the Verde Valley, known for his songwriting and seasoned musicianship as a single and his band, Spare Change.
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Jeanie Carroll in Concert: You Can Go Home Again
After decades of performances that have carried her from Arizona to Europe, North Africa and beyond, vocalist Jeanie Carroll is bringing her signature blend of style-hopping songcraft back to a stage many locals know well: the Mary D Fisher Theatre.
Carroll headlines this musical performance on April 4 at 4 p.m. (Four-four at four: divinely easy to remember), with Dave Len Scott on trumpet and piano and special guests, the Red RockAppella Quartet.
For Sedona audiences, the concert has the feeling of a homecoming. Carroll lived in Sedona for 30 years, building a reputation as a performer with an unusually wide repertoire and a gift for connecting across generations. Though she now spends most of her time in Las Vegas, her return date still lands with extra resonance in a town where she’s not just a familiar voice, but part of the community’s musical memory.
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LIVE THEATRE: Cry Wolf: A Play with Magic
"Cry Wolf" blurs the line between illusion and reality, transforming the theatre into a high-stakes game show where the prize is nothing less than truth itself. For 85 mesmerizing minutes, performer Rhett Guter invites audiences to play along — searching for the hidden “wolf” among volunteer contestants — as jaw-dropping magic, masterful tap dance, and deeply personal storytelling unfold. Inspired by the spectacle of The Price is Right and the theatrical artistry of Derren Brown, this intimate one-man show asks profound questions about identity, authenticity, and the courage to be seen. "Cry Wolf" promises wonder, laughter, and revelation.
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LIVE THEATRE: Gutenberg! The Musical!
In this two-man musical spoof, a pair of aspiring playwrights perform a backers’ audition for their new, ill-advised project – a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. With an unending supply of enthusiasm, Bud and Doug sing all the songs and play all the parts in their crass historical epic, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them that elusive Broadway contract.
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LIVE THEATRE: Penelope
Penelope has been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for her husband, Odysseus, to return from a decade-long war. Given the rest of the soldiers came home years ago – forgive her, but she’s going to need a drink while she tells you about it. With a beautiful folk-inflected pop score backed by an onstage band of strings, piano and drums, Penelope opens up about her loneliness, her son’s disappearance, her suitors, her gods, her faith in her marriage – and ultimately, the faith that she must have in herself. So go ahead and grab a drink, too, and listen to this ancient tale made new: A woman wondering who she is if she’s alone, and discovering that she has been, is and will always be complete – with or without her husband by her side.
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LIVE THEATRE: The Belle of Amherst
"The Belle of Amherst" is a play based on the life of Emily Dickinson. In her Amherst, Massachusetts home, the reclusive nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson recollects her past through her work, her diaries and letters, and a few encounters with significant people in her life. William Luce’s classic play shows us both the pain and the joy of Dickinson’s secluded life.
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LIVE THEATRE: Tuesdays with Morrie
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is the autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie’s appearance on a television news program and learns that his old professor is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Mitch is reunited with Morrie, and what starts as a simple visit turns into a weekly pilgrimage and a last class in the meaning of life.
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Met Live Opera: El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2025–26 Live in HD season comes to a close with a live transmission of American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, with libretto by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Fashioned as a reversal of the Orpheus and Euridice myth, the story depicts Frida, sung by leading mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead and reuniting with Diego, portrayed by baritone Carlos Álvarez. The famously feuding pair briefly relive their tumultuous love, embracing both the passion and the pain before bidding the land of the living a final farewell. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Met-premiere staging of Frank’s opera, a “confident, richly imagined score” (The New Yorker) that “bursts with color and fresh individuality” (Los Angeles Times).
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Met Live Opera: Eugene Onegin
Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin.. Baritone Iurii Samoilov reprises his portrayal of the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph).
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Met Live Opera: Tristan und Isolde
After years of anticipation, a truly unmissable event arrives in cinemas worldwide on March 21 as the electrifying Lise Davidsen tackles one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano: the Irish princess Isolde in Wagner’s transcendent meditation on love and death. Heroic tenor Michael Spyres stars opposite Davidsen as the love-drunk Tristan. The momentous occasion also marks the advent of a new, Met-debut staging by Yuval Sharon — hailed by The New York Times as “the most visionary opera director of his generation” and the first American to direct an opera at the famed Wagner festival in Bayreuth — as well as Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s first time leading “Tristan und Isolde” at the Met. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprises her portrayal of Brangäne, alongside bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who sings Kurwenal after celebrated Met appearances in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Ring cycle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes an important role debut as King Marke.
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New York Cat Film Festival 2026
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “New York Cat Film Festival 2026” showing March 29-April 2 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre.
Join us for a family-friendly escape to the movies and celebrate everything CATS! “New York Cat Film Festival 2026” is a collection of short films exploring the mystique of the fascinating felines who share our lives. All the films are family-friendly and can be enjoyed by humans of all ages.
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New York Dog Film Festival 2026
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “New York Dog Film Festival 2026” showing March 28-April 2 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre.
Join us for a family-friendly escape to the movies and celebrate everything DOGS! “New York Dog Film Festival 2026” is a collection of short films celebrating the love between dogs, their people, and the animal welfare groups that bring them together.
We continue a decade of celebrating the relationship between people and dogs in short films that will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. In particular, there are 2 films that won the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute, depicting the life-saving bond between specially trained service dogs and veterans with PTSD.
All the films are appropriate to delight and inspire all members of the human family.
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Piano on the Rocks International Festival
Piano on the Rocks International Festival returns in 2026 for its eleventh edition, unveiling an evocative theme: “The Geometry of Sounds — The Unquiet Harmonies.”
This three-day celebration invites audiences to experience music as architecture, where every note becomes a luminous angle of grace and every harmony reveals its hidden geometry.
Piano on the Rocks International Festival XI takes place May 1-3, 2026 at 4:00 PM each day at the Mary D. Fisher Theater in Sedona, Arizona.
Founded by Artistic Director and pianist Sandrine Erdely-Sayo and Co-Director Elizabeth Peña, this festival brings world-class classical music to Sedona while fostering cultural and educational enrichment. Piano on the Rocks has become one of the region’s most distinctive artistic events. The 2026 edition continues this tradition with a lineup of the highest-caliber artists and musicians whose presence elevates the festival into a radiant celebration of beauty and artistic excellence.
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Power To The People: John & Yoko Live in NYC
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the world for a global theatrical event: “Power To The People: John & Yoko Live in NYC”, showing April 29 and May 3 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres.
“Power To The People: John & Yoko Live in NYC” is the 2026 multiscreen concert film of two massive live shows by John Lennon & Yoko Ono at Madison Square Garden, New York City on August 30, 1972, newly restored, re-edited and remixed by the Lennons’ seven-times Grammy Award winning team.
John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory and Special Guests performed these now-legendary sold-out One To One concerts to a combined audience of 40,000 people, raising over $1.5M (equivalent to $11.5M in 2026) for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They were the only full-length concerts John Lennon (with Yoko Ono) performed after leaving The Beatles.
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Sirsy Concert
Back by popular demand: The Sedona International Film Festival announces award-winning recording duo Sirsy will be performing live in concert Thursday, May 7 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre in Sedona at 7 p.m.
It’s hard to imagine a sound this big coming from just two people. The Boston Globe calls Sirsy the “little band with the big sound.” Fans call them the little band with big heart.
Hailing from NY, Sirsy plays compelling singer-songwriter rock and pop with a charming intensity, a bit of sass, lots of soul, and loads of heart. They write honest, engaging songs that are instantly relatable and catchy. The Times Union says “Sirsy’s clever, smart songs have more hooks than a tackle box”. Sirsy’s passionate and down-to-earth live shows also include storytelling and even some nerdy jokes. They can somehow make an audience sing along, dance, laugh, and cry — all at the same show.
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Super Improv!
After a sold-out debut performance in January, Super Improv! returns to the Mary Fisher Theatre on Wednesday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. — bringing even more laughter, surprises, and high-energy fun.
The inaugural show filled every seat in the theatre, with some guests turned away at the door, and ended with a standing ovation, instantly establishing Super Improv! as Sedona’s newest must-see live comedy experience.
The Improv Game Show is BAAAACK!
This fast-paced, feel-good night of entertainment blends:
• Spontaneous improv comedy
• Playful audience interaction
• A one-of-a-kind live game show featuring buzzers, lights, and over-the-top characters
A signature of Super Improv! is its creative, playful characters — brought to life in the moment and often inspired by audience suggestions — making every scene surprising, memorable, and completely unique.
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The Music of Alan Parsons in Surround Sound
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with award-winning surround sound composer and producer Koz Mraz for “The Music of Alan Parsons in Surround Sound” on Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
You will be blown away by this audio/visual 5.1 Surround Sound Music Experience in Sedona’s best sound system, the Mary D. Fisher Theater.
At the age of 18, Alan Parsons went to work as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road. He earned his first credit on the Beatles, Abbey Road. He engineered Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), for which he received his first Grammy Awards nomination. Alan went on to create the Alan Parsons Project and released 12 studio albums, winning one Grammy Award and 13 Grammy nominations.
Experience songs from: Tales of Mystery & Imagination, Eye in the Sky, I Robot, On Air and a live concert segment. You Will Be Blown Away!
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The Optimist: The Bravest Act is Truth
Based on a remarkable true story, “The Optimist: The Bravest Act is Truth” traces the life of Herbert Heller and the unlikely friendship that transforms both him and a young woman searching for her own sense of direction.
As a boy, Herbert survived the Holocaust and carried the weight of an unspoken secret for six decades, choosing silence as a way to move through the world. When he meets Abby, a perceptive and intuitive teenager quietly grappling with her own emotional burdens, something shifts. Abby’s curiosity, compassion, and steady presence begin to open a door Herbert long believed was sealed.
As Herbert slowly shares the truth of his past, an unexpected bond takes root—one that bridges generations and reveals how connection can illuminate even the darkest corners of memory. Through each other, they discover understanding, healing, and the courage to finally voice what has been held inside.
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The President's Cake
“The President's Cake” was the winner of the Camera D’Or and Audience Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and the Official Iraq Entry for the Best International Film Academy Award 2025.
While people across 1990’s Iraq struggle to survive, 9-year old Lamia has been selected to prepare a cake to celebrate the President’s birthday. In a landscape of fear and scarcity, where basic ingredients are nearly impossible to find, Lamia sets out on a determined journey throughout the big city in search of eggs, flour, and sugar. Accompanied by her grandmother, her loyal friend Saeed, and her pet rooster Hindi, she navigates vendors and police officers along the way.
“The President's Cake” embodies innocence, imagination, and inner strength.
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Turner & Constable
Sedona International Film Festival presents the Exhibition on Screen series with “Turner & Constable”. The film will premiere in Sedona on March 24 and 29 at the festival’s Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre.
Celebrating the 250th anniversary of their births, this unmissable new documentary explores Turner and Constable’s intertwined lives and legacies alongside the groundbreaking Tate exhibition.
Two of Britain’s greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable were also the greatest of rivals. Born within a year of each other, both used landscape painting to reflect the changing world around them. Tate Britain is brought these two greats together for a groundbreaking exhibition, in London from November 2025 to April 2026, and Exhibition on Screen once again has exclusive and privileged access to bring their extraordinary art and remarkable stories to the big screen so that you can enjoy both film and exhibition together.
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