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A Bridgerton Ball
Dearest gentle readers, the social season is about to begin — and Her Majesty Queen Charlotte, along with the ever-watchful Lady Whistledown, has issued a most important summons.
The Sedona International Film Festival cordially invites you to A Bridgerton Ball, a sumptuous fundraising gala celebrating the launch of the Festival’s 33rd season, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 4:30 PM at the magnificent Enchantment Resort.
Prepare yourself for an evening of elegance, intrigue, romance and revelry as the glamour of the Regency era comes alive beneath the red rocks of Sedona.
Guests will be treated to a sumptuous multicourse dinner prepared by Enchantment Resort, accompanied by an array of specialty cocktails inspired by the world of Bridgerton.
You will be swept away with the enchanting music by the Queen’s Royal String Quartet and dancing to the music of The Swingtips.
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A Winter's Eve with David Arkenstone & Friends
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to welcome back GRAMMY-nominated recording artist David Arkenstone for a very special holiday performance — “A Winter’s Eve with David Arkenstone & Friends” — live on stage at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.
Returning to Sedona by popular demand, “A Winter’s Eve with David Arkenstone & Friends” is a fun and lively holiday concert featuring world-class musicians, heartwarming seasonal favorites, and David’s signature musical magic. This year’s performance features the extraordinary Drew Ryn on vocals, bringing even more excitement and holiday cheer to this unforgettable celebration. It’s a festive evening not to be missed!
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Atonement
Displaced from their home by U.S. military action during the early days of the Iraq War, the Khachaturian family finds refuge with relatives, gathering their three generations together under one roof. But when another bombing erupts nearby, they decide to return to their home across the city.
As they navigate the war-torn streets of Baghdad, the family is trapped in a firefight between U.S. Marines and insurgents, and one Marine’s split-second decision devastates the family. Years later, haunted by his time in Iraq and aided by a New Yorker journalist, the Marine seeks to reconcile with the Khachaturian matriarch and her surviving family members.
Anchored by moving, unforgettable performances from Boyd Holbrook, Hiam Abbass, and Kenneth Branagh, “Atonement” is a powerfully human story about the immeasurable costs of war, exploring universal questions about guilt, redemption, and the nature of forgiveness.
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Bernstein's Wall
Douglas Tirola’s thrilling documentary “Bernstein’s Wall” traces Leonard Bernstein’s lifelong struggle to create social change and bring people together through his work. Like a symphony with multiple movements, the film presents the sweeping grandeur of Bernstein’s life alongside his thoughts about America, politics, race, family, media, sex, and religion.
The son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Bernstein rose to become Conductor of the New York Philharmonic and a towering figure in classical music, Broadway, television, and culture. Yet behind the icon was a vulnerable and conflicted artist wrestling to balance his ambitions, sexuality, religion, and the family he deeply loved. He used his influence to advocate for progressive political change, often at considerable personal risk.
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BOSAYA: Live in Concert
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present BOSAYA: Live in Concert on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Experience the transformative power of voice with BOSAYA — an independent singer, songwriter, and sound healer based in Washington State.
BOSAYA has been singing since the age of six, trained in choral conducting and pop-jazz vocals, and has been performing for over 20 years. Known for her rare multi-octave voice, she creates deep emotional experiences that open the heart and reconnect people with light.
BOSAYA pays special attention to the frequency of the human voice, believing that conscious sounding is an essential part of life for everyone. Her music has reached #11 on the U.S. iTunes charts, and her song “AYA” has surpassed one million views on YouTube.
“Independent pop artist BOSAYA is reshaping the very act of listening, turning each song into a portal where sound becomes a full-body, full-spirit encounter.” — Broadway World
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Coming Home: The Music of James Taylor
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present a very special live concert event “Coming Home: The Music of James Taylor” starring James Gedeon on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
James Gedeon is a singer-songwriter and solo acoustic performer whose intimate tribute show — “Coming Home: The Music of James Taylor” — has been connecting with audiences in listening rooms, theaters, and concert venues across the country.
The concert is an intimate acoustic performance that brings audiences closer to the heart of James Taylor’s timeless songs. With a deep reverence for the music, Gedeon presents these timeless songs in their purest form — capturing the warmth of Taylor’s vocal style and the nuance of his distinctive guitar work, while sharing the stories behind the music in a way that draws audiences in and makes them feel right at home.
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Cottonwood Premiere: In the Company of Wolves
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Monday Movies on Main” on Monday, Oct. 19 with the Cottonwood premiere of “In the Company of Wolves” at 7 p.m. at Old Town Center for the Arts.
Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges narrates this stunning journey, following wolves and other animals as co-travelers through American history — from the shores of England to the birth of the New Republic, and ultimately the colonization of the vast, contested landscapes of the modern American West.
A place where the ensemble doesn't merely walk through history; they trot, lope, stampede, and migrate across it — reminding us that the wild and the domesticated alike have always reflected a deeper story of who we are as a nation, and who we might yet become.
“With surprising and little-known histories that stretch back to England before unfolding across the landscapes of the American West, I never intended to make a film only about wolves, although they figure prominently throughout,”
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Cottonwood Premiere: Trailblazers
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Monday Movies on Main” on Monday, Nov. 2 with the Cottonwood premiere of “Trailblazers” at 7 p.m. at Old Town Center for the Arts.
In 1982, brothers Troy and Gil Gillenwater decided to walk across the state of Arizona. Without GPS, mobile phones, or continuous trails, they cobbled together an 810-mile adventure that took over two months and two mules to complete. Little did they know, their trek would be an inspiration for the Arizona National Scenic Trail, now hiked by thousands each year.
That remarkable origin story comes to life in “Trailblazers” — a 40-minute documentary produced by the Emmy Award-winning team at Quantum Leap Productions.
The evening benefits the Arizona Trail Association Endowment, supporting the long-term protection, stewardship, and future of the Arizona Trail.
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Día de los Muertos & Samhain: Music Across the Veil
The Sedona International Film Festival presents “Día de los Muertos & Samhain: Music Across the Veil” concert live on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Arvel Bird joins Kate Rose and Armand Ramirez as Día de los Muertos and the Celtic season of Samhain meet in music and story. Hispanic, Native, Celtic, and Southwestern traditions offer different perspectives on ancestors, remembrance, celebration, and the mysterious turning toward winter. Music and storytelling move between remembrance and celebration, exploring how people use sound, ritual, story, and gathering to maintain connections across generations.
Classically trained as a violinist, Arvel Bird's compositions and performances are a confluence of styles from Celtic, bluegrass and his original Native American folk and Celtic rock orchestrations.
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Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me
Eddie Cochran died aged just 21, yet his influence can still be heard in generations of artists from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to today’s contemporary artists.
From BAFTA and Academy Award-winning producers and filmmakers Goldfinch comes the first official biography on rock & roll icon Eddie Cochran. “Eddie Cochran: Don’t Forget Me” is made in partnership with the Cochran Family Estate, chronicling the extraordinary but tragically short life of the rock & roll pioneer, with dramatic recreations featuring Jack Harris as Eddie Cochran and Frances Barber as his mother, Alice Cochran.
Cochran’s influence is immeasurable. At just 21, he left behind a body of work that would inspire generations of musicians and artists. This intimate portrait weaves never-before-seen archival material with powerful testimonies from some of music’s most influential artists and cultural figures including Keith Richards, Sting, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol and more.
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Fallen Angels by Noël Coward
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the globe for the worldwide premiere of “Fallen Angels by Noël Coward” showing Oct. 22 and 25 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre.
Sparkling, dizzying, and deliciously potent, “Fallen Angels” — Noël Coward’s champagne-fresh comedy of bad manners — shocked and delighted audiences at its 1925 premiere. Two upper-class wives, their husbands away for the day, share a few toasts to their pre-marital dalliances — with the same man, who just may be en route from France to visit. Old rivalries and past scandals bubble to the surface in this intoxicating romp from one of theatre’s comedy masters.
Starring Golden Globe-winner Rose Byrne and Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara, with Tracee Chimo, Mark Consuelos (making his Broadway debut), Christopher Fitzgerald and Aasif Mandvi, this new Roundabout Theatre and Tony Award-winning production of ‘pure escapist fun’ (The New York Times) was filmed live on stage.
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Fiddle Tales: Stories Between Worlds
The Sedona International Film Festival presents “Fiddle Tales: Stories Between Worlds” live on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Fiddler Kate Rose, guitarist Armand Ramirez and percussionist Sabina Sandoval present a concert of intergenerational musical storytelling. Drawing from Celtic, Hispanic, Southwestern, and other oral traditions, they weave fiddle and guitar through stories, rhythm, movement, props, natural sound effects, humor, and audience participation.
Old tales acquire contemporary twists, tunes interrupt stories, stories explain tunes, and children, adults, and elders become part of an experience that changes with the people in the room.
This special afternoon concert recalls the older experience of generations gathering together to hear stories, make music, laugh, listen, and participate.
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Flagstaff Premiere: Old Man Lightning
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with Theatrikos Theatre Company to bring movies to Downtown Flagstaff!
This series continues on Wednesday, Nov. 11 with an encore screening of “Old Man Lightning” at 7:00 p.m. at Theatrikos Theatre Company.
“Old Man Lightning” may be the best climbing, comedy, comeback film ever made, with a conservation twist. The film won the Best Climbing Film Award at the Banff International Film Festival and Bilbao Mendi Spain.
Cranky, yet witty bouldering legend John “Verm” Sherman has lost his mojo and is jonesing to regain it. What better way than to climb the world’s most famous boulder problem, Yosemite’s iconic Midnight Lightning? He climbed it 25 years ago, but since then the climb has gotten harder and Verm’s gotten softer due to beerlust and a third-degree burning passion for bird photography.
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Flagstaff Premiere: Peter Asher: Everywhere Man
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with Theatrikos Theatre Company to bring movies to Downtown Flagstaff!
This series continues on Wednesday, Oct. 14 with the Flagstaff premiere of “Peter Asher: Everywhere Man” at 7:00 p.m. at Theatrikos Theatre Company.
“Peter Asher: Everywhere Man” is a feature-length documentary inspired by musician, producer, and manager Peter Asher’s celebrated cabaret show A Musical Memoir of the ’60s and Beyond. Like his stage performance, the film traces an extraordinary life lived at the center of modern music history.
From his early years as a child actor in 1950s London to the Swinging Sixties, Asher emerges as a Zelig-like figure in the culture of the era: one half of the pop duo “Peter and Gordon,” recipients of four chart-topping hits penned by Paul McCartney; the first head of A&R at Apple Records; and co-owner of the Indica Gallery, the epicenter of London’s countercultural art scene.
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Freehub PRESENTS: A Mountain Bike Film Festival
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival for a special premiere of “Freehub PRESENTS: A Mountain Bike Film Festival” on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Sedona International Film Festival Theatres. There will be two screenings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Freehub PRESENTS is a collection of films from some of the best filmmakers and riders, as well as new up-and-comers alike, all given the proper big screen experience. The multi-stop film festival honors top and emerging filmmakers, riders, leaders, and storytellers who will shape the sport for generations to come.
Cinematic events and coast-to-coast independent events celebrate community, culture, and cinema while benefiting nonprofit trail advocacy organizations. Freehub Media and the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival are proud to partner for this stop of the 2026 Freehub PRESENTS film tour.
Get your tickets and join us for what is sure to be a great evening!
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Giant — The Play
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join theaters around the globe for the worldwide premiere of “Giant — The Play” showing Nov. 19 and 22 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres.
“Giant” — the 5-star critically acclaimed play starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl — comes to the big screen. Winner of 3 Olivier Awards including Best Play and a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (John Lithgow), the production was filmed live in London’s West End ahead of its sold-out Broadway run. The stellar cast includes Aya Cash, Elliot Levey and Rachael Stirling.
A world-famous children’s author under threat. A battle of wills in the wake of scandal. And one chance to make amends … It’s the summer of 1983, The Witches is about to hit the shelves and Roald Dahl is making last-minute edits. But the outcry at his recent, explicitly antisemitic article won’t die down.
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In the Living Room Music Series: Shaeri Richards
The In the Living Room Music Series presents a very special evening at the Mary Fisher Theatre on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:00 p.m., welcoming Sedona favorite Shaeri Richards for an intimate night of eclectic jazz, pop, and blues featuring her signature keyboard work and vocals.
Conceived and moderated by award-winning songwriter Shondra Jepperson, this unique interactive format breaks down the traditional barrier between stage and seating. Attendees will be encouraged to actively engage by asking questions throughout the concert, uncovering the musical journey and creative inspirations behind Richards' vibrant repertoire.
Known for her memorable improv performances, emceeing, and interviewing filmmakers at the Sedona International Film Festival, Shaeri Richards is also an accomplished documentary filmmaker, a former radio DJ, and a musician who has played in various bands around town over the years.
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James McNeill Whistler
Sedona International Film Festival presents the Exhibition on Screen series with “James McNeill Whistler”. The film will premiere in Sedona on Nov. 3 and 8 at the festival’s Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre.
In an era of great change and great beauty emerged the character of James McNeill Whistler. Considered by some to be one of the great innovators of 19th century art, he was a contemporary of the Impressionists, much admired by Van Gogh and Manet.
Boldly experimental and famously witty, Whistler disrupted the strict conventions of Victorian society in pursuit of a new cult of beauty, creating “art for art’s sake” and earning himself a place in the history of great art. He found a parallel between painting and music, and entitled many of his paintings "arrangements", "harmonies" and "nocturnes", emphasizing the importance of tonal harmony in his work.
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Jimmy
A Hollywood icon. An American hero. A wonderful life.
“Jimmy”, the untold true story of America’s most-beloved actor and the iconic role that saved him, focuses on the most transformative season in Jimmy Stewart’s life — from winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in The Philadelphia Story to enlisting and becoming a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II.
Stewart flew twenty missions over Europe, rising to the rank of colonel by the end of the war, only to return home broken and disheartened. Then George Bailey and “It’s a Wonderful Life” came calling.
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Karen Morgan Comedy
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present Karen Morgan Comedy live onstage at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Karen Morgan is a former trial attorney who began her comedy career as a Finalist on Nickelodeon Television’s Search for the Funniest Mom in America. She has now been performing clean standup comedy nationwide in theaters and performing arts centers for almost two decades.
Karen has 2 Dry Bar Comedy Specials: Go Dawgs (with millions of views on Facebook & YouTube) and now Rub Some Dirt On It (Top 10 List of 2023). Her latest comedy album, Shiny Happy People Laughing (named with special permission from REM), was recorded in her hometown of Athens, Georgia; it plays on 4 different channels on Sirius XM Radio. She has several television appearances including The Talk on CBS, Gotham Comedy Live, and ads for Wal-Mart and Zyrtec. She has also been featured in The Washington Post, Huff Post and The Insider.
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Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
More than 30 years after Iran’s leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, a religious decree calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie over the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, Rushdie traveled to Chautauqua to speak about the United States as a sanctuary for exiled writers and artists. The event marked the 20th anniversary of a writer-refuge program — a setting meant to celebrate safety and creative freedom. It was there that a young man rushed the stage, intent on killing him with a knife. Using excerpts from Rushdie’s works, including his powerful memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, Alex Gibney’s documentary is both a striking testament to freedom of expression and a defiant response to the attempt on Rushdie’s life.
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Last Shot
“Last Shot” is an uplifting coming-of-age sports drama about resilience, second chances, and the power of believing in yourself. A basketball prodigy loses his father, gains a mother he barely knows, and has to learn how to play — and grieve — all over again.
Led by newcomer Dylan Friedman, the film features former NBA All-Star Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks & Los Angeles Clippers), Emmy Award winner Jaime Pressly, and Laraine Newman, original Saturday Night Live cast member and Emmy-winning actress, as well as Michael Rapaport and Johnny Simmons.
Twelve-year-old basketball prodigy Caden Issacs navigates the turbulent waters of grief and adolescence after the sudden death of his father, Darren. Moving to Nashville to live with his estranged mother, Lexi, a driven music executive, Caden struggles to find his place on a new elite basketball team while grappling with the high expectations of those around him.
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Live Theatre: An Evening of Carl Sandburg
A lively evening of song, poetry and storytelling, adapted from the works of Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) — two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize (Poetry and History), storyteller, newspaper man, writer of children’s literature, and traveling troubadour. Adapted entirely from Sandburg’ s writings and performed by Jonathan Gillard Daly.
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Live Theatre: Art
How much would you pay for a white painting? Would it matter who the painter was? Would it be art? One of Marc’s best friends, Serge, has just bought a very expensive painting. It’s about five feet by four, all white with white diagonal lines. To Marc, the painting is a joke, but Serge insists Marc doesn’t have the proper standard to judge the work. Another friend, Ivan, though burdened by his own problems, allows himself to be pulled into this disagreement. Eager to please, Ivan tells Serge he likes the painting. Lines are drawn and these old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendships. At the breaking point, Serge hands Marc a felt tip pen and dares him: “Go on.” This is where the friendship is finally tested, and the aftermath of action, and its reaction, affirms the power of those bonds.
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Live Theatre: Christmas in Montpelier
"Christmas in Montpelier" is based on stories by author Ross Peterson that detail his childhood in the small Idaho town shortly after World War II, when farmers fed their animals with horse-drawn sleighs and winters seemed colder.
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Live Theatre: Grounded
An unexpected pregnancy ends an ace fighter pilot’s career in the sky. Reassigned to operate military drones from a windowless trailer outside Las Vegas, she hunts terrorists by day and returns to her family each night. As the pressure to track a high-profile target mounts, the boundaries begin to blur between the desert in which she lives and the one she patrols half a world away.
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Live Theatre: Mass Appeal
Father Tim Farley, a lover of the good things in life, is comfortably ensconced as priest of a prosperous Catholic congregation. Without realizing it, he has resorted to flattering his parishioners and entertaining them with sermons that skirt any disturbing issues, in order to protect his Mercedes, his trips abroad and the generous supply of fine wines that grace his table (and his desk drawer). His well-ordered world is disrupted by the arrival of Mark Dolson, an intense and idealistic young seminarian whom Father Farley reluctantly agrees to take under his wing.
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Live Theatre: No Matter What You Tell Me
This solo performance tells the story of how far someone is willing to go to uncover what their family keeps in the dark. And how some secrets, once light hits them, just might change you forever.
A truly gripping night of storytelling that dives deep into the heart of human connection and forgiveness, No Matter What You Tell Me is a years-long journey of a son searching for the truth about his family, while believing them incapable of doing wrong.
Uncovering a family secret about his late uncle sets off a chain of events that brings him face to face with his own foundations, forcing him to wrestle with
everything he’s been taught to believe.
Hilarious, heartbreaking, and fiercely hopeful, this powerful story leads from one secret into another. A story that proves how family is fraught, never really what it appears, and, despite it all, so very necessary.
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Live Theatre: Stella and Lou
On a quiet night at Lou’s Bar, two kindred spirits seek solace as they navigate changing times and relationships past. From the author of The Outgoing Tide comes an intimate exploration of friendship, forgiveness, and the longing for companionship that grows with the passage of time.
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Live Theatre: Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical
TENDERLY, THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY MUSICAL is not a typical “juke-box musical.” It offers a fresh, remarkably personal, and poignant picture of the woman whose unparalleled talent and unbridled personality made her a legend. In TENDERLY, Rosemary Clooney’s journey starts with her simple Maysville, Kentucky childhood and follows her rise to Hollywood stardom. With her signature songs woven in and out, we learn both the story of her successes on film, radio, and TV, as well as her struggles in her personal life – with a career fading during the advent of rock-and-roll and her battles with addiction and depression. Audiences stand and cheer as they rejoice at her triumphant comeback and even more successful career as a jazz singer.
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Love Chaos Kin
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the one-night-only Northern Arizona premiere of “Love Chaos Kin” on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Meet the filmmaker! Director and producer Chithra Jeyaram will be in Sedona to host the film and do a live Q&A discussion after the screening.
An unexpected pregnancy prompts Lakshmi, a South Asian mother, to help her twin daughters reconnect with their struggling white birth mother and estranged Navajo father. Filmed over 12 years, the film follows her journey across raw class, racial, and cultural divides, documenting how white-presenting children of Navajo descent navigate being "not white enough, not brown enough, and not Indigenous enough."
“Love Chaos Kin” explores transracial adoption, youth identity formation, and cross-cultural family dynamics, diving directly into the unexamined intersections of race, class, and adoption in contemporary America.
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Met Live Opera: La Fanciulla del West
Set during the California Gold Rush, Minnie, the gun-slinging tavern owner with a heart of gold, finds love in the arms of a dashing outlaw. Celebrated British director Richard Jones brings a new production of Puccini’s exhilarating drama of the Wild West to the Met, which marks the company’s first new staging of “La Fanciulla del West” in more than 30 years. Soprano Vida Mikneviciute makes an important Met debut as Minnie, starring alongside tenor SeokJong Baek as Dick Johnson.
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Met Live Opera: Macbeth
Two of opera’s most extraordinary artists return to The Met: Live in HD for Verdi’s thrilling take on the immortal Shakespearean tale of the scheming couple determined to seize power at any cost. Baritone Quinn Kelsey is the Scottish king haunted by the ghosts of his murderous ascent to the throne, opposite soprano Lise Davidsen as the power-mad Lady Macbeth, whose ruinous ambition damns them both. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for a penetrating production by Louisa Proske. Rounding out the all-star cast are tenor Freddie De Tommaso as Macduff and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Banquo.
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Met Live Opera: Manon
A masterpiece of the French repertoire, Massenet’s passionate drama follows the young Manon on her journey from Parisian glamour to tragic downfall. Following her radiant performance in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” — which garnered raves for “high notes that spun like liquid gold … Sierra touched the operatic firmament” (The New York Times) — superstar soprano Nadine Sierra takes on another alluring French heroine, the irresistible title character of Massenet’s passionate drama, live from the Met stage to cinemas worldwide. Leading tenor Matthew Polenzani is her idealistic lover, the Chevalier des Grieux, with rising-star baritone Andrzej Filonczyk as her stalwart cousin, Lescaut, in a breathtaking staging by director Laurent Pelly.
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Met Live Opera: Otello
Verdi’s monumental Shakespearean tragedy follows a triumphant war hero driven to destruction by jealousy and his enemies’ hatred. One of today’s leading dramatic tenors, Brian Jagde, takes on the tour-de-force title role of what many consider the ultimate Italian opera, live to cinemas worldwide. Verdi’s “Otello” also features soprano Ailyn Pérez in her company role debut as the long-suffering Desdemona, alongside baritone Artur Rucinski as the sinister Iago. Michele Mariotti leads the full forces of the Met Orchestra and Chorus in the exhilarating score.
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Met Live Opera: Parsifal
Wagner’s epic final opera, set in a sacred realm of ritual and mystery. A profound philosophical meditation on compassion and reconciliation, this transcendent rendering of a medieval knight’s heroic quest for the Holy Grail returns to the big screen in François Girard’s celebrated production, a “thoughtful and intrepid staging, full of striking imagery” (The New York Times). Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a cast of Wagnerian superstars, including tenor Piotr Beczala in the title role, mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca as the enigmatic Kundry, baritone Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the sorcerer Klingsor, and bass Jongmin Park as the wise Gurnemanz.
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Met Live Opera: Samson et Dalila
Saint-Saëns’s spectacular take on the biblical hero of legendary strength and the seductive Philistine whose beauty overpowers him returns in the Met’s larger-than-life production. Featuring a massive orchestra and chorus and some of opera’s most spellbinding tunes, this masterpiece is a feast for the eyes and ears. Giacomo Sagripanti conducts an electrifying cast led by the formidable star pairing of mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina and tenor Clay Hilley, transmitted live to cinemas worldwide.
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Met Live Opera: Silent Night
Following his smash-hit company debut with “The Hours”, composer Kevin Puts returns to the Met with his Pulitzer Prize–winning opera, inspired by the true events of the 1914 Christmas truce, when soldiers spontaneously set aside the horrors of the First World War and crossed the trenches to mingle, exchange gifts, and sing carols with the enemy. A poignant depiction of shared humanity in the most inhumane circumstances, Puts’s grand, cinematic opera — with a libretto in English, French, and German by Mark Campbell — has been widely acclaimed since its 2011 premiere, hailed as “an overwhelming emotive experience” by The Guardian. The evocative staging by James Robinson takes the audience directly to the battlefields of the Western Front with a star-studded cast, featuring soprano Elza van den Heever and tenors Ben Bliss and Rolando Villazón, conducted by Maestro Dalia Stasevska live from the Met to cinemas worldwide.
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Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run
The Sedona International Film Festival is teaming up with writer and moto-photo journalist Koz Mraz for a special FREE EVENT “Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run” on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
“Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run” is based on a true story and part of the Koz Mraz Mystery Series.
In 2012 Koz Mraz wrote an investigative journalism feature called “Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run” based on his curiosity about the 8 million Americans who work the graveyard shift. His quest and discoveries became the catalyst for his best-selling action thriller book series.
Ride with him as this harrowing journey across the U.S. at night reveals the darker side of the mysterious graveyard shift. Where are the “Mispers” (missing persons)? According to the FBI, in 2024, there were 533,936 missing person cases filed in the United States. What is the trail of buried bones in the Corridor of Death?
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One Man Symphony by Fiddler on the Rock
Can a Single Violin Heal the Soul? Discover Tyler Carson’s "One Man Symphony" in Sedona on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival.
“One Man Symphony by Fiddler on the Rock” is a one-of-a-kind violin concert featuring symphony soloist and multi-genre looper violinist, Tyler Carson, Fiddler on the Rock.
The concert features Tyler as a ‘one man symphony’ of sound, thanks to the special effects and live recorded ‘looping' that he utilizes to build layers of violin as rhythm, percussion and interweaving melodies as “Living Music”. Along with his original music and often spontaneous live creations that flow from the energy of the audience and moment, you may hear songs like ‘All Along the Watchtower’ (Jimi Hendrix), ‘Hallelujah’ (Leonard Cohen), and amazing mashups of popular songs that you have to hear to believe! Every moment is original, inspirational heart centered music to sweep you away in musical wonder.
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Pierre Bensusan Concert
French-Algerian acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist and composer Pierre Bensusan has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe. And now, he is returning to Sedona on his “The Infinite Guitar” world tour Sunday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival.
French acoustic guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and composer Pierre Bensusan has taken his unique sound to all corners of the globe.
Winner of the Independent Music Award for his triple live album "Encore", voted Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine readers’ Poll, winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his debut album, Pierre is recognized as one of the greatest guitar players of the 21st century.
When Michael Hedges titles one of his compositions “Bensusan”, you know that the inspiration behind it must be special, and Pierre Bensusan certainly is. Guitarists from Leo Kottke to Larry Corryel, to Tuck Andress, Tommy Emmanuel, Mark Knopfler.
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Private Event
Theatre will be closed for a private event.
Sun, Oct 18 7:00 PM Tue, Oct 20 5:00 PM Fri, Nov 6 1:00 PM
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Psychic Standup Comedy Night with Karen Rontowski
Returning to Sedona by popular demand! The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present “Psychic Standup Comedy Night with Karen Rontowski” on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Psychic Standup is a show unlike any other. Karen Rontowski combines her 35 years as a standup comic with her 25 years of tarot reading and the results are predictably hilarious.
Karen has two DryBar Comedy Specials that currently have over 40 million views and has been seen on the Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central, Comics Unleashed, ComedyDotCom as well as Sirius XM Radio.
The show consists of 25-30 minutes of standup and then Karen pulls out the Tarot Cards and takes questions from the crowd. Her incredible improv skills keep the crowd entertained whether they are believers or not. There is something for the serious psychic patron as well as the serious skeptic.
Every show is unique and the future never looked so funny.
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Séance
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the one-day-only Northern Arizona premiere of “Séance” on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. There will be two shows at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.
Meet the filmmaker! Writer, director, producer and one of the stars of the film, Vivian Kerr, will be in Sedona to host the film and do a live Q&A discussion after both screenings.
Novelist Emma Strand is on vacation at the seaside in 1892 California with her second husband Albert when she encounters her first husband George and his mentally unstable new wife, Lillian.
Emma and Albert take refuge from a sudden storm at George and Lillian’s mansion. Over the course of the evening, Emma must confront her past, the temptation of adultery, and the disturbing possibility the house is haunted by George and Lillian’s recently drowned daughter Hazel.
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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 Wednesday, Oct. 28 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! Be Witched
Something magically funny is brewing in Sedona! Super Improv! returns for its 7th show at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7:00 p.m. with “Be Witched” — a high-energy evening of unscripted magic, hex-cellent comedy, musical improv, surprises, and plenty of audience participation.
These are joyful, magical good witches, and the only spell they’re planning to cast is one that gets the whole theater laughing!
The Super Improv! Game Show is BAAACK! Audience members will be invited on stage to perform with the troupe for a spook-tacular experience. No scripts. No memorized lines. Just pure sorcery. The performers don’t know what’s coming, the audience doesn’t know what’s coming — and that’s where the magic happens.
Expect spontaneous scenes, wild characters, musical improv skits with live piano, game-show competition, and unexpected surprises, all created in the moment.
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Take Me Home
Anna (Anna Sargent), a middle-aged Korean adoptee with a cognitive disability, cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting one another’s needs. Alongside her sister Emily (Ali Ahn) and her father (Victor Slezak), they must confront challenging questions about the future. She remains determined to build a life where all of them can thrive.
Liz Sargent’s intimate debut drama examines the shifting demands placed on a unique — and uniquely challenged — family in a Florida suburb. Expanded from Sargent’s acclaimed short film (2023 Sundance Film Festival), “Take Me Home” exposes the indignities of the American health care system and the structural challenges faced by disabled people. The film also gently and imaginatively traces a path for Anna’s independence and connection to a community of chosen family.
By turns quietly devastating and bracingly optimistic, “Take Me Home” confronts us with an impossible situation, while holding out hope for Anna’s future.
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The Art of Magic
Believe it ... or Not! At “The Art of Magic” you’ll be amazed, puzzled and dazzled at the slight-of-hand and pure magic that two of America’s most popular magicians will perform on stage at the Mary D. Fisher Theater on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Jeff Peterson has buoyed cruise passengers more than 4,000 times around the globe. His clean, humorous and clever mentalism will have you questioning “How’d he do that?!”, “How did he know my parent’s name?” and “Where did the water in the glass disappear to?”
Jeff uses a lot of audience participation — getting even the most hard-to-please people involved and loving the show.
James Knight regularly performs at the famed Magic Castle in Hollywood as a headliner several times a year. In 2022, he performed a whopping 300 shows there! Guests are amazed by his feats and often book him for their private events after seeing his work at the Castle.
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The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over in Surround Sound
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with award-winning surround sound composer and producer Koz Mraz for The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over in Surround Sound on Thursday, Nov. 12 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.
After a 14-year hiatus, the Eagles performed live for the first time in April 1994 at Warner Brothers film studio in Burbank. Recorded and mixed in 5.1 Surround by engineer extraordinaire Elliot Shiner. When disbanded, Don Henley was asked if the Eagles would reunite, he replied when Hell freezes over. This 5.1 DTS release inspired the Eagles to reunite and tour again.
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The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony
“The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony” is an intimate coming-of-age documentary by three-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Habiba Nosheen that follows three teenage girls in Pakistan, offering a rare and tender portrait of girlhood, joy, and play told through the eyes of young Pakistani girls navigating the margins of society — one somersault at a time.
At its core, “The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony” is a story of hope and quiet defiance. Through the intimate journeys of three teenagers we witness as their passion for gymnastics begins to clash with deeply rooted expectations around what girls can and cannot do. The film follows their journey as they find themselves straddling two polar opposite worlds as they push to make space for themselves through gymnastics.
The result is a lyrical and deeply human portrait of three young girls from a corner of the world we rarely see on screen — a place where girls and sport rarely mix. These are girls who dare to dream.
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The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on how to write a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.
Following the finale of his TV series, filmmaker John Wilson looks to the bedrock of his beloved New York City for inspiration and structure. Concrete, the world's most widely used building material, appears as an ever-present life force, and John sets out to make the definitive documentary on the matter.
To tell this seemingly drab story, he decides to use the industry-approved Hallmark formula to increase his movie's appeal. But his foundation soon begins to crumble — literally and figuratively — as he struggles to balance artistic freedom with the realities of the modern film industry.
“John Wilson is back with a movie, thank God.” — New York Magazine
“An absurd triumph. Laugh-out-loud funny, compelling and surprising.” — The Guardian
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The Last Dive
Share an inspirational week of healing and friendship at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre for a week-long run of “The Last Dive” — an award-winning documentary from Emmy Award-winning director Cody Sheehy and winner of Best Cinematography at the Tribeca Film Festival, that has drawn sold-out crowds nationwide.
The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “The Last Dive” showing Oct. 9-15. The film premiered to rave reviews at the recent Sedona International Film Festival.
Producer Christopher Gebhardt will be in Sedona for opening night — Friday, Oct. 9 — to host the film and post screening Q&A.
Terry Kennedy is a legendary figure in Baja Mexico, an American veteran who has spent decades living on (and in) the water. Once a man burdened by a troubled past, Terry’s life was transformed by an unlikely friendship with Willy, a 22-foot oceanic manta ray.
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The Scout
Sofia works as a location scout for a TV pilot filming in New York City. It’s her job to find the homes, businesses, and exteriors where the show will be filmed. Driving around the city's different neighborhoods, she enters the private spaces of strangers to photograph their cozy apartments and eclectic shops, stepping into the fabric of their lives while trying to satisfy the demands of her erratic employers.
Over a day filled with these encounters, Sofia witnesses moments of curiosity, vulnerability, and quiet tension until her work takes a sudden, personal turn.
Drawing from her own experience as a location scout, writer-director Paula González-Nasser captures the poetry and costs of being a young creative. Her celebrated directorial debut “The Scout” crafts a contemplative exploration of urban disconnection, following one woman's journey through other people's worlds as she struggles to find her own.
“A masterpiece … an immediate all-time great film on filmmaking.” — In Review
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The Storytellers Concert
The Storytellers return to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre for two days of rootsy, bluegrassy musical storytelling on Saturday and Sunday, January 9 and 10, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival.
Sedona knows this band. Their headlining concert at the Posse Grounds Pavilion drew raves, they followed it with two shows at the Mary D. Fisher Theater, and a packed 750 seats of the Sedona Performing Arts Center to close out our festival's 31st year.
Beyond Sedona, they've played the Huck Finn Jubilee, Calico Bluegrass Festival, Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival, and Desert Bluegrass Festival. They headlined the Prescott Bluegrass Festival and shared a stage with bluegrass legend Peter Rowan at Brookdale. A year-long residency at Treasure Island Casino & Resort in Las Vegas ran 25 shows, and they recently performed for thousands at Dodger Stadium.
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The Trial of Alec Baldwin
In the wake of a fatal on-set shooting, actor Alec Baldwin faces trial for involuntary manslaughter. But as headlines feed on his fame and reputation, a question looms: is Baldwin being judged by the law — or by the court of public opinion?
On October 21, 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is killed on a movie set by a prop gun held by the actor Alec Baldwin. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, virtually no one doubts that it was an accident and a deeply traumatizing experience for everyone involved.
After the shock subsides, questions of responsibility, guilt, blame, punishment and justice begin circulating in the media. Talented and adored, yet also flawed, politically outspoken, and prone to explosions of anger, the NYC-based Hollywood star becomes a lightning rod for online haters and a target for pushy paparazzi.
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The Work in Progress
If you were invited to sit at a table with someone you’ve never met before and answer handwritten questions from a wooden box about the state of America, would you run the other way? “The Work in Progress” invites strangers from across generations and geographies to engage in candid discussions about America’s ever-evolving democracy, identity, and definitions of community — and where the heck we go from here.
Guided by questions posed by Executive Producer Robert Reich, participants sit down in a series of conversations with one another to explore the country they’re living in now and the one they still believe is possible.
These encounters are intercut with portraits of Americans at work — in woodshops, laboratories, fields, board rooms, recording studios, theaters, and beyond. The message is simple but profound: America can work because, in many ways, it’s already working.
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Trailblazers
In 1982, brothers Troy and Gil Gillenwater decided to walk across the state of Arizona. Without GPS, mobile phones, or continuous trails, they cobbled together an 810-mile adventure that took over two months and two mules to complete. Little did they know, their trek would be an inspiration for the Arizona National Scenic Trail, now hiked by thousands each year.
That remarkable origin story comes to life in “Trailblazers” — a 40-minute documentary produced by the Emmy Award-winning team at Quantum Leap Productions.
The film premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre presented by the Sedona International Film Festival. The evening benefits the Arizona Trail Association Endowment, supporting the long-term protection, stewardship, and future of the Arizona Trail.
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Winter of the Crow
Inspired by the short story by Booker Prize and Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk, the latest film from director Kasia Adamik — “Winter of the Crow” — is a thrilling cat-and-mouse game set at the onset of Poland’s Martial Law era in 1981, starring Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville who plays an ordinary woman caught in an extraordinary situation.
Warsaw, Poland – December 13, 1981 – Martial law is imposed and overnight shuts down the country just as British psychiatry professor Dr Joan Andrews (Manville) arrives as a guest lecturer at the University. Taxis have been replaced by tanks; citizens are treated like criminals. But as chaos engulfs the city, armed with her polaroid camera, she witnesses a brutal murder by the secret police. In mortal danger and trapped as Poland is closed down, Joan becomes a hunted fugitive running for her life.
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Without Blood
Directed and produced by Angelina Jolie, with a screenplay by Jolie and Alessandro Baricco, “Without Blood” is based on Baricco’s internationally acclaimed eponymous novel.
Starring Salma Hayek Pinault and Demián Bichir with Juan Minujín, the film is an unforgettable saga set in the aftermath of an unnamed conflict exploring universal truths about war, trauma, memory and healing.
“Captivates from beginning to end.” — Next Best Picture
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You Had to Be There
“You Had to Be There” premiered to rave reviews at the recent Sedona International Film Festival. It is now making its national theatrical debut.
On June 1, 1972, a humble production of a hit musical retelling of the Book of Matthew officially opened its run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in downtown Toronto. As for what happened next, that may be most accurately expressed by the subtitle for Nick Davis’ celebratory documentary, "You Had to Be There: How the Toronto ‘Godspell’ Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way)".
And that’s no empty boast about a bunch of singing hippies. Based solely on the bright futures of so many of the talents who formed the cast during the 14-month run — Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and Jayne Eastwood plus musical director Paul Shaffer — "Godspell’s" impact and influence cannot be overstated.
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Younmee Shin: Sweet Memories Concert
Enjoy a celebration of the songs and stories that have traveled through generations when international musician and singer Younmee Shin performs her Sweet Memories Concert on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival.
Younmee Shin has devoted more than four decades to a life in music. She began playing piano at the age of five and studied Composition at Sunhwa Arts High School and Ewha Womans University.
Her professional career began in Korea, where she received the Gold Prize at the MBC College Song Festival and established herself as a singer-songwriter, chorus vocalist, arranger, and music director. She participated in more than 300 recordings and became widely recognized for her connection to the beloved Korean pop classics “Cocktail Love” and “Dongsoong-ro.” She also worked as a music director for MBC television.
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