COSTUME DESIGN FILMS
What do costumes have to do with a film festival you might ask? Only EVERYTHING!

The inaugural Costume Sidebar offers rare insight into the role of costume designers and of the costumes themselves. The audience will gain a deeper understanding of the influence and power that costume designers and their costumes make on film. Costume designers practice a misunderstood craft, especially in modern films, when the best costume may be the one that is the most subtle and unglamorous on screen. Their role in storytelling and the creation of characters to support the narrative is often forgotten. Their core objective includes storytelling, which reflects the complexity of the human spirit through truthful dramatic
characterizations.

Honored Guest: Michael Wilkinson
Michael Wilkinson is a graduate of the National Institute of the Dramatic Arts in Sydney, Australia. He has worked in film designing costumes for BABEL, PARTY MONSTER, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, and GARDEN STATE. He was also design assistant on THE MATRIX and MOULIN ROUGE. In theater, he has worked for the Sydney Theater Company, Opera Australia, The Australian Dance Theater, Radio City Music Hall, and the Ensemble Theater.

Honored Guest: Dr. Deborah Landis
Deborah Nadoolman Landis was awarded the first grant for Costume Design from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her versatility was an asset for director John Landis for his comedy classics Animal House [1978] and The Blues Brothers [1980]. Her work with Steven Spielberg includes her designs for the iconic costume for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark [1981] (on display at the Smithsonian Museum), Louis Malle on Crackers [1984], and Costa Gavras on Mad City [1997]. Deborah Landis has written the first doctoral dissertation in the field of film costume design, SCENE AND NOT HEARD: The Role of Costume in the Cinematic Storytelling Process, and graduated with a PhD in the History of Design from the Royal College of Art, London. In February 2007, Landis’ new book Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design will be published by Regan Books/Harper Collins. She is currently preparing her next volume Deconstructing Glamour: Costume Design in Hollywood 1970 – 2006, University of California Press, coming out in 2008.

FAMILYFEST and KIDFEST 8 & Up
A family-friendly collection of films

We hand-picked animated films from around the world as a treat for the entire family. On Saturday and Sunday during the Festival we are opening the doors of imagination with shorts and a feature film. All the films are culturally diverse, and will expose the audience to global cultures, and all but one of the films are in English (or silent). And hey grandparents, we know that you're looking for something to do with the kids and this is the ticket!

JEWISH & ISRAELI FILMS

This selection of films is made possible by the Greater Phoenix Jewish News and the Phoenix Jewish Film Festival. Film themes cover a great deal of territory and embrace a range of situations from challenges to fulfillment.

NORTH OF THE BORDER

For five years the Toronto International Film Festival and its sister organization Film Circuit have contributed Canadian-made films to our Festival. This year our neighbors up north have introduced us to an eclectic group of films from the mythical to the spiritual. We are grateful to them for arranging dozens of films for us over the years as well as our U.S. opening night premier of their 2006 opening night film.