On March 19, Phoenix Film Festival CEO Jason Carney spoke with Downtown Devil Reporter Angel Garcia to discuss the 2026 lineup.
This is a transcription of a video interview – watch in full by clicking here.
Carney first shared some insight on how the Phoenix Film Festival works for newcomers who are eager to learn more about it.
“Yout get to hear the stories about how it’s made, and the filmmakers are usually so welcoming and accessible and happy to talk about their films even outside after the screening,” Carney said. “It’s underrated that the human experience of the festival and how people get together… it’s just nice to have that opportunity for people who love the same thing to get together.”
Even when films feature A-List actors and producers, it still continues to provide a sense of belonging and homeliness.
“They’re making it because they love them… They’re making them with a lot of heart and with passion,” Carney said. “People are passionate about what they’re making and when you do that it shows on screen… Even when you get like Pedro Pascal in your movie… he’s not making a million dollars in this movie, but it was a really cool film… and it just took off.”
Answering the following question, Carney answered with what he believes makes the Phoenix Film Festival unique and successful.
“It’s the fact that it’s all in one location. You know, a lot of festivals you go to… they’re in different theaters,” Carney said. “We do everything on sight, so that means you’re going to run into the same people over and over… It’s just great because you have that connection between filmmakers and filmgoers.”
Answering another question, Carney responded to his plans on continuing to grow the festival’s audience and influence within the film industry.
“I think it’s about continually programming new and different films… if you do the same thing over and over, you become stagnant,” Carney said. “You have to try new things because it’s just like any other thing creatively, you want to do new things.”
Carney emphasized that bringing in fresh, new ideas as well as staying true to yourself will make things exciting. This is evident through different events that have taken place at the festival like “Caturday,” a Saturday dedicated to showcasing films about cats.
With that in mind, Carney was asked about his perspective on cats.
“I’m not against them, but I got two dogs… My wife is allergic to cats, so that’s my built-in excuse,” Carney joked. “I’m not one of those people that’s a hater, I’m good with them, we’re cool.”
After laughing about cats, streaming service platforms like Tubi were brought up while talking about previous festival film successes.
“We love to see the films like [that] go onto that next level, whether they’re streaming, or you know available on demand or they maybe play [in] a few theaters… that’s great, you know, they’re part of our family.”
Carney then answered what the biggest challenges he thought the Phoenix Film Festival faced and what plans were to be put in place to overcome them.
“It’s just like any other nonprofit. It always comes down to funding, you always want to do more than you have funding for,” Carney said. “It’s an ongoing challenge and it’s never going to be easy, but you know, we’ll get creative. We’ll figure things out and we’ll make it happen.”
Carney touched on how previously the festival received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. However, in recent times, the current federal government regime has decided to cut ties with their organization.
“We won’t give up our support of, you know, community spotlight films from Latinx, Native American, African-American, AAPI, and LGBTQ filmmakers,” Carney said. “They’re part of what we do, and we’re not going to just abandon our principles… because somebody thinks it’s not a good thing to be diverse.”
The Phoenix Film Festival stands behind diversity and inclusion of other cultures. With the assistance from fundraisers and donations within the community, Carney and his team can deliver the best event for audiences.
Moving forward, Carney was asked how he sees the Phoenix Film Festival leveraging its location to attract filmmakers and audiences from around the world.
“Even if you just like movies, you want to be here, because there’s something for you. There’s something for everybody,” Carney said. “Not every film is for everybody but we have something for everybody… that’s part of what we do.”
With their motto, “Find your new favorite movie,” the festival ensures that all audiences will find a new film that’ll stick with them long after the credits roll.
“It’s like seeing something new and something you wouldn’t have expected,” Carney said. “Getting that feeling is really cool.”
Speaking of finding refreshed movies, Carney demonstrated the importance of watching international and foreign films.
“So, I have to read dialogue. Big deal,” Carney said. “Generally, you want to be engrossed and learn about a story, that’s great whether it’s subtitled or not, who cares? As long as it’s telling a great story.”
Carney led into talking about his favorite film, “Almost Famous,” a 2000 coming-of-age film about a teenage music journalist who gets an assignment to write a Rolling Stone article on a band named Stillwater.
“I love movies about music,” Carney said. “Movie about a fake band is my sweet spot… That’s another thing about movies, is you remember a lot of times you remember when you saw it, who saw it with, where you saw it, and so there’s so many memories tied to movies which is really sweet.”
Finally, Carney was asked what his favorite part of the film festival was.
“It’s that energy of filmmakers and getting to meet them and helping to bring audiences to them,” Carney said. “It’s always great to watch, especially early on when they’re early in the festival survey when they’re anxious to see how the audiences react to their film.”
Wrapping up the interview, Carney wanted to leave the interviewer with his final thoughts.
“I think it’s just all about giving films a chance. You know, it might not be somebody famous in this movie or film you might’ve thought you would go see,” Carney said. “Try it. You’ll surprise yourself… Just trust the art of film to entertain you and you’ll be happy one way or another.”
The 2026 Phoenix Film Festival runs from April 9th to the 19th, located at Harkins Scottsdale 101.
For more information, check out phoenixfilmfestival.com
Edited by Shi Bradley
