Started in 2001, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.
The Festival is run under the umbrella of the 501(c)3 non-profit Phoenix Film Foundation.
[2] In 2024, the festival hosted 290 screenings,[3] parties, and workshops over eleven days and has hosted notable members of the film industry such as Kevin Bacon, Bo Burnham, Demetri Martin, Kyra Sedgwick, Laurence Fishburne, Edward James Olmos and Danny Trejo.
The festival showed Arizona premieres of Coda,[2] Chevalier, Renfield, Eighth Grade, Boyhood, Won't You Be My Neighbor, and many more.
The organization was founded in 2000 with the idea of starting a festival for filmmakers in Arizona, by two independent filmmakers, including Chris LaMont.