Sedona International Film Festival coming to Arizona's magical 'red rock country'
Steve Hammons
February 22, 2007
Visitors from around the country and the world will soon be streaming into Arizona's beautiful and mysterious "Red Rock country" for the Sedona International Film Festival and Workshop.
The festival begins Feb. 28 and runs through March 4. About 6,000 people are expected to attend.
The internationally-respected event will include more than 125 independent films this year.
Feature films, documentaries shorts, animation, foreign films and student films are included.
The festival workshop was founded by Frank Warner, an Academy Award winner himself. The workshop provides opportunities for filmmakers to meet professionals in the field.
This year, professionals from major motion picture and independent studios will tackle the topic "Distribution and Marketing" in workshop activities.
RED ROCK MAGIC
And what better place to study and contemplate human creativity in filmmaking than among the towering red rocks and the special energy that people discover in Sedona.
Sedona has a long and rich history associated with films. Several well-known movies have been filmed there. People associated with many aspects of the movie business have had homes or retired there.
In addition, Sedona is known around the world as place of almost mystical beauty. This beauty of the land and claims of a strange and magical feeling around Sedona draw thousands of visitors from all over the planet every year.
Located at an altitude of 4,500 feet on Arizona's Colorado Plateau, Sedona is between the Sonoran Desert below and the pine-forested mountains above – about 125 miles north of Phoenix (elevation 1,100 feet) and about 30 miles south of Flagstaff (at 8,000 feet).
Some people think Sedona is also "between worlds" in other interesting ways.
Some say that magical feelings here may come from spiritual, planetary, geological, magnetic or other factors that create "vortexes" of energy, or even portals to experience higher and deeper states of consciousness and spiritual insight.
Some visitors seek out the vortex sites and try to feel unusual energy and altered consciousness within.
And what is the source of Sedona's magical energy? Some people claim it is because the red sandstone is rich in quartz and iron. Quartz crystal has unique qualities sometimes used in electronics. Iron may affect magnetic aspects of the environment in the Sedona area.
Or maybe Sedona a type of cosmic crossroads where physics and Nature change just a bit, and the physical and spiritual dimensions interact in different ways there.
Native Americans of the region in ancient times and today reportedly consider Sedona a very special place where the profound beauty, peace and mystery are to be treasured and respected.
Film festival visitors will find lots of inspiration among the red rocks and plenty to do apart from the festival activities.
Remote and hidden canyons of the Sedona area provide great opportunities for hiking and exploration of all kinds. Adventurous jeep tours are also available.
Many galleries are located throughout Sedona and are filled with art of the Southwest.
The Sedona International Film Festival provides another great reason to visit this wonderful spot.
The creativity of humans in the form of filmmaking and the creative beauty and mystery of the red rock country are more than enough motivation to head toward Sedona.
Will the mysterious natural energies around Sedona affect the imaginations of filmmakers and festival visitors?
I wouldn't be surprised. Would you?
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.
The festival begins Feb. 28 and runs through March 4. About 6,000 people are expected to attend.
The internationally-respected event will include more than 125 independent films this year.
Feature films, documentaries shorts, animation, foreign films and student films are included.
The festival workshop was founded by Frank Warner, an Academy Award winner himself. The workshop provides opportunities for filmmakers to meet professionals in the field.
This year, professionals from major motion picture and independent studios will tackle the topic "Distribution and Marketing" in workshop activities.
RED ROCK MAGIC
And what better place to study and contemplate human creativity in filmmaking than among the towering red rocks and the special energy that people discover in Sedona.
Sedona has a long and rich history associated with films. Several well-known movies have been filmed there. People associated with many aspects of the movie business have had homes or retired there.
In addition, Sedona is known around the world as place of almost mystical beauty. This beauty of the land and claims of a strange and magical feeling around Sedona draw thousands of visitors from all over the planet every year.
Located at an altitude of 4,500 feet on Arizona's Colorado Plateau, Sedona is between the Sonoran Desert below and the pine-forested mountains above – about 125 miles north of Phoenix (elevation 1,100 feet) and about 30 miles south of Flagstaff (at 8,000 feet).
Some people think Sedona is also "between worlds" in other interesting ways.
Some say that magical feelings here may come from spiritual, planetary, geological, magnetic or other factors that create "vortexes" of energy, or even portals to experience higher and deeper states of consciousness and spiritual insight.
Some visitors seek out the vortex sites and try to feel unusual energy and altered consciousness within.
And what is the source of Sedona's magical energy? Some people claim it is because the red sandstone is rich in quartz and iron. Quartz crystal has unique qualities sometimes used in electronics. Iron may affect magnetic aspects of the environment in the Sedona area.
Or maybe Sedona a type of cosmic crossroads where physics and Nature change just a bit, and the physical and spiritual dimensions interact in different ways there.
Native Americans of the region in ancient times and today reportedly consider Sedona a very special place where the profound beauty, peace and mystery are to be treasured and respected.
Film festival visitors will find lots of inspiration among the red rocks and plenty to do apart from the festival activities.
Remote and hidden canyons of the Sedona area provide great opportunities for hiking and exploration of all kinds. Adventurous jeep tours are also available.
Many galleries are located throughout Sedona and are filled with art of the Southwest.
The Sedona International Film Festival provides another great reason to visit this wonderful spot.
The creativity of humans in the form of filmmaking and the creative beauty and mystery of the red rock country are more than enough motivation to head toward Sedona.
Will the mysterious natural energies around Sedona affect the imaginations of filmmakers and festival visitors?
I wouldn't be surprised. Would you?
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.