THE WARM SEASON Selected as Opening Night Film at the 31st Arizona International Film Festival

Award-winning Independent Science Fiction Feature Film screens on April 19 and April 23, 2023 at the oldest film celebration in Arizona.

TUCSON, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES, April 4, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The award-winning independent sci-fi feature film The Warm Season has been selected as the opening night film for the 31st Arizona International Film Festival, which runs from April 19 through April 30 throughout Tucson. Producers Julie Crosby and David Youse made the announcement. Written by Adam Seidel and directed by Janet Grillo, the story reveals how a woman's purpose is redefined when the extraterrestrial she encountered as a child returns to reclaim what was left behind.

“The cast and crew were very excited to learn about being accepted into the Arizona International Film Festival, which prides itself on staying true to its mission of showcasing independent films and selecting innovative films from around the world,” said Crosby, founding partner of Cromono International. “The icing on the cake was when they informed us that we were the opening night film.”

The Arizona International Film Festival screenings of The Warm Season will be on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30pm at the Mercado Annex and on Sunday, April 23, 6:00pm at The Screening Room with members of the cast and crew in attendance.

Admission is $10; for information visit http://www.filmfestivalarizona.com/.

The principal cast of the 98-minute feature, filmed on location in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and in Los Angeles, California, is Carie Kawa (Clive Sanada), Michael Esparza (Mann), Daniel Dorr (Mitch Smith), Cynthia Mace (Carlene Sanada), and Gregory Jbara (Sam Ringo). The female-driven production team includes Director Grillo, Director of Photography Sarah Brandes, Production Designer Tiffany Del Guidice, Set Decorator Katie Renault, Costume Designer Susie Ouderkirk, Executive Producer Kit Seidel, Composer Lillian Rebecca Mcdonough, Editor and Co-Producer Soojin Chung.

The Warm Season won the “Festival Director’s Award” at the 2023 Boston SciFi Film Festival and the “Best Cinematography Award” at the 2023 Santa Fe Film Festival. The film also received the ReFrame Stamp for Gender Balanced Production, awarded to features that hire women or individuals of other underrepresented gender identities/expressions in four out of eight key roles, including writer, director, producer, lead, co-leads, and department heads.

The Warm Season begins in 1967 with 12-year-old Clive playing in the New Mexican desert behind her family's remote motel, taking photos with her trusty Polaroid, when what appears to be a Mexican ranch hand mysteriously appears before her. But there is something odd about his behavior. His name is Mann, he's from another planet that is dying, and he's searching for a new place for his kind to live. As dark sedans swoop to capture him, Mann hands Clive a glowing orb, asks her to hide it, and promises he'll be back. Now it's 25 years later, and Clive's still waiting, struggling to keep the flailing motel afloat and her aging mother, Carlene, alive. Her husband, Mitch, urges Clive to sell the motel, restart their life and revive their love. But Clive holds onto the secret and the stone, too stuck in the past to pull herself into their future. And then Mann returns.

Award-winning screenwriter Seidel added: “I came up with the idea for The Warm Season because I have always been intrigued by the desert and enigmatic things like extraterrestrials. It’s many stories in one. It is not just a sci-fi film.”

Visit thewarmseason.com to watch the official worldwide trailer and behind-the-scenes video. “CCAP” for Closed Caption will be included. Follow on Instagram: @TheWarmSeasonFilm; YouTube: @TheWarmSeason; and IMDb.

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Trailer for award-winning independent science fiction feature film THE WARM SEASON