Fashion film festival FashFilmFete is returning to the Phoenix Art Museum to celebrate and showcase fashion storytelling through films and presentations. The all-day festival on Saturday, September 23 will highlight the impact of fashion in movies and television, where fashion films will be screened and considered for awards.
The festival will also honor two icons in the costume design field with the Costume Design Career Achievement Award: Ruth E. Carter and Patricia Field, who will be awarded for their careers in film and television, respectively.
Carter has worked in the industry for over 40 years, designing costumes for film, theater and TV. In 2018, she was the first Black person to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on the movie Black Panther. In 2023, Carter received her second Oscar for the Black Panther sequel, becoming the first Black woman to win two Oscars. Throughout her prolific career, she has worked on over 40 films and is recognized as an icon in the costuming industry. Carter has largely impacted diversity and representation in the film industry through her costuming.
“Over my career, every historical film or biopic I costume designed set the stage to introduce Afrofuturism in the Black Panther films. With this career achievement award, I’m proud that Afrofuturism continues to be celebrated,” says Carter.
Field will be honored with the The Costume Design Career Achievement Award in Television for her iconic styles in TV shows over the past 30 years. She pushed the boundaries of fashion in shows like Sex and The City and films like The Devil Wears Prada. Field creates costumes to capture the personality of characters and shape narratives.
“It feels good to be honored for the role my work has played in engaging viewers and helping shape a narrative that showcases a woman’s individuality through the lens of fashion,” says Field. “My theory is that fashion is an art form that depicts the story and the mood of the time. I’m grateful to have been a contributor to the art form, and I thank FashFilmFete for this recognition.”
The festival will also screen Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field, followed by a Q&A with director Michael Selditch. Other films that will be shown at the festivalinclude:
- American Made, directed by Dana Nies
- CityCenterDC —“Celebrating You”, directed by Dean Alexander
- Finissage, directed by Pabli Stein and Sebastian Muro
- Franciacorta — A Golden Feeling, directed by Enea Colombi
- House Of Mystic Magic, directed by Alexander Miguel
- How to Deal With Fame, directed by Tiffany Ike
- The Missing Piece, directed by Hitaali Dharamshi
- The Power is Yours, directed by Urivaldo Lopes
- Time is Eternal, directed by Daniel M Lir and Bayou Bennett
Winning films from the 2022 FashFilmFete will also be shown in an encore presentation after the premiere films.
The festival is on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets cost between $20–$75 and are available for purchase now at phxart.com.
