Valley Lenses: A Phoenix Video Production Round-Up

Phoenix video production pros have an unexpectedly open runway over the next two weeks, with festival lights flickering across the metro and county paperwork inching a massive studio campus toward reality. Below is what to watch, where to network, and how to seize the permit gap.

Japanese Film Festival Arizona lands in Mesa

The metro’s big ticket is the Japanese Film Festival Arizona, running Sept 12-13 at ASU’s MIX Center. The two-day program screens new titles such as Godzilla Minus One alongside shorts like Love Song from Hiroshima, plus live taiko and dance showcases.

Production impact

• Rare 4K DCI projection lets DPs test LUTs in a calibrated room.
  
• Mesa’s Creative Campus rebate (up to 10 % on local spend) is promoted during industry mixers.
  
• Student volunteers—120 last year—feed PA pipelines for upcoming commercials.

PVCC’s free art-house night

North Phoenix joins the party when Paradise Valley Community College screens Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters on Sept 17 as part of its International Film Festival series. Admission is free, and Q&A slots are pre-reserved for production-tracking students.

Key perks:

• 400-seat theater with DCP playback is rentable for $200/hour—handy for rough-cut tests.
  
• Faculty grant writers are courting short-film collaborations; meet them in the lobby.

Arizona Underground goes south—but matters here

Yes, Arizona Underground Film Festival unfolds in Tucson Sept 17-21, yet Valley crews trek down I-10 for horror and grind-house premieres that often need Phoenix pickup days. The fest’s “Best in State” block historically spawns micro-budget reshoots on Roosevelt Row within a month.

Studio momentum: Desert Studios edges forward

A Maricopa County Planning & Zoning agenda item dated Sept 18 lists a land-use amendment enabling the Desert Studios complex: 12 soundstages, 145K sq ft of post, and an LED-volume stage. Investors tout 3,000 jobs and a Phase I open by late 2027.

Drone deadlines and aerial caution

The AZDroneFest aerial-cinema festival—held at GCU next March—closes film submissions Sept 15. Winning shorts historically screen before NBA halftime shows on Suns Vision boards, so Valley drone ops are scrambling to finish edits. The Droning CompanyFilmFreeway
Separately, the Arizona State Fair mounts 12-minute drone light shows Sept 19-21, prompting temporary airspace advisories around 19th Ave/McDowell. Check NOTAMs if you plan skyline shoots. azstatefair.com

Permit pulse: an open canvas

As of the morning of Sept 10, the City Film Office’s Apply4 dashboard lists zero street-closure permits through Sept 24—a rarity during event season. The office reminds producers that parks and sidewalks still need insurance and a free notification letter.

The takeaway

With festival marquees lighting every corner of the Valley, a blank-slate permit calendar, and a billion-dollar studio inching forward, this mid-September stretch offers Phoenix video production crews a mix of creative inspiration and logistical breathing room. Grab your cameras—before the schedule fills and the streets close again.