THE CHANDLER ARIZONAN | WWW.CHANDLERNEWS.COM | JANUARY 9, 2022
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Chandler Film Festival ready to roll downtown ing to downtown with showings at the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas. With fewer restrictions and most Americans vaccinated, Patel expects an even better festival. “It’s a whole one year of work, and we worked so much this year. We thought it was going to be full-on again,” Patel said. He said that was why they decided to expand the festival from four to six days. What they didn’t know was that the Omicron variant would have the number of COVID-19 cases soaring to record highs just before the festival begins. “Definitely, it’s challenging, but I’m a
BY KEN SAIN GetOut Staff
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unning a film festival during a pandemic is a challenge. It was more so last year, when most Americans had not been vaccinated. The president and director of the Chandler International Film Festival says they still managed to hold a great event in 2020. “Luckily, nobody got sick,” Mitesh Patel said. “And it was a really good event.” This year, the festival returns for the sixth time and it won’t have the restrictions it faced a year ago, which included a 33 percent maximum occupancy in theaters and 50 percent at the afterparties. The festival, Jan. 18-23, is also return-
A random conversation leads them to create a team called “Crasher.” Together, they show up at skate parks and events where their skateboard tricks attract a growing flock of admirers. (Special to GetOut)
filmmaker and I accept challenges.” Patel said he plans to offer rapid COVID-19 testing at the theater. And like last year, if patrons are uncomfortable coming to the theater, they can buy a digital pass to stream movies at their homes. About 115 films were selected for this year’s festival. The opening night film is “American Cherry.” It won two jury prizes at the Cannes Film Festival for firsttime filmmaker and producer. It was also named the best film of the Berlin Movie Awards. The story is about a teen-age girl who must deal with family issues, including mental illness and drug abuse. She does that while falling in love the mysterious boy next door. The movie is described as a psychological romance-thriller. It was
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Lovin’ Life Expo features The Duttons' energy BY ALLISON BROWN GetOut Staff
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nown for their upbeat, familyfriendly shows, The Duttons weren’t always performers. In fact, matriarch Sheila Dutton admits she never really saw the value in performing until she had the chance to do it with her kids. “As a matter of fact, if you were to pick someone, the most unlikely thing that I would be doing would be performing out on a stage with my family, but the kids really wanted to do it together as a family,” she says. “We never made a conscious decision to be performers or entertainers. It was just one thing kind of led to another.” The Duttons will show off their performance chops as the musical entertainment at the Lovin’ Life Expos on Jan. 24, at the Sundial Recreation Center in Sun City and Jan. 26 at the Mesa Convention
Ben and Sheila Dutton will be bringing their upbeat music to the Lovin’ Life Expos this month in Sun City and Mesa. (Special to GetOut) Center. The family has been hitting stages full
time since 1991 and has since become a force. They landed among the top 10
finalists on “America’s Got Talent,” voted America’s most musical family by Nickelodeon, won several awards for performance and entertained thousands at their theaters, including one in Mesa. The Duttons first brought their show to sunny Arizona in the winter of 2005 and have since made it their winter home. In 2010, the Duttons partnered with East Valley High School in Mesa to renovate and update their auditorium. Shows that blend bluegrass and country kick off on Jan. 14, and continue every weekend through March 31. What began as just mom, dad and their four children has grown to include their in-laws and grandchildren. Dutton says the family ties run deep. Everyone is closely involved in all aspects of the business. She says working, performing and
see DUTTONS page 37
