About the Prescott Film Festival

Mission Statement

To provide the community with cultural events that entertain, inspire, and inform while supporting independent and critically acclaimed films and filmmakers from around the world.

Festival Team

Helen Stephenson

Founder / Executive Director

Helen is a writer/producer who has been in the film and video business for over 20 years. She is an Arizona native and received her Bachelor's degree from Cal State Long Beach in Radio/TV/Film and her Masters from ASU in American Media and Popular Culture. She began her professional career in the news department at KTTV in Los Angeles later establishing her own production company producing commercials, training videos, documentaries and feature length films. Her writing and production skills have been contracted by many well know companies such as JCPenney, Scaled Composites, Kaiser Permanente and Golden State Foods. She is the Director of the Film & Media Arts Program at Yavapai College. In 2018 she won an Emmy for her educational video, Campus Safety During an Alien Invasion.

Don Stephenson

Founder / Administrative Services

Don Stephenson is a software engineer specializing in enterprise application development. He is the creator of the Film Fusion festival resource management system used by the Prescott Film Festival. Don is a founder of the Prescott Film Festival where he serves on the advisory board and as the festival administrator.

Ellen Harp

Executive Assistant to the Director / Advisory Board Member

Ellen Harp has always loved the movies starting with the Disney films shown at the drive-ins in Battle Creek, MI. As a teen her family moved to Yuma, AZ. In the heat of the summer Ellen was watching the old black and white 1930's and 1940's movies till the wee hours of the morning on a Phoenix movie channel. After college, Ellen spent 19 years in New York City in the fashion industry, as a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and a National Sales Manager for two designer firms. Hobbies...movies and theater! A move to Vermont brought her closer to the love of independent films which were being shown in the town of Hanover, NH, the home of Dartmouth College where Ellen coordinated events. Ellen has been in Prescott for twelve years now and ten of those have been with the Prescott Film Festival.

Shawn Van Hecke

Co-Founder / Director Film Review Team / Programming / Advisory Board Member

Shawn has been part of the Prescott Film Festival from the early days screening at the Frontier Village Cinema 10. Shawn is known for his ability to slide in and help out wherever needed. He has done everything from handing out surveys to now being part of the Programming Team. A valued member of the team his notes on film selections are greatly valued.

Mike Simonyi

Director of Curation / Advisory Board Member

Mike Simonyi has been a film buff since his late teens in Oakland CA, moving to Arizona for a job promotion in the mid-1980s. He has been working with Arizona and California film festivals since 2002, performing Reviewer, Print Traffic, Operations, Tech, Board, Programming and Curation duties. Mike became aware of the Prescott Film Festival in 2015 through local family connections, and has been performing Reviewer & Curation duties for PFF since 2016. Mike's professional job was in IT for American Airlines for almost 27 years before retiring in 2020. He also adjudicates plays & musicals for the AriZoni awards. Hobbies include theater, music collecting, cooking, and NonRev travel.

Dave Shoemaker

Event Crew / Advisory Board Member

Dave Shoemaker has served as a board member of the Prescott Film Festival for over 10 years. As an IT professional in his day job he applies those skills to the all important job of keeping the festival servers and network up and running smoothly year round for our audience and filmmakers. Each yearly festival you will find him on location providing support to the operations team.

Jared Haxton

Co-Founder / Technical Director / Advisory Board Member

Jared Haxton is a Prescott Film Festival Co-Founder and an active board member for over 12 years. He received his college education from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science with a Focus in Business and a Minor in Computer Security. Jared serves the festival in an operational role as the Technical Director, where his expertise in information technology supports film intake, Q/A, projection and technical operations.

Robyn Bryce

Marketing / Advisory Board Member

Robyn combines a rich history in education with a flair for technological innovation, including Film and Media production and instruction. She brings over twenty years of experience from the classroom to broader educational development. Known for her dynamic approach to integrating technology in education, she excels in crafting and leading forward-thinking, tech-driven educational programs.

Bob Harner

Concierge Coordinator

Bob is a retired Instructional Designer who has written and directed corporate training videos and online courses for such clients as Walt Disney, Ikea, Bank of America, Mars, Coca-Cola, GE and Honeywell. A life-long film buff, he worked first as a volunteer, then as a staff member at the Telluride Film Festival for 16 years before shifting his focus to his hometown film festival in Prescott. In addition to his love of cinema, he is an avid student of history, particularly Western history. He volunteers at the Sharlot Hall Museum, where he serves on the Board of Trustees, treasurer for the Prescott Corral of Westerners International and occasionally writes Western history articles for The Daily Courier.

Sherry Gagnon

VIP Directors Loft Coordinator

Sherry grew up in Prescott where she attended Prescott High School and then Yavapai College. After moving to Colorado for a few years she returned to Prescott in 1980 where she began her Real Estate career. She moved to Lake Havasu for a period of ten years where she enjoyed working on designs, managing construction and selling custom homes. Upon her return to Prescott in 1993 she continued her real estate career in land sales with developments such as Crossroads Ranch and Ruger Ranch. She was a former owner of Jersey Lilly Saloon, volunteered with Prescott Litter Lifters and served with various fundraising events. Sherry's involvement with the Prescott Film Festival began with the second Festival in 2011 where she has served in many roles including programmer, screener and VIP Loft assistant. Sherry has traveled extensively and loves the outdoors, hiking, music, books and of course watching independent films.

Ellen Finch

Sponsorships

Ellen Finch was motivated to get more involved after attending several previous Prescott Film Festivals. She first volunteered as a reviewer of submitted films and recently volunteered to focus on sponsorships and sales of ad space in the film festival program guide. Her sales and marketing background from 40 years in the broadcast and marketing agency industries in La Crosse, WI. made this volunteer stint a natural. She and her husband retired to Prescott after moving here from Wisconsin eight years ago.

Saveria Judge

Greenroom Coordinator

Saveria is a creative artist and educator, working in the Art Department on the Prescott Campus of Yavapai College. She is keen to be part of the Prescott Film Festival team and looks forward to using her skills to bring a fantastic experience to the audience and filmmakers.

Ron Hammer

Co-Founder / Posthumous Emeritus

Ron Hammer graduated from Talbot Theological Seminary with an M.Div. and completed course work on a D.Min. from Phoenix Seminary. He spent over 20 years working in churches as a Pastor and Youth Pastor. Ron was the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Prescott, AZ for 12 years. He worked for Persyst Development as a web designer and software support specialist. Ron was also involved in acting through the Arizona Classical Theater and Prescott Fine Arts Association. He was a past President of Arizona Classical Theater and performed with Laark Productions.

Festival History

This year we mark our 16th Prescott Film Festival! The non-profit was started in 2009, by founders Helen and Don Stephenson. Helen continues to be the Executive Director of the festival. The hard-working board of directors consisted of friends and fellow film lovers, many of whom still serve to this day. Our co-founders include Debbie Hammer, Jared Haxton, Shawn VanHecke and the late Ron Hammer. This year’s festival is dedicated to Ron. You can see him kayaking down a river in the center of the poster. Ron was a joyous soul who was extremely intelligent, ordained minister and didn’t take “guff” from anybody! He was very talented, acting in many local plays and a few student films here at YC. You probably saw him selling tickets for the festival in the early days. Ron will be sorely missed but would want us to celebrate this year with the love and enthusiasm he embodied.

In 2021 Helen and Don donated the film festival to Yavapai College where it is now part of the Film and Media Arts Program. This was done so it could live on beyond them and was always a goal. Year-round we look for your donations to help secure the festival far into the future!

Thank you to all the volunteers, donors, grantors, companies and audience members who have supported us over the years!

Financial Support

A non-profit exists like a three-legged stool. We consider the seat of the stool to be our volunteers, who are at the base of everything we accomplish!

The supporting legs are:

Audience: Attending the festival, bringing friends and telling everyone you meet about the events!

Grants: Grants are in short supply right now, but we continue to apply and search for new opportunities.

Donations: Individuals support us by personal donations, (made out to the Yavapai College Foundation) and looking for opportunities to support us by attending the festival, sharing your volunteer time and/or donations! This year we benefited from the donor advised fund Fidelity Charitable. If you have investments in a financial company similar to Fidelity Charitable, you may be able to apply for funds to go to the film festival! We are also looking for Legacy Gifts. If you would like to leave a Legacy Gift please see Helen and she will direct you to the proper people at the YC Foundation. Thank you for helping ensure the festival continues to live on far into the future!

Make a Donation

Contact Us

Mailing Address: 1100 East Sheldon Street — Prescott, AZ 86301

Email: helen@prescottfilmfestival.com

Phone: (928) 717-7184