Hal Holbrook's new film "That Evening Sun" debuts in Sedona on July 28

Film festival presents Arizona premiere of powerful drama in Best of Fest series; Meet the writer/director of the film in special Sedona presentation

Hal Holbrook’s new film “That Evening Sun” makes a Sedona stop on its festival run prior to its theatrical release on Tuesday, July 28. The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Arizona premiere of this powerful drama as the third film in its seven-week “Best of Fest” series. There will be two screenings of the film at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres.

Writer/director Scott Teems will be in Sedona to present “That Evening Sun” and host Q&A discussions following both screenings.

Emmy- and Tony-Award winning actor Hal Holbrook is being praised by critics and audiences in festivals around the globe for his riveting performance in “That Evening Sun”. Last year, Holbrook became the oldest male performer ever nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in “Into the Wild”.

“Holbrook delivers an Oscar-worthy turn as the lead character in ‘That Evening Sun’,” said Sedona festival programming director Sagan Lewis. “He has done some powerful acting in the past, and this may be truly the performance of his career.”

Abner Meecham (Holbrook), an aging Tennessee farmer discarded to a nursing facility by his lawyer son, flees the old folks' home and catches a ride back to his country farm to live out his days in peace. Upon his return, he discovers that his son has leased the farm to Abner's old enemy and his white-trash family. Not one to suffer fools or go down easy, Abner moves into the old tenant shack on the property and declares that he won't leave until the farm is returned to his possession. But Lonzo Choat, the new tenant, has no intention to move out or give in to the old man's demands.

This sets up a ruthless grudge match between Abner and Choat, each man right in his own eyes, each too stubborn to give an inch. Angered by his son's betrayal, and haunted by recurring dreams of his long-dead wife, Abner sets about his own path toward reclaiming his life. Lines are drawn, threats are made, and the simmering tension under the Southern sun erupts.

“That Evening Sun” also stars Barry Corbin, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Carrie Preston and Mia Wasikowksa. There is also a featured performance by Holbrook’s real-life wife Dixie Carter.

That Evening Sun is based on the short story “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down” by acclaimed Southern author William Gay, an award-winning novelist often compared to William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy, and Flannery O’Connor.

“I had an hour-long flight, so I stopped in a bookstore on the way to the airport,” explained writer-director Scott Teems. “I picked up a collection of William Gay short stories. He was a writer I’d long heard about and had wanted to read. The first story in the book was ‘I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down.’ I read it on the plane, and literally on the tarmac I called Terence Berry, a producer friend with whom I’d been looking for a project to develop, and said, ‘I’ve found it.’”

“I believe the pursuit of truth must be my ultimate goal as a filmmaker, if I'm to have any chance to use cinema for its deepest and most profound purposes or even just to tell a simple, satisfying story,” added Teems. “The truth can be a scary proposition, because it is illuminating. It is raw and unfiltered. It shows our scars. But it also shows our beauty, our grace, our unknown holiness. It is through this lens of truth that I try to look at everything, including my homeland, the American South. ‘That Evening Sun’ is, proudly and without reservation, a film about the South — for better or for worse.”

Yet, Teems hopes it is also much more than a film about the South.

“I hope it’s a film about men. About fathers and sons, husbands and wives. About grieving. About not grieving. About land and class. About right and wrong. And about how it’s rarely a simple task to tell the difference,” said Teems. “And I hope it’s about a old man who looks death in the eye and says, ‘Go to Hell. I’ve got some living left to do.’”

This debut of “That Evening Sun” marks Teems return to Sedona and his feature film debut. His short film, “A Death in the Woods”, which also featured Barry Corbin, was presented at the 2007 Sedona Film Festival.

The title sponsor for the event is Arizona Solar Power. The lodging host is Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa. The series is also made possible by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Sedona.

“That Evening Sun” will be shown at Harkins Sedona Six Theatres on Tuesday, July 28 at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $8 for Film Sedona members, and will be available starting at 3:00 p.m. that day in the Harkins lobby. Cash or checks only. Film Sedona members can purchase tickets in advance at the Sedona International Film Festival office, 1785 W. Hwy. 89A, Suite 2B, or by calling 282-1177.

For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.com.