Mary D. Fisher Theatre reopens with story of Marcel Marceau starring Jesse Eisenberg
Sedona AZ (June 5, 2020) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to re-open its Mary D. Fisher Theatre with the Northern Arizona premiere of the critically-acclaimed new film “Resistance” — starring Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg and Ed Harris — showing June 12-18.
The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is re-opening following CDC guidelines and social distance seating at a limited capacity with the approval of Governor Doug Ducey and his staff.
At the height of World War II, an aspiring Jewish actor — who would later become one of the world’s most famous performers — joins the French Resistance to save children orphaned by the Nazis.
As a young man growing up in Nazi-occupied France, Marcel Mangel has no intention of getting involved in World War II. As a theater performer in his twenties, Marcel’s pursuits include impersonating Charlie Chaplin in burlesque clubs, painting backdrops for his plays, and antagonizing his obstinate father.
However, his life is permanently altered when, after witnessing acts of atrocity, he is recruited into the French Resistance. And the performer, who forges his passport to the name Marcel Marceau, puts his skills to the ultimate test, working at incredible risk to help transport orphaned Jewish children from Nazi-occupied France into Switzerland. Employing daring acts of real-life performance, imagination, and sleight-of-hand, he saved the lives of hundreds of children. In an act of compassion and generosity that would ripple into his professional life, he also taught orphaned children how to survive in the horrifying reality of the Holocaust.
Marceau, who died in 2007 at the age of 84, delighted generations of audiences over the course of his career. For his unique, wordless ability to embody dozens of characters and situations, Marceau was the most famous mime in all the world. Celebrated as the “Master of Silence,” he performed all across the globe and appeared in films and on television – including a memorable cameo in Mel Brooks’s Silent Movie, where he performs his “Walking Against the Wind” stunt and, in a hilarious ironic twist, speaks the only word of dialogue in the whole movie.
“Resistance” is the first-ever film to tell the incredible story of Marceau’s heroism during the war. Portraying the singular entertainer is Oscar-nominee Jesse Eisenberg who is supported in the cast by Ed Harris as Gen. George S. Patton, Édgar Ramírez, Clémence Poésy, and Bella Ramsay.
“Resistance” traces how a revolutionary, selfless act of courage forever changed countless lives — and how a group of unsung heroes risked everything to rise above hatred and oppression.
“Resistance” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre June 12-18. Showtimes will be 4 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Thursday, June 12, 13, 17 and 18; and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, June 14, 15 and 16.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.