22 Feb TIO AZ: Sedona Film Fest Features O’Keefe & Donahoe in “A Break in the Rain”!
Helmed by Executive Director Patrick Schweiss for 22 years of its 32 years, the Sedona Film Festival, (SFF), 2/21 – 3/1, has become world-renowned for bringing award-winning films and meaningful conversations to its growing community through filmmaker Q & As, workshops and seminars.
Among the stars on deck for this year’s event are Michael O’Keefe and Emily Donahue, in town with “A Break in the Rain.” The film screens Sunday, February 23, 1:30 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Go here to check out the full festival schedule and scroll down to listen to a podcast featuring O’Keefe and Donahoe. Also learn more about Patrick Schweiss.
“A Break in the Rain” is a quiet, emotionally concise drama about a father and his adult daughter-in-law negotiating grief, distance, and a long-suspended, but much-needed conversation. The film stars Michael O’Keefe as the widowed father Jake and Emily Donahoe as his daughter Laura. Their road trip to bury his son and her husband puts unresolved loss and an emotional stalemate under a magnifying glass. What appears on screen to be an emotional shorthand between the two actors creates nothing short of cinematic magic.
O’Keefe is an American actor whose career spans more than four decades across film, television, and theater. He received an Academy Award nomination for his breakthrough performance in “The Great Santini” (1979) and went on to appear in films including “Caddyshack,” “A Simple Twist of Fate,” and “The Slugger’s Wife.”
His extensive television work includes “Law & Order,” “The West Wing,” “ER,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
O’Keefe has been a mediator for over 40 years, a practice that informs his acting ethos, making room for flow where discipline alone might otherwise hold the frame.
Emily Donahoe is an American actress whose work focuses on intimate, character-driven film, television, and theater. She is known for performances marked by emotional clarity and restraint, often gravitating toward independent projects that explore relationships, interior lives, and moral complexity.
Donahoe continues to work selectively, prioritizing storytelling rooted in authenticity and human connection. She’s an actress directors rely on when a scene cannot afford one false note.
“A Break in the Rain”is a quiet portrait of a father and daughter discovering that grief is not an emotion to resolve, rather an intangible inheritance to navigate—together.
To learn more about their life and work, check out their podcast.
Patrick Schweiss, more:
Patrick Schweiss, courtesy SFF.
Patrick Schweiss is Executive Director of the Sedona International Film Festival and theaters.
He took the helm at the festival 22 years ago and has overseen its growth from a 3-day festival to a 9-day celebration of independent film.
In 2012, Schweiss initiated and oversaw the festival organization as it built its own arthouse theatre venue – The Mary D. Fisher Theatre – where it presents year-round independent films, theatrical and ballet productions on screen from around the world, live simulcasts and live theatrical events, as well as other arts and cultural events.
In June 2022, the festival opened its newest addition: the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. Now the event has two theatre venues that operate daily all year long!
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