Phoenix Forgotten
2017 film by Justin Barber
Phoenix Forgotten is a 2017 American found footage science fiction horror film directed by Justin Barber in his directorial debut, and written by Barber and T. S. Nowlin. The film is also produced by Nowlin, alongside Ridley Scott, Wes Ball, Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton.
Originally advertised as Phoenix, the film tells the story of the disappearance of three teenagers who set out to find the source of the widely reported 1997 UFO phenomenon known as the "Phoenix Lights". It was released on April 21, 2017, to mixed reviews, with many critics unfavorably comparing it to The Blair Witch Project.
Plot
Sophie Bishop and her boyfriend Dan visit Sophie's parents in Phoenix, Arizona on the 20th anniversary of her older brother Josh's disappearance. On March 13, 1997, during Sophie's sixth birthday party, the family witnesses the Phoenix Lights, which Josh records. Several lights appear in a "V" formation before disappearing, followed by fighter jets. Josh becomes convinced they are UFOs and later investigates with his friends Ashley and Mark. Two astronomers suggest the lights were flares dropped by jets from Luke Air Force Base, but Josh and Ashley remain unconvinced.
When more mysterious lights appear over Mesa, Josh and Mark travel there to film them.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Phoenix Forgotten” is 2017 film by Justin Barber. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Phoenix, Forgotten and film, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “2017 film by Justin Barber” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28922270. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017 and 1997.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Phoenix Forgotten primary sources, Phoenix Forgotten archive and Phoenix research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Phoenix Forgotten” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.