Founded in 1998, the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) has grown to be a ten-day festival that plays independent and international narratives, docs and shorts that are programmed into a schedule of over 200 films including features, themed shorts packages and additional programming sidebars that change each year to reflect the strengths of submitted films.
Sarasota Film Festival started in 1999 and takes place in Sarasota, FL
Inspired by the Book The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the documentary River of Grass is the feature debut from artist and filmmaker Sasha Wortzel. The film is described as an “ode to the Everglades, told through the writings of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and those who today call the region home.”
The East Coast Premiere of Lynn Dow’s Bull Street starring Loretta Devine and Amy Madigan opens the 26th Sarasota Film Festival taking place across Sarasota April 5 through April 14, 2024. The festival will close with a special presentation of Steve Buscemi’s The Listener starring Tessa Thompson.
The 25th Anniversary edition of the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) closed on Sunday, April 2 with On A Wing And A Prayer, directed by Sean McNamara, and announced the Jury and Audience Award winners.
The 25th anniversary edition of Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) taking place in-person across Sarasota through April 2, 2023 opened on Saturday, March 25 with Dawn Porter’s Cirque Du Soleil: Without A Net. The film offers a behind-the-scenes look into “O”, Cirque’s flagship production, on its journey back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Directed by Lauren Greenhall, the erotic thriller Perfectly Good Moment will have its world premiere at the 25th Sarasota Film Festival on March 29, 2023. This psychosexual thriller asks the question: what happens when the things that make your relationship passionate and exciting are the same things that make it toxic?
Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced the initial slate of programming for the milestone 25th anniversary event, taking place across Sarasota March 25 through April 2, 2023. The complementary virtual platform will launch on Friday, March 24 offering exclusive, pre-opening access to select titles.
The 2021 Sarasota Film Festival wrapped its 23rd edition, which due to COVID took place in hybrid format, with a mix of outdoor screenings and virtual cinema. At the award ceremony, Best Summer Ever won the Narrative Competition Prize; Chasing Childhood won the Documentary Competition Prize; East of Middle West received the Audience Award for Feature Film and Desert Heart took the Audience Award for Short Film.
The 23rd annual Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced its full line-up, including its Spotlight Section, Narrative Feature Competition, Independent Visions Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Documentary, and Short Films. The festival will take place from April 30th to May 9th with virtual and in-person events.
The Third Wife, directed by Ash Mayfair, won the Narrative Feature Jury Prize; and American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, won the Documentary Feature Jury Prize at the 21st annual Sarasota Film Festival which came to a close on Sunday, April 14. The Independent Visions Jury Prize went to The World Is Full of Secrets, directed by Graham Swon.
I AM NOT A WITCH[/caption]
The 20th Anniversary edition of the Sarasota Film Festival celebrated its Closing Night on Saturday with a screening of Rory Kennedy’s new film from Discovery, ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW, along with the presentation of this year’s jury and audience award winners. I AM NOT A WITCH directed by Rungano Nyoni took home this year’s Narrative Feature Jury prize, and MINDING THE GAP directed by Bing Liu was the Documentary Feature Jury Prize winner. During the Closing Night, actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award©-nominated actress Virginia Madsen received Career Achievement Awards.
The festival’s Independent Visions Jury Prize, which includes a distribution deal from FACTORY 25, went to MILFORD GRAVES: FULL MANTIS directed by Jake Meginsky and Neil Young.
The Terry Porter Visionary Award presented by The Huisking Foundation went to THE RIDER directed by Chloé Zhao for its spirit of independence and experimentation.
The jury awarded a special recognition award for Breakthough Performance to Helena Howard in MADELINE’S MADELINE; a special mention for Visionary Storytelling to NOTES ON AN APPEARANCE; and a Special Jury Prize for Social Commentary to THE SENTENCE.
This year’s Animated Shorts Jury Prize winner is THE BURDEN, directed by Niki Lindroth von Bahr. The jury awarded LUNCH TIME, directed by Alireza Ghasemi, best Narrative Short and the Documentary Short award winner is SAND MEN, directed by Tal Amiran.
This year’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was HEARTS BEAT LOUD directed by Brett Haley.
The Audience Award for Best Documentary was presented to RBG, director Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
The Best In World Cinema Audience Award went to MAKTUB, directed by Oded Raz.
MR. CONNOLLY HAS ALS, directed by Dan Habib won the Audience Award for Best Short Film.
During the Closing Night, actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award-nominated actress Virginia Madsen received Career Achievement Awards.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the 20th Anniversary of the Sarasota Film Festival, which brought together groundbreaking films and important conversations for our audiences,” said President of the Sarasota Film Festival, Mark Famiglio. “Congratulations to this year’s winners, the esteemed Festival Jury and our audiences have thoroughly enjoyed your engaging and inspiring films, and we thank you for letting us showcase them here in Sarasota.”
EIGHTH GRADE[/caption]
The 2018 Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced its full line-up, including its Centerpiece, Spotlight, Narrative Feature Competition, Independent Visions Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative, Documentary, and Short Films. The Festival also announced its five SFF Focus Panels – Sports in Cinema, Environment, Science, and Sustainability, Women’s Comedic Voices, Redefining Manhood, and Musings on Musicians.
“In honor of our 20th anniversary, we have programmed a lineup that celebrates the past, present, and future of the Sarasota Film Festival that is sure to delight our dedicated and passionate audiences,” said Mark Famiglio, Chairman and President of the Sarasota Film Festival. “The selection includes a diverse group of narratives and voices that will create engaging conversations about today’s most important topics.”
In the Festival’s Centerpiece section is 1985, about a closeted gay man, unable to come out to his friends and family during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, staring Academy Award®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, who will be attendance at the Festival. Also a Centerpiece selection is Bo Burnham’s feature film directorial debut, EIGHTH GRADE, a portrait of young teenagers discovering their identities online and in reality. Bo will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film’s screening during the Festival.
The Spotlight section will include narrative films Brett Haley’s HEARTS BEAT LOUD, Silas Howard’s A KID LIKE JAKE, Andrew Haigh’s LEAN ON PETE, Hannah Fidell’s THE LONG DUMB ROAD, Dominic Cooke’s ON CHESIL BEACH, Chloé Zhao’s THE RIDER, and Madeline Olnek’s WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY, and documentary films Eugene Jarecki’s THE KING, Ali Weinstein’s MERMAIDS, Barbara Kopple’s A MURDER IN MANSFIELD, and Morgan Neville’s WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Each year the Sarasota Film Festival focuses on social issues to highlight throughout its program. The Sports in Cinema Focus returns this year, welcoming Ben and Orson Cummings and their film KILLER BEES, produced by Shaquille O’Neill. Other films in this focus include the Closing Day Film, Jason Kohn’s LOVE MEANS ZERO and Dana Adam Shapiro’s DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS.
In consideration of sustainability of communities and the planet, films in the SFF Environment, Science, and Sustainability Focus include Susan Kucera’s LIVING IN THE FUTURE’S PAST, Chad Freidrichs’ EXPERIMENTAL CITY, Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, and Jeff Springer’s RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, and Rory Kennedy’s ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW.
In a groundbreaking year for women, the festival presents SFF Focus: Women’s Comedic Voices, a lineup featuring all female directors. Films in the category include Wendy McColm’s BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS, Bridey Elliott’s CLARA’S GHOST, Caroline Golum’s A FEAST OF MAN as well as LONG DUMB ROAD and WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY.
The films in the SFF Focus: Redefining Manhood, provide a glimpse at the questions regarding masculine identities, include Bing Liu’s MINDING THE GAP, as well as 1985, THE RIDER, and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
The final SFF Focus: Musings on Musicians, presents an array of films exploring the relationships between music and film. Films in the category include Laura Parnes’ TOUR WITHOUT END, T.G. Herrington and Danny Clinch’s A TUBA TO CUBA, Derek Ahonen’s THE TRANSCENDENTS, Sophie Fiennes’ GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI, Jake Meginsky and Neil Young’s MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS, Scott Smith’s CHASING THE BLUES, Stephen Loveridge’s MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A, as well as THE KING and HEARTS BEAT LOUD.
The Narrative Feature Competition will showcase DON’T LEAVE HOME directed by Michael Tully, I AM NOT A WITCH, directed by Rungano Nyoni, MADELINE’S MADELINE, directed by Josephine Decker, THE QUEEN OF FEAR directed by Valeria Bertuccelli and Fabiana Tiscornia, THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN directed by Kamila Andini, SUPPORT THE GIRLS directed by Andrew Bujalski as well as CLARA’S GHOST.
The Documentary Feature Competition will include GENERATION WEALTH directed by Lauren Greenfield, GENESIS 2.0 directed by Christian Frei and Maxim Arbugaev, HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING directed by RaMell Ross, OF FATHERS AND SONS directed by Talal Derki, THE SENTENCE directed by Rudy Valdez, as well as DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS and MINDING THE GAP.
The Independent Visions Competition will feature BLACK MOTHER directed by Khalik Allah, LIFE AND NOTHING MORE directed by Antonio Méndez Esparza, MAISON DU BONHEUR directed by Sofia Bohdanowicz, NOTES ON APPEARANCE directed by Ricky D’Ambrose, as well as BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS, A FEAST OF MAN, MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS, and TOUR WITHOUT END.
The jury for the competition films will consist of the following individuals: producer Autumn Bailey-Ford, Emmy®-nominated writer and producer Mark Bailey, documentary filmmaker Orson Cummings, New York Magazine film critic David Edelstein, Factory 25 film distributor Matt Grady, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Director – New York Programs and Membership Patrick Harrison, film professor Del Jacobs, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Penny Lane, actress Penelope Ann Miller, The Hollywood Reporter film writer Tatiana Siegel, founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood Melissa Silverstein, and Sarasota County Circuit court judge and filmmaker Charles Williams.
Narrative films include: ALL YOU CAN EAT BUDDHA directed by Ian Lagarde, AMERICAN ANIMALS directed by Bart Layton, AUGUST IN BERLIN directed by Becky Smith, BIKINI MOON directed by Milcho Manchevski, BLACK KITE directed by Tarique Qayumi, CAN HITLER HAPPEN HERE? directed by Saskia Rifkin, COLD SKIN directed by Xavier Gens, COME SUNDAY directed by Joshua Marston, DELENDA directed by Ralph Moffettone, DIMINUENDO directed by Adrian Stewart, EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA directed by Jim McKay, FIRST REFORMED directed by Paul Schrader, A FRENCHMAN IN FLORIDA directed by Dante Rhev, HOLIDAY directed by Isabella Eklof, LET THE SUNSHINE IN directed by Claire Denis, MAKTUB directed by Oded Raz, SANTA INOCENCIA directed by Maritxell Campos Olivé, SHELTER directed by Eran Riklis, TATTERDEMALION directed by Ramaa Mosley, TINKER directed by Sonny Mahrler, VIRGINIA, MINNESOTA directed by Daniel Stine, VIRUS TROPICAL directed by Santiago Caicedo, WE THE ANIMALS directed by Jeremiah Zagar, WHITE RABBIT directed by Daryl Wein, ZAMA directed by Lucrecia Martel, as well as CHASING THE BLUES and THE TRANSCENDENTS.
Documentary films include: 306 HOLLYWOOD directed by Elan Bogarin and Jonathan Bogarin, ANTONIO LOPEZ 1970: SEX FASHION & DISCO directed by James Crump, ASK THE SEXPERT directed by Vaishali Sinha, BISBEE ’17 directed by Robert Greene, CHEF FLYNN directed by Cameron Yates, CRACKING ACES: A WOMAN’S PLACE AT THE TABLE directed by H. James Gilmore, CRIME + PUNISHMENT directed by Stephen Maing, DISTANT CONSTELLATION directed by Shevaun Mizrahi, FATHER’S KINGDOM directed by Lenny Feinberg, FREEDOM FOR THE WOLF directed by Rupert Russell, THE GREAT FLIP-OFF directed by Dafna Yachin, HALF THE PICTURE directed by Amy Adrion, LA FLOR DE LA VIDA directed by Adriana Leoff and Claudia Abend, LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE directed by Gustavo Salmerón, MAYNARD directed by Sam Pollard, OLD DOG directed by Sally Rowe, ON HER SHOULDERS directed by Alexandria Bombach, THE PAIN OF OTHERS directed by Penny Lane, RBG directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, SISTERS directed by Justyna Tafel, THAT SUMMER directed by Göran Hugo Olsson, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS directed by Tim Wardle as well as THE EXPERIMENTAL CITY, GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI, KILLER BEES, LIVING IN THE FUTURE’S PAST, MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A., RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, and A TUBA TO CUBA.
As previously announced Golden Globe®-nominated and Independent Spirit Award®-nominated Eric Stoltz’s coming-of-age comedy CLASS RANK will be the Festival’s Opening Night film and Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy®-winning Rory Kennedy’s ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW will serve as Closing Night film. The Festival will also be honoring renowned actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen with Career Achievement Awards during the closing weekend.
Class Rank[/caption]
The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) has selected Golden Globe-nominated and Independent Spirit Award-nominated Eric Stoltz’s coming-of-age comedy Class Rank as its Opening Night film and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning Rory Kennedy’s Above and Beyond: NASA’S Journey to Tomorrow as its Closing Night film for the 20th anniversary edition. The festival will also honor renowned actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award-nominated actress Virginia Madsen with Career Achievement Awards during the closing weekend.
“We are very excited to bookend the festival with two unique and groundbreaking films from two brilliant and creative directors,” said Mark Famiglio, Chairman and President of the Sarasota Film Festival. “It is also an honor to recognize the contributions of Steve Guttenberg and Virginia Madsen to the film industry, and celebrate their work from over the years.”
Class Rank will open the festival on Friday, April 13 at the Sarasota Opera House with a 7:30PM screening. In this light-hearted, quirky comedy, two teenagers (Olivia Holt, Skyler Gisondo) prepare for life after high school, teaming up to achieve their goals and make their dreams a reality. Kristin Chenoweth and Bruce Dern co-star. Director Eric Stoltz (Mask, Pulp Fiction) and producer Sandy Stern will be in attendance at the screening.
Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy (Last Days In Vietman, Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton) will be in attendance for the festival’s Closing night film Above and Beyond: NASA’S Journey to Tomorrow, an intimate look at NASA’s accomplishments and their vital role in our future as the renowned institution celebrates its 60th Anniversary. The Discovery Documentary will screen at the Sarasota Opera House on Saturday, April 21 beginning at 6:00PM.
Steve Guttenberg will be receiving a Career Achievement Award during the Closing Weekend. Guttenberg has starred in more than 60 films across an array of genres and is known for his roles in Diner, Cocoon, the Police Academy comedies, and Three Men And A Baby. Guttenberg costars in Chasing The Blues – a comedy-drama about the search for a rare but cursed blues record – screening at the 20th SFF.
Academy Award-nominated actress Virginia Madsen will also receive the Career Achievement Award during the Closing Weekend. Madsen is known for her work in Alexander Payne’s Sideways, which garnered her an Oscar nomination, The Rainmaker, Ghosts of Mississippi, Joy, and many others. Madsen costars in the drama 1985 – about a young man’s fears of coming out to his family in the early days of the AIDS crisis – which will show at the 20th SFF.
The 20th annual Sarasota Film Festival, will take place from April 13th to April 22nd, 2018.