Watching Richard's Wedding is like going to a party and meeting a tight group of friends who instantly welcome you into their fold and make you feel like you've known them all your life. It is a film that delivers its themes through sparkling conversation and terrific acting. What follows, much like the film, is a fun whirlwind roundtable discussion with actor/writer/director Onur Tukel and actors Jennifer Prediger, Lawrence Michael Levine, Heddy Lahmann, and Adam Schartoff. Richard's Wedding plays Friday, April 20 @ 8:15 PM, Saturday, April 21 @ 5:00 PM, and Sunday, April 22 @ 5:45 PM. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Before we get started, here is a complete list of the movies in our Independent Visions Competition. See them all!

Independent Visions Competition

Empire Builder by Kris Swanberg
Leave Me Like You Found Me by Adele Romanski
Gayby by Jonathan Lisecki
In Our Nature by Brian Savelson
Richard’s Wedding by Onur Turkel
See Girl Run by Nate Meyer
Sun Don’t Shine by Amy Seimetz
The Unspeakable Act by Dan Sallit
Welcome To Pine Hill by Keith Miller

THE INSIDER: What inspired you to make this movie?

Onur Tukel (Writer/Director/"Tuna"): I love the dialogue-driven movies of Woody Allen, Richard Linklater, Noah Baumbach and Whit Stillman. I always wanted to make a New York ensemble movie. I moved to New York in October of 2010 to get inspired. I had been cast in a really great indie film called Septien by Michael Tully and was really inspired by Tully's process. He

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From January through April, more than 5,000 students participated in 12 education programs covering all aspects of filmmaking—from film critique and review to screenwriting and production.  Last Night was a celebration of many of those participants and the amazing work they have accomplished through our programs. The Sarasota Film Festival is distinguished in its commitment to accessibility and affordability and we are extremely proud to be able to offer all of our Education programs at absolutely no cost to the thousands of participants.  

(Photo by Becky Bolletti)

JURY AWARDS

The 2012 SFF Young Filmmakers Showcase PROMISING YOUNG FILMMAKER AWARD (Best Film) goes to Gaby Connor and Colton Bazenas for RAGE (Booker High School)

The 2012 SFF Young Filmmakers Showcase Honorable Mention goes to THE GOOD KIDS by Benjamin Edelman, Sidney Wright, Levi Waxler, and Samantha Harris (Inspired Minds)

The 2012 SFF Reel Life Studio BEST FILM Award goes to Colton Bazenas, Sebastian Gottwald, Keishen Lloyd, and Pearce Rouwhorst (Booker High School)

AUDIENCE AWARDS

The 2012 SFF Reel Life Studio Audience Choice Award goes to Cindy Allen, Madelaine Perruso, Adele Streissguth, and Alyssa Vanwagner (Booker High School)

CLASSROOM CRITICS

From Booker Middle School: CORNELIUS STEPHENS

From St. Stephen’s Episcopal School: JULIA WOODSON

From Pineview School: CONNOR FLAHERTY

From Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences: MICAH GALLAGHER

Classroom Critic is

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Each year the always incredible Allison Koehler, our dynamic Director of Education, offers the unique opportunity to students throughout our community to submit competing reviews of a few of our outstanding youthFEST films. This year's winners of our Classroom Critics competition follow. The first two reviews have been published in The Observer. The following pair will see publication next week. Congratulations to all the winners!

A SHADOW OF BLUE  

Julia Woodson

Saint Stephen's Episcopal School

7th Grade

     A gaunt little girl sits on a park bench and allows her imagination to wander. Director Carlos Lascano brings together emotional music and characters in an adventurous story. A Shadow of Blue is a touching story full of adventure.

    A little girl fills her time on a park bench creating a majestic blue paper butterfly. The butterfly comes to life, along with the girl's shadow. She imagines enthralling adventures with her shadow in the lead. There are suspenseful twists as her shadow skips and jumps, reaching for the butterfly. A nasty crow acts as an antagonist and plots to scare the little girl away. The actions are expressive and the music adds eerie suspense. Everything is not as it seems as the plot develops.

    Since there is no dialogue, the actions are clear and expressive. The actions are dramatic and the little girl's leaps and jumps are expressed through flailing arms; crying with the heaves of the little girl's shoulders. Even in shadow, actions

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SFF's first Town Hall was held Wednesday, February 8 at the Selby Library. The turnout was amazing and we were thrilled by the passion and enthusiasm of all who attended. Thank you. A recap of the event follows. But first, if you have questions for the festival, send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Your questions will be answered here on our blog.

The evening began with a presentation by SFF Director Tom Hall detailing the history and current state of the festival on a number of fronts including our financial status. The importance of community and education was highly stressed, as was accessibility and our desire to hear your feedback. "We want to provide information that empowers you to make the most of your festival experience."

SFF's sterling reputation as a filmmaker-friendly showcase and high-ranking position among national and international festivals (not to mention reviews such as Variety calling us "the acme of regional film festivals") was also touched upon. "Artists who attend SFF send their work again because they want to come back." Tom attributed the response of filmmakers and national journalists who return time and again to you, our loyal audience and supporters, "a  community filled with great supporters of the arts and of film".

Allison Koehler, Director of Education, discussed our wonderful array of free educational programs for students eighteen and under. These include our Young Filmmakers Showcase, Reel Life Studio, Kids VIP Trip, and the

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