Save the date for SFF 2013: April 5-14!

In the film Moulin Rouge the extraordinary stage show meant to top all that had come before was called the SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR! For me, that was this year at the festival. A dazzling high wire act complete with pyrotechnics as the Flying Wallenda Family performed at our Cinema Tropicale celebration at the glorious Sarasota Yacht Club (followed by an encore at our President's Dinner inside the Sarasota Opera House)! Amazing breakdancing "robots" tearing it up at our opening night party at the Van Wezel in honor of the truly amazing ROBOT & FRANK. WWE Superstar wrestlers Rey Mysterio and Kelly Kelly walking the red carpet for THE DAY (did you see the little boy dressed like Rey, complete with mask and championship belt?) Frank Langella signing books and kissing babies at Bookstore1 as if he were running for office. (And you know what I've been saying from day one of the festival, I think he will be competing early next year in the Oscar race for his incredibly nuanced and touching performance in Robot & Frank, just like Christopher Plummer who was here with Beginners then went on to take the award! We had Dominic Monaghan from LOST and LORD OF THE RINGS, Ashley Bell, Jena Malone, Jess Weixler, the wonderful and gracious Jordan Gelber (star of Todd Solondz's Dark Horse)... the list goes on and on.

The most spectacular aspect of all from this year's festival was the emphasis on FILMS and FILMMAKERS. With over 235 films to choose from

Read more ...

All screenings before 5:00 PM are only eight bucks! 

Let's talk AMERICAN MAN. If you follow NFL football, you must see this incredible film screening today at the Sarasota Opera House. It is a Big Deal for sports fans. The film is directed by Jon Frankel from HBO Real Sports who will be here for the premiere. NY Giants Hall Of Fame legend Harry Carson will attend the screening. Kevin Turner, former NFL superstar (The Philadelphia Eages and the New England Patriots) and subject of the film, will also be on hand. There may even be additional surprise guests!

All this kicks off at the Sarasota Opera House at 6:00 PM with a red carpet event and reception to benefit the Roskamp Institute. The film screens at 7:30 PM! Don't miss it!

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Now, screening before American Man at the Opera House, beginning at 5:30 PM, we have something very special for you. We have a special advance screening of one of the summer's biggest comedies as seen in Entertainment Weekly's SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW edition. On June 15th it opens everywhere, but today YOU can see it here! The movie is YOUR SISTER'S SISTER starring the always amazing Emily Blunt from the Devil Wears Prada. And here's a cool INSIDER tidbit for you. Emily fixed up HER sister with Stanley Tucci, SFF alum and co-star of Devil Wears Prada and now they're engaged. Very cool! This film is a must see experience. So come on down at 5:30 PM for it! CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

And don't forget about the

Read more ...

Silent movies are back! In just a moment we have a SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW with Peter Tavalin, a renowned and accomplish musical accompanist for silent film screenings. Peter will be improvising synthesized orchestral music accompaniment to our screening of BUSTER KEATON in THE BALLOONATIC on Sunday at 1:15 PM. (This short screens with THE BLACK BALLOON and THE RED BALLOON.) CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Remember, THE ARTIST swept the Oscars and we have Penelope Ann Miller from THE ARTIST in town on Friday for an incredible luncheon at the Sarasota Yacht Club at Noon CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW and for an IN CONVERSATION on Saturday at 1:00 PM at the Sarasota High School CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

Peter Tavalin is an extraordinary performer and composer who toured New England in his youth, performed in Savannah at five-star hotels, and now resides in Sarasota, Florida. His venues extend to Gallery Openings, Private Parties, Fundraising Events, Special Occasions, Silent Movies and more. I had the great pleasure of chatting with Peter about his life and craft. It was musical and magical! CLICK HERE TO VISIT HIS SITE AND LEARN HOW TO CONTACT PETER FOR ENGAGEMENTS!

THE INSIDER: Was it a coincidence that your father accompanied silent movies?

PETER TAVALIN: Yes. When I told him what I was going to do, he told me he played his fiddle in a small group in Astoria, Queens. He worked with a drummer, a piano player and a trumpeter.  They had six or eight musical themes

Read more ...

Read all about it, beginning with our In Conversation news! The always amazing Penelope Ann Miller from The Artist and the sensational Rory Kennedy (director of Ethel) have joined our astonishing In Conversation series this year. And the legendary and brilliant journalist and author David Carr (last year's Opening Night film Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times) will moderate our conversation with Todd Solondz, the eye-opening auteur behind our fantastic Centerpiece Film Dark Horse.) And we have the shining star of screen and stage Frank Langella from our Opening Night film Robot & Frank chatting it up with New York Magazine and NPR Fresh Air's David Edelstein in our Inside the Actor's Studio-style presentation. (Click here or on any of our four participants' names to buy tickets now for their In Conversation presentations!)

But wait, there's more In Conversation news! As part of our SFF@SCF program we are offering a free In Conversation in Manatee County, In Conversation with Women in Film. This panel discussion will be held Friday, April 20 at 5:30 PM at the Neel Performing Arts Center on the campus of The  State College of Florida. Panelist include Debra Zimmerman (Executive Director, Women Make Movies), Ingrid Veninger (Director, I Am a Good Person/I am a Bad Person) and more panelist still to be announced. So watch this space for the deets! 

FRANK LANGELLA BOOK SIGNING

Head over to Bookstore1 to reserve your copy of Frank Langella's brilliant, revealing and

Read more ...

Photographs provided by Rod Millington

Beautiful Noise was one of the most popular films at last year's festival. The combination of a fantastic musical soundtrack, handsome production values, an engaging cast and an inspiring storyline made this locally produced feature a favorite for many. Now director Steve Tatone is tackling a thriller with Armand Assante titled Blind Pass and planning a return to the Beautiful Noise franchise. We caught up with him recently and this is what he had to say!

INSIDER: What has been happening with Beautiful Noise since it played at the festival?

STEVE TATONE: The film played exceptionally well at SFF and other film festivals. Because of the strong audience reactions at SFF and elsewhere, I decided (after consulting several colleagues in the industry) to pull back on Beautiful Noise and concentrate on the next film in the franchise, Serenade. The new movie focuses on events that took place before Beautiful Noise and will have a little better budget. The plan is then to focus on distributing Serenade either through traditional means or digitally following the Ed Burns model, and then releasing Beautiful Noise afterward so that the films play in chronological order.

INSIDER: What else can you tell us about the Beautiful Noise franchise?

STEVE TATONE: It's been a very interesting journey with the film. It's taught me a lot. The soundtrack album was a smash in regards of one out of four people who saw the movie bought the soundtrack (now

Read more ...