NEWS

SFF 2012: It's a Wrap! Final Words from our Best Year Ever!

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

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Wed 25 April 2012 23:18 Last modified: Tue 21 August 2012 12:31

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with new york times, sff, sarasota film festival, The Artist, David Carr, Frank Langella, Rory Kennedy, Dominic Monaghan, Ashley Bell, Women Make Movies, Penelope Ann Miller, Jena Malone, debra zimmerman, The Day, ROBOT FRANK, karen finley, Todd Solndz, Variety, Time Out, Christian Science Monitor

IT HAS BEGUN! OPENING DAY AT SFF! SPOTLIGHT ON FILM LOVERS FORUM! FILMMAKER Q&AS! AND MORE!

The big day is here! In just a second we’re going to talk MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES! But first, tonight we have ROBOT & FRANK, our Opening Night Film at 7:00 PM starring FRANK LANGELLA (who will be in attendance with director Jake Schreier) PLUS our stupendous OPENING NIGHT PARTY at 9:00 PM! Both are at the always incredible VAN WEZEL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER! Woo-Hoo! Tomorrow Mr. Langella signs his flat-out fantastic memoir DROPPED NAMES: FAMOUS MEN AND WOMEN AS I KNEW THEM at 11:00 AM at BOOKSTORE1 on Main Street (only books purchased from Bookstore1 will be signed) and at 1:00 PM he will be at Sarasota High School for his sure-to-be riveting IN CONVERSATION moderated by New York Magazine and IN CONVERSATION moderated by New York Magazine and NPR’s Fresh Air contributor DAVID EDELSTEIN! (Click on any of those titles to buy tickets now! And if you are a theater enthusiast, you will definitely want to see Mr. Langella live. He's a three time Tony-Award winner!)

Now I’d like to shine a light on two incredible attractions that SFF offers on many of our films. First up, you may see the phrase FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE in our flyers or Morning Buzz Newsletters (go to our home page and enter your e-mail and zip code under SFF News to subscribe). Here’s what that’s all about: We not only have big name film stars attend the festival, we also have dozens and dozens of amazing independent filmmakers come here to promote their screenings.

Think about that. When you come to one

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Fri 13 April 2012 01:12 Last modified: Fri 13 April 2012 12:10

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sarasota, film, sff, Frank Langella, dropped names, chasing ice, ROBOT FRANK, WINFRED REMBERT, QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

SFF PARTNER PROFILE: Bookstore1, Home of Saturday's FRANK LANGELLA BOOK SIGNING!

Frank Langella's Dropped Names: Famous Men and Women as I Knew Them is a fantastic and fun memoir that indeed drops the names (and delivers amazingly juicy dish) on celebrities ranging from Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Davis to Noel Coward, George C. Scott and Roger Vadim (and dozens and dozens more). On Saturday, April 14th from 11:00 AM to Noon, you can meet Mr. Langella and have him sign a copy of his book at Bookstore1! (Please Note: Only copies of the book purchased from Bookstore1 will be signed.)

Click here for a rave review from USA Today!

And if that's not enough Frank Langella for you (and how could it be, the man is endlessly fascinating) he will be booking it (see what I did there?) right from his signing to Sarasota High School for his In Conversation chat at 1:00 PM. That Inside The Actor's Studio-style chat will be moderated by New York Magazine and NPR's Fresh Air contributor David Edelstein!

robot And one last plug (gotta do it) be sure to see our Opening Night Film, the moving and wonderful Robot and Frank on Friday, April 13th at 7:00 PM at the illustrious Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall! Frank Langella is a consummate actor at the height of his power and he shines brighter than ever in Robot & Frank. This Oscar-nominated and Tony award-winning actor was Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Richard Nixon. Remember what happened with Christopher Plummer and Beginners after last year's SFF? I'll betcha the same thing happens in 2013 for Mr. Langella

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Sat 07 April 2012 20:13 Last modified: Sun 08 April 2012 08:03

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with sff, Robot & Frank, Frank Langella, Bookstore1, dropped names: famous men and women as I knew them, IN CONVERSATION

SFF 2012 ALL-STARS! Where You've Seen Them B4, Why You Must See Them Here! (At a Glance)

Frank Langella! Penelope Ann Miller! Dominic Monaghan! Ashley Bell! Jena Malone! Jess Weixler! Jordan Gelber! Here's your chance to put film and TV credits to the names and to buy tickets to all their films and events here at SFF 2012!

FRANK LANGELLA


THE TWELVE CHAIRS	DRACULA	NINTH GATE	SUPERMAN RETURNS	FROST/NIXON
Directed by Mel Brooks!	Recreating his electrifying Tony-nominated stage role!	Directed by Roman Polanski, with Johnny Depp!	Playing Perry White!	Oscar-Nominated performance. Directed by Ron Howard!

AND AT SFF 2012...


ROBOT & FRANK	DROPPED NAMES BOOK SIGNING	IN CONVERSATION
Our Opening Night film Friday, April 13th at the Van Wezel. Don't miss this incredible tale of friendship, family and forging your own fate.	Saturday, April 14 , 11:00 AM at Bookstore1!	Experience this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear Mr. Langella discuss his incredible career! Saturday, April 14, 1:00 PM at Sarasota High School.
	CLICK FOR MORE INFO!

PENELOPE ANN MILLER


THE FRESHMAN	AWAKENINGS	CHAPLIN	CARLITO'S WAY	THE ARTIST
Also Starring Marlon Brando and

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Tue 03 April 2012 12:20 Last modified: Wed 04 April 2012 12:01

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sff, Frank Langella, Robot and Frank, Dominic Monaghan, Lord of the Rings, Lost, Ashley Bell, Last Exorcism, Dracula, Penelope Ann Miller, Jena Malone, dropped names, in our nature, think of me, The Day

THE INSIDER: Join us IN CONVERSATION with Frank Langella and Todd Solondz!

frank langella If you've never been to one of our In Conversation presentations then you have been missing out in a major way. Ever watch Inside the Actors Studio? It's like that, only... wait for it... You. Are. There! You're sitting in that audience. You're seeing these extraordinary presentations unfold before you. You are a part of history in the making as the some of the film wolrd's greatest luminaries discuss their lives, their work, their place in the pantheon of enduring cinematic wonder. This is a feast for film lovers. Don't miss it! And this year we are proud to present...

IN CONVERSATION WITH FRANK LANGELLA

robot & frank Hmmm. Is it going out on a limb to draw parallels between Mr. Langella's presence at SFF and what happened last year with Christopher Plummer? I don't think so! Come award season in 2013 the odds are in our favor that you will be seeing a lot of Frank Langella for his sensational and very moving work in our Opening Night Film Robot & Frank. People have asked me: "Is it sci-fi?" My answer is, "Only in the allegorical way Rod Serling handled speculative fiction in the Twilight Zone. There are no flying cars here. This is a film about communcation and generations. A son who doesn't know how to talk to and take care of his dad hires a machine to do it for him and an unlikely friendship evolves. This is an amazingly humanistic story with humor and drama, it's a gift you'll want to receive, believe me." So there you go, a little something to kick off a conversation between

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Mon 26 March 2012 11:33 Last modified: Tue 27 March 2012 11:07

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sarasota, film, sff, Frank Langella, Todd Solondz, Dark Horse, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Robot and Frank, Dracula, Frost Nixon, David Edelstein, NPR, Bookstore1, george clooney, roman polanski

THE INSIDER: SFF 2012 Festival Slate Announced!

campaign To quote the X-Files, "the truth is out there" and we couldn't be more thrilled! We have our biggest line-up of movies ever with 235 films from over 30 countries and our most fascinating and eclectic array of guests ever. So sit back and let your friendly neighborhood Insider fill you in on all the deets from last night's incredible Sponsor Launch at the always amazing Marie Selby International Botanical Gardens!

Ticketing

Tickets for films, passes, and packages go on sale 11am on Friday, March 23, at our box office conveniently located within the lobby of Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20. Or you can buy tickets directly from our new online ticketing on this very website. How convenient! But, as they say, you ain't seen nothing yet, because we're also offering an incredible new Sarasota Film Festival iPhone app that lists all our movies, showtimes, venues, parties and events with convenient filters and searches to help you find exactly what you're looking for and rate what you see!

Guests

Already announced are Frank Langella for our Opening Night film Robot and Frank (along with the film's director Jake Schreier) and Todd Solondz, director of Dark Horse, our Centerpiece film. (And here's a cool bit of casting news for you: Frank Langella has just been cast with Christopher Plummer from SFF 2011 to appear in Stephen Frears' upcoming HBO film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight. Plummer will play Supreme Court Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II with Langella in the role of

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Mon 19 March 2012 19:06 Last modified: Tue 20 March 2012 10:23

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, film, sff, Christopher Plummer, Frank Langella, Todd Solondz, Dark Horse, Paul Simon, Graceland, Robot and Frank, Marie Selby International Botanical Gardens, Rory Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Ethel, Dominic Monaghan, Lord of the Rings, Lost, Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcist, Sarasota Opera House, Sarasota Yacht Club, Cinema Tropicale, State College of Florida, NYU Tisch School Of the Arts, Women Make Movies, WWE, Jewish Federation of Sarasota Manatee

SFF 2012 Opening Night, Centerpiece and Closing Night Revealed!

Robot & Frank, starring Frank Langella and directed by Jake Schreier is our Opening Night film and both the director and star will attend! Director Todd Solondz's Dark Horse is our Centerpiece film with the director in attendance! Under African Skies, a stirring documentary by Oscar-nominee Joe Berlinger about the making of Paul Simon's Graceland in South Africa will have you up on your feet and clapping along as we close the festival! Big news all around!

OPENING NIGHT FILM

Frank Langella first came to international screen stardom when he recreated his role from the Edward Gorey stage version of Dracula in the 1979 film adaptation by John Badham (Saturday Night Fever). Since then he has been delivering one electrifying performance after another, including his recent triumph as Richard Nixon in Ron Howard's acclaimed Frost/Nixon.

In the charming Robot & Frank, Langella plays a retired thief resigned to a lonely life at home whose son surprises him with a robot caretaker intent on making Frank's life vital once more. This works out perhaps a little too well when Frank decides to return to his thieving ways with the help of his new robot pal. Also starring is the forever luminous Susan Sarandon as the local librarian for whom Frank feels a deep longing. This film is director Jake Schreier's feature film debut. Robot & Frank is a Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions release. SFF is honored to showcase this wonderful movie as our Opening Night Film

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Wed 07 March 2012 23:52 Last modified: Thu 08 March 2012 11:16

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sarasota, film, sff, Christopher Walken, Robot & Frank, Frank Langella, Jake Schreier, Susan Sarandon, Todd Solondz, Dark Horse, Opening Night film, Centerpiece film, Closing Night film, Mia Farrow, Selma Blair, Paul Simon, Graceland, Joe Berlinger

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