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

Saturday Go-To Guide! IN CONVERSATION WITH PENELOPE ANN MILLER! Earth Day Films at the Neel Auditorium! Wrestlers on the Red Carpet! Under African Skies! Filmmaker Tribute and Awards!

I bet your head's spinning just from that title. I know mine is! Wow, we have Penelope Ann Miller today at her IN CONVERSATION, at the FILMMAKER TRIBUTE AWARDS and at the Q&A for her film THINK OF ME! Let's start with a PLAN AHEAD suggestion then hit it hard with quick look guides to today's big events and today's films with filmmakers in attendance! Please note, we have fantastic audio interview with the director and producer of ARCADIA and the director and star of THE UNSPEAKABLE ACT in their entries in today's film picks!

PLAN AHEAD!

IN CONVERSATION WITH TODD SOLONDZ

NOON

SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOL

Moderated by David Carr (The New York Times)

Have you ever met a filmmaker whose work opened your eyes to a way of looking at the world that was at once alien and strange and yet perfectly familiar and speaking to you in a language that you thought only you understood. TODD SOLONDZ is an auteur in the true sense of the word. His films are firestarters. They are also wonderfully human and accessible, brilliantly observed, funny, and breathtakingly real. He is the director of DARK HORSE, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, HAPPINESS, PALINDROMES and many more. You must see him live and in person (and ask him your questions) in our Inside the Actors Studio style discussion!

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS NOW!

TODAY'S HOT LIST: EVENTS!

(Click on event title to buy tickets now!)

IN CONVERSATION WITH PENELOPE ANN MILLER - Moderated by Peter Rainer

1 PM SARASOTA HIGH SCHOOL

Penelope

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Fri 20 April 2012 16:27 Last modified: Sat 21 April 2012 05:32

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sarasota, film, Todd Solondz, Dominic Monaghan, Penelope Ann Miller, Jena Malone, kelly kelly, rey mysterio

SFF BREAKING NEWS! More Guests! NFL Hall of Famer! WWE Superstars! Sarasota’s own Flying Wallenda Family!

rey kelly It’s time to get pumped and muscle your way down to our box office inside the Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20 (or to get a workout flexing your online ticket buying skills) because today SFF 2012 gets physical! Want to know how it feels like to walk the highwire with Sarasota’s own Flying Wallenda Family (and to see Tino perform the highwire at the Sarasota Yacht Club live and in person for our Cinema Tropicale)? Want to feel the burning reality of playing in the NFL (and learn of its sometimes heartrending consequences?) Want to meet two incredible WWE Superstars and see a post apocalyptic thriller with the stars of Lost and Last Exorcism? We’ve got just the ticket! (You know that’s right.)

Check this! WWE Superstars Kelly Kelly and Rey Mysterio will be attending our Saturday, April 21 8:30 PM screening of The Day alongside Dominic Monaghan (Charlie from LOST), Ashley Bell (from The Last Exorcism) and Director Douglas Aarniokoski. See them on the Red Carpet! Hear Douglas and the stars talk about The Day! (More on that in just a moment.)

Check this! Tino Wallenda and the Flying Wallenda Family will attend the World Premiere screening of The Show Must Go On on Friday, April 20th at 5:30 PM at the Sarasota Opera House. And Tino will perform the high wire at our spectacular Cinema Tropicale event! (More on that in just a moment, too!)

Check this! NY Giants Hall Of Fame legend Harry Carson will attend our screening of American Man on Thursday, April 19th at 7:30 PM at the

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Fri 06 April 2012 22:56 Last modified: Sat 07 April 2012 10:10

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with sarasota, sff, Dominic Monaghan, Ashley Bell, WWE, The Day, kelly kelly, flying wallenda family, charlie from lost, last exorcist, the show must go on, American Man

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: Exclusive Interview with Ashley Bell from THE DAY!

Ashley Bell is a phenomenal actress who rocked the world with her shattering performance in the intense The Last Exorcism. SFF is proud to welcome her to this year's festival for her latest film The Day. That's right, she'll be walking down our red carpet. How cool is that? Well, it gets better because The Day is amazing and she, natch, is incredible in the film as Mary, a weapons-wielding survivor in a post-apocalyptic world. Fans of The Walking Dead won't want to miss this one! (Nope, this isn't zombies... its way scarier!) The Day screens Friday, April 20 at 8:30 PM and Saturday, April 21 at 8:30 PM.

And click here to check out our mention in the New York Times just the other day for, yep, The Day!

THE INSIDER: What drew you to this project?

ASHLEY BELL: It's funny, when I first sat down with (director) Doug Aarniokoski and (producer) Guy Danella they tried to talk me out of doing the film. They told me I'd have to lose weight, add muscle, learn how to shoot a shotgun, do my own stunts and survive in below freezing weather. I said, "I'm in!" It was both a dare, and a challenge. If you want me to do something, just tell me I can't.

THE INSIDER: Please tell us about Mary, your character in The Day.

ASHLEY BELL: I see Mary as a woman who refuses to be a victim. I was attracted to the character because she was both emotionally and physically challenging. I loved the fact that she had to hone all her instincts and physical abilities to survive in this grisly

Posted by: The Insider Created on: Wed 28 March 2012 05:27 Last modified: Wed 28 March 2012 04:37

This article was posted in Inside SFF and tagged with festival, sarasota, sff, Dominic Monaghan, Ashley Bell, WWE, Last Exorcism, Doug Aarniokoski, The Walking Dead, online catalog, red carpet, john carpenter, the road, assault on precinct 13, shawn ashmore, toronto international film festival

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

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Sarasota Film Festival, Inc. is a nonprofit organization under Federal Tax Code 501(c)(3). A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.