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

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Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director of Women Make Movies is the recipient of the SFF 2012 IMPACT AWARD, which will be presented by UN Women US National Committee Board Member Carol Poteat Buchanan at the Filmmaker Tribute, Saturday, April 21st at 6:00 PM at the Sarasota Opera House. And as part of our SFF&SCF program, Debra will appear as a panelist in our free 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.

Zimmerman tells us, "Women Make Movies is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and we are excited to be partnering again with the Sarasota Film Festival and Through Women's Eyes on such great programming and with the Side by Side mentorship program. This program is one of 40 worldwide events spanning the globe that will celebrate the organization's work in transforming the landscape for independent women's films and filmmakers."

Would you like an A-Z for Women Make Movies and recommendations of five great films SFF 2012 is showing in honor of WMM and Debra's achievements? Well, then, you've come to the right place!

THE INSIDER: When was Women Make Movies founded?

DEBRA ZIMMERMAN: 1972.

THE INSIDER: Why was it established?

DEBRA ZIMMERMAN: WMM was founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Page in 1972 with a very specific mission: to put cameras into the hands of women who wanted to learn how to make films. Back then, very few women

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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

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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

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