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

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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

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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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