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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Quick Pitch: If you are a lover of the art scene in Sarasota and you are fascinated by the creative process, you owe it to yourself to see John Sims' Rhythm of Structure: Bowery and Beyond on Wednesday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 3:30 PM! And on Thursday beginning at 6:00 PM, Café Palm is hosting The Square Root of Love, a reception and after party, an evening of performance and exhibition featuring John Sims and his collaborators the legendary Karen Finley and Greg Tate. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO THE FILM! (The reception is free!)

And get this: Karen Finley teaches at NYU Tisch! She was notably one of the NEA Four, four performance artists whose grants from the National Endowment for the Arts were vetoed in 1990 by John Frohnmayer after the process was condemned by Senator Jesse Helms under "decency" issues. Among her many accomplishments she has lectured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York about art and music just last year. This is your chance to meet one of the art world’s biggest names!

 Check this out!

THE INSIDER: Why did you decide to chronicle your creative journey with a documentary film?

JOHN SIMS: It seems natural to me that film maximizes options in terms of unpacking the inevitable complexities of abstract ideas to a large and demographically diverse pool of people. While historical fidelity is a hit or proposition, films are a very good approximation. Also beyond commitment to content and history, I aim to bring a strong art element to the

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