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On the Frontlines of Hunger

Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, was at the epicenter of the 80’s famine that killed one million people and inspired Live Aid. Now, 40 years later, history is in danger of repeating itself. Powerful interviews tell of a war between 2020 and 2022 that killed 600,000 soldiers and citizens. As one of the worst and least reported conflicts of our time, few in the West are aware of the levels of killing and sexual violence that have left Tigray in trauma. This time, there will be no pop concert. The film features a stark interview with Bob Geldof, the rock star behind Live Aid, and asks: In a world of plenty why are babies still starving to death? In a time of mass media, why does no one seem to care? While the world focusses elsewhere, the people on the ground battle to pick up the pieces; teachers, farmers, business owners and humanitarians, people just like us, who find themselves on the frontlines of hunger.


Expected Guests: Amor Aditya, Felicity Read

Mistura

In 1960s Peru, a privileged French-Peruvian woman’s life unravels when her husband’s betrayal ostracizes her from elite society, and leads her to embrace people from the very communities that she was raised to disregard. Amidst the backdrop of newfound alliances, she embarks on a transformative journey that challenges societal norms and reveals Peru’s authentic identity through a daring culinary venture that celebrates the country’s remarkably diverse cuisine and peoples, igniting a revolution that redefines her life.


In Narrative Competition

Micro Budget

“Epic Ambition. Major Delusion. Micro Budget.” When Terry (Patrick Noth) discovers he’s about to be a father, he does what any other sane person would do. He moves himself and his nine-months-pregnant wife from Iowa to Los Angeles to shoot a low-budget indie movie and sell it to a streamer for a “f-ing ton of money.” Documented by his cousin Devin’s behind-the-scenes camera crew, Terry suddenly finds that his beliefs about diversity, the #MeToo movement, and what technically qualifies as a properly financed film production put him at odds with, well, every single person who meets him. Featuring a cast of comedy MVPs (and a great bit by veteran Hal Linden), the uproarious Micro Budget follows Terry’s disastrous attempts to make a movie and his inability to serve a decent lunch.


In Independent Visions Competition

My Guardian Angel

25% OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT WILL BE DONATED TO THE JOHNS HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION


Drawing inspiration from a real-life friendship during director Nya Chambless’ formative years,this story of the special bond between two elementary school classmates, one stricken with a debilitating disease, is a poignant testament to the power of love and friendship. Nya used her grief to weave together themes of resilience and creativity, while also fostering awareness of childhood cancer and encouraging empathy and understanding in children.


Expected Guest: Nya Chambless, Jerry Chambless

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

Marlee Matlin, the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award, looks back on her remarkable life, career, and the complexities of being the “first.” Director Shoshanna Stern, also deaf, provides an intimate profile of Matlin who, now for the first time in her own language, reflects on her life and reclaims her story, from her Illinois childhood to becoming a star at age 19, of playing the lead in Children of a Lesser God opposite William Hurt and weathering a tumultuous relationship with Hurt marked by domestic violence and substance. After winning the Academy Award for best actress, Marlee channeled her sudden rise to fame into advocacy towards accessibility. She staged a long career in television and insisted deaf actors be cast in 2022’s Oscar winning film Coda.

Marcella (Encore Screening!)

Marcella Hazan didn’t just teach Italian cooking—she changed how we cook and experience Italian food, and in so doing changed the way America eats. Fearless, passionate, and exacting, she introduced authentic recipes to millions. None other than Julia Child called Marcella “my mentor in all things Italian.” A disabled woman trained as a scientist, Marcella never cooked until she immigrated to America. But through her cookbooks and teaching – and an uncompromising commitment to Italian tradition – her impact was felt in millions of American home kitchens. Peter Miller’s new documentary tells her extraordinary, improbable, delicious story and how her passion was felt in millions of American kitchens. Featuring Jacques Pépin, Danny Meyer, April Bloomfield, and Lidia Bastianich, this intimate portrait reveals the bold woman who forever shaped our palates.


Expected Guest (April 13 screening): Giuliano Hazan

Long Shadows

Set in the American West in the 1880s, Marcus Dollar (Blaine May) ages out of an orphanage intent on avenging the cold-blooded killings of his parents, but the love of a girl and psychological trauma lead him down a mystifying path. This story of psychology, moral complexity and compassion set against a classic Western backdrop marks the directorial debut of actor William Shockley (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) and includes Dermont Mulroney, who plays plays Dallas Garrett, a former outlaw gunslinger with the wisdom of regret, and who serves as a mentor to a young man trying to find his way in the world. Veteran actress Jacqueline Bisset and Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings) also co-star.


In Narrative Competition

Anxiety Club

Anxiety Club provides an intimate and humorous look at anxiety through the eyes and minds of some of today’s most brilliant comedians, including Sarasota’s Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, Marc Maron, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Baron Vaughn and Eva Victor. Through exclusive interviews, stand-up performances, sketch videos, therapy and everyday life, they share their personal relationships with anxiety. Jenkins undergoes the often grueling process of exposure therapy, capturing the transformative impact of her treatment. World-renowned meditation teacher and author Tara Brach, PhD, guides another through meditation to help him transcend his fears and anxieties, while others find support from The Laugh Factory’s psychologist-in-residence and mentors in the comedy community. By blending vulnerability with humor, these comedians offer powerful insight into anxiety, the world’s most prevalent mental health condition, affecting more than 300 million people globally.


Expected Guests: Wendy Lobel, Tiffany Jenkins,  Natalie Noel, LMHC

Gloria 19

In this new web series, a clone, with help from a rogue AI assistant, realizes the importance of her survival from the powerful corporation, Devin Genetics, that created her. Her life may be the key to curing a deadly disease and revealing a plot that could alter the existence of mankind.


Expected Guest: Michael Kinsey

Lovers

Ash is an aspiring writer in NYC, struggling with loneliness and a loss of creative inspiration. She gets a call from her best friend Tara with the news that their mutual friend and her ex Tommy has taken his own life. The two women decide to return to their hometown to attend his funeral and reconnect with their old close-knit group. They find themselves in the same old dive bar music venue where not much has changed, and the music is still the thing that brings everyone together. The group finds themselves having to confront the loss of their friend and the addiction issues that permeate artistic communities. They discover the power of coming together through music, and how healing it can be to have a space to grieve together. Ash is given the opportunity to see herself in a new way through the warmth and authenticity of the friends that have known her for so long. She slowly opens herself back up to the people she used to call chosen family, and to the possibility of finding love again. 


Expected Guests: Taylor McFadden, followed by a special performance from singer-songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff


In Narrative Competition

Godfather of Harlem

From Chris Brancato, creator of Narcos and Hotel Cocaine, Season 4 stars Academy® Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson, alongside Ilfenesh Hadera, Lucy Fry, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Erik LaRay Harvey, Michael Raymond James, Elvis Nolasco, and Erik Palladino, and introduces Frank Lucas portrayed by Daytime Emmy® Award-winning actor Rome Flynn. The first three seasons are currently available to stream on MGM+. In Season 4 of Godfather of Harlem, Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York’s Mafia families, while contending with the arrival of gangster Frank Lucas (Rome Flynn). After Malcolm X’s (Jason Alan Carvell) tragic assassination, Bumpy must also grapple with his daughter Elise’s (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) involvement with the Black Panthers. Produced by 20th Television, the series is executive produced by Chris Brancato, Paul Eckstein, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson, Markuann Smith, Ray Quinlan, Michael Panes, and Stephen Schiff, with Swizz Beatz serving as executive music producer.


SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL WILL PREMIERE THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF SEASON 4 OF THIS EXPLOSIVE DRAMA.


In Attendance: Rome Flynn, Michael Panes and the show’s creator, show runner, producer and writer Chris Brancato

Gallagher

With his witty wordplay and wacky props, Leo Gallagher became one of the biggest comedy acts of the 1980s. The comedian’s most famous bit: smashing a watermelon with a giant mallet to the messy delight of audiences. His signature act was a gift and a curse, shooting him to superstardom while breeding both dismissive detractors and imitators, including his own brother. As tastes change, the aging Gallagher seeks the respect he deserves as an innovator in the art of stand-up comedy. This dive into the rollercoaster life of the man behind the mallet reveals the secrets beyond his iconic stage antics, with comments from the likes of Bill Burr, Howie Mandel, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carrot Top, family members and Gallagher himself…plus clips from classic performances (co-starring some hapless watermelons).

Color Book

In this tender slice-of-life drama, the recently widowed Lucky (played with immense vulnerability by William Catlett) is adjusting to life as the now-primary caretaker of his son Mason, who has Down syndrome. Surrounded by grief and wanting to treat Mason to a perfect day out, Lucky decides to take him to his first baseball game at Truist Park. However, they’re a long way outside of metro Atlanta…what is meant to be a joyful day of father-son bonding turns into a day-long journey of setbacks and unexpected obstacles as they encounter various new people and places, all captured in potent black-and-white cinematography. In his feature debut, filmmaker David Fortune crafts an emotionally rich, sensitive portrait of the special bond between a devoted single father and his son. -Julia Kipnis, AFi Film Festival


In Narrative Competition

Deadly Deception at Sobibor

Holocaust denial began with the Nazis at a top-secret death camp called Sobibor. In a compelling tale of detection, a 10-year investigation unearths evidence of a Nazi cover-up of a factory of death in a remote forest in Poland. To hide the murder of 250,000 Jews, a daring revolt, and a mass escape by 300 prisoners, the Nazis meticulously destroyed the camp. Today, a forest conceals their crime scene, but now, archeologists Yoram Haimi (Israel), Wojciech Mazurek (Poland), and Ivar Schute (Netherlands) have uncovered what the Nazis tried to erase from history. Deadly Deception at Sobibor reveals the Nazi cover-up through ground-probing radar, secret telegrams, Luftwaffe aerials, and excavation discoveries as they take place. The film weaves together history and science to expose remains of barracks, mass graves, gas chambers, and 70,000 artifacts —including metal name tags of children. Narrated by acclaimed actress Tovah Feldshuh, the film uncovers the chilling outcome of violent bigotry.


Expected Guest: Gary Hochman

Boys Go to Jupiter

Juilan Glander has made a name for himself with his distinctive, colorful 3D animation style, which he’s showcased everywhere from video games to the pages of The New Yorker. Now, he brings his unique aesthetic to his first feature film, a visionary work that transforms the abandoned swimming pools and construction sites of suburban Florida into a surreal wonderland where the magical is mundane and the mundane magical. Set in the liminal period between Christmas and New Year’s, the story follows the adventures of Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett), a teenage gig worker with a rise-and-grind mindset whose quest to make $5,000 is derailed by the appearance of a gelatinous little dude from outer space. Using the power of lo-fi musical numbers and deadpan comedy, Billy must save Donut and his family from the evil schemes of the Dolphin Groves Juice Company. The voice cast — which also includes Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman, Joe Pera, Cole Escola and Elsie Fisher — is a who’s who of weirdo comedy all-stars, adding to the charmingly strange vibe.––Frederic Boyer, Tribeca Festival


In Independent Visions Competition

Being Maria

Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vartolomei) is a promising, young French actress. When she gets the lead in a feature film directed by an acclaimed Italian filmmaker and starring one of America’s most beloved actors, it seems like the opportunity of a lifetime. Her collaborators, director Bernardo Bertolucci and star Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon, in a spot-on performance) seem to be bringing out the best in Maria, sharing a warm rapport and mentorship with the 19-year old girl. Until one day, when the two men conspire to shoot a crucial sex scene as a harrowing assault without letting Maria in on the plan. The film goes on to be lauded as a fearless artistic breakthrough, but for Maria, it’s the beginning of a long-lasting struggle. Based on the behind-the-scenes true story of the making of Last Tango in Paris, Jessica Palud’s sensitive biopic centers Maria’s story for the first time.

BAR

BAR focuses on five people from around the US who descend on the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, along with 70 other students, to participate in the BAR 5-Day course – the world’s premiere educational program on distilled spirits and mixology – it’s for spirits what the Court of Master Sommeliers is for wine. Don Hardy follows the five through a week where they learn from the world’s leading cocktail and spirit experts and undergo rigorous testing in hopes of joining the highest ranks. While the competition is intense, the folks in this community strive to lift each other up and inspire the next generation. Thrilling, inspirational, and stirring (pun unintended), BAR provides a front-row seat into the personal lives and talents of individuals pursuing a life-changing achievement and striving to prove they are the best of the best.


Expected Guest: Jessica Pomerantz (featured bartender)


In Documentary Competition

Aria

Aria offers viewers a backstage understanding of opera in exploring the art through the personal stories of four singers who face racism, gender-discrimination, body-shaming, and poverty to sing on the world’s biggest stages. What begins as an introduction into their lives and lifestyles moves into a suspenseful and high-stakes narrative as each singer strives to gain leading roles in premiere operas staged around the world. Within this competitive art form, Aria presents each young artist’s diverse background, revealing their personal and artistic struggles as they face physical and emotional challenges and risk rejection at every audition. Put another way, Aria is a real-life story about the American Dream.


Expected Guests: Karen Day, Meredith Richardson, Richard Russell, Executive Director, Sarasota Opera

André Is an Idiot

André is a brilliant idiot who is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor. After all, if he’s going to die, he reckons, he’s going to enjoy dying as much as he possibly can.This intimate, offbeat portrait follows the three years Ricciardi, an innovative, out-of-the-box advertising creative director, spent living with colonic cancer: both a candid treatment diary and a fresh, close-up character study of an unusual personality colored by his peculiar and unyielding look at life.


In Documentary Competition


US Documentary Audience Award Winner, Sundance Film Festival

Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award Winner US Documentary, Sundance Film Festival

Ain’t No Back To a Merry-Go-Round

In the summer of 1960 five Howard University students sat down on the gilded horses at the carousel in the whites-only Glen Echo Amusement Park in Maryland, not far from the nation’s capital. The news reports led the nearby white, largely Jewish community to join the Black students en masse and help set up picket lines, and an unprecedented collaboration was born. The picketing attracted Nazis, Congressman, and a press avalanche. Picketing together led to partying together and union organizers mentored student activists. From these protests emerged ten 1961 Freedom Riders, including Stokely Carmichael, along with a Supreme Court case. With never-before seen footage and immersive storytelling by Emmy-award winning director Ilana Trachtman, four living protesters rescue this untold story, revealing the price, and the power, of heeding the impulse to activism. Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round includes voiceovers by noted actors Jeffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Bob Balaban, Lee Grant, Peter Gallagher, Dominique Thorne, Alysia Reiner and Tracie Thoms.


Guest: Barry Wolfe, a participant in the picket line

The Big Lebowski

Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

The ABCs of Book Banning

In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues. By weaving together a lyrical montage of young readers and authors, THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING reveals the voices of the impacted parties, and inspires hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.

The Last Repair Shop

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

Naked Ambition: Bunny Yeager

Bunny Yeager, once heralded as the world’s prettiest photographer, had a huge influence in 20th-century pop culture though few people know her name. Whether by popularizing the bikini, helping discover Bettie Page, shaping the image of Playboy or inventing the selfie, Bunny was a trailblazer whose work bucked against conservative 1950s America and helped pave the way for both the feminist movement and the sexual revolution. Yet the very changes she helped usher in would soon render her a forgotten relic…till now. Dennis Scholl’s incisive, entertaining documentary, with comments from Yeager’s adult children and testimonies from cultural icons such as photographer Bruce Weber, Dita von Teese, and Larry King, and (of course) chock full of her work, reinstates Bunny as an iconic artist and portrays the evolution of women’s autonomy in postwar America.


In Attendance: Dennis Scholl, Director; Kareem Tabsch, Producer

Flower

World-renowned ballerina Misty Copeland stars in her first independently produced short art film, an immersive experience in movement storytelling that highlights intergenerational equity in the community of Oakland, California, featuring new, original music from Grammy-winning recording artist Raphael Saadiq.