East Coast Premiere. MoviePass, MovieCrash chronicles the origin story, meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion of the theatrical movie subscription app, MoviePass, as told through the eyes of the visionary co-founders. The film details the unique challenges they faced in building the pop culture phenomenon, only to eventually find themselves cast aside, watching from the sidelines, as new executives seized control and havoc ensued.
Florida Premiere. An immersive viewing experience of sound and imagery, Nocturnes weaves together an intricate and poetic tapestry of our world. Ecologist Mansi sets out on a quest to study moths in one of the most vibrant places on earth. She teams up with Bicki, a young man from the indigenous Bugun community, to seek clues about what the future has in store for the moths. Together, Mansi and Bicki traverse the landscape, meticulously working night after night to put up light screens that transform into a dynamic canvas with moths of varying sizes, designs and textures, creating a painterly effect with their form, movement and color. Meanwhile, the human beings wait, watch and listen with patient anticipation and wonder. By focusing on a small, ephemeral, nocturnal creature like the moth, Nocturnes seeks to question a human-centric view of the world. The lush forest, throbbing with a vast diversity of life, emerges as a breath-taking character as the film responds to the symphony of sounds and the inherent rhythms of the trees, the wind and the rain. The result is a rare and transformative experience that invites us all to look with more attention and care at the hidden interconnections in nature.
Florida Premiere. Luther Vandross always thought he would be a star. In Luther: Never Too Much, director Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble) traces that journey to stardom, beginning with his formative years at the epicenter of black culture, Harlem’s very own Apollo Theater, through to his big break with David Bowie, where he would go on to sing background vocals and arrange Bowie’s iconic Young Americans album. Porter explores his process of creation, an exacting style that culminated in the most exquisite compositions, and delves into the man behind the music — insights from musicians and friends alongside archival interviews with Luther himself that reveal his humor, frustrations, loneliness, personal issues, and unwavering dedication to his craft as expressed through his exquisite music, experienced here in a new light. Both new converts and devout admirers from back in the day will enjoy this sensitive and joyous exploration of the life and career of a performer who left us way too soon.
Just off the heels of the Oscars…the Sarasota Film Festival is thrilled to bring the 2023 Academy Award© nominated Live Action short films to our festival goers. Join us, for the first time in Florida, for a special afternoon showcase featuring all five Oscar nominated films including the winner The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, directed by Wes Anderson who created films like The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and many more. This big screen presentation will include an introduction by Patrick Harrison, a 22-year veteran of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a post screening conversation with filmmakers, subject to availability. You will also be able to participate in some fun Oscar trivia, cocktails and treats.
The Films
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER
Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
The After
Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham
Invincible
Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron
Knight of Fortune
Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk
Red, White and Blue
Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane
Patrick Harrison served at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as Vice President, Member Relations and Global Outreach in charge of designing and implementing all Academy programs and outreach initiatives on the East Coast, Midwest and South including retrospectives, tributes, member engagement activities and Oscar Night. Prior to the Academy, Patrick worked at Miramax Films where he managed awards campaigns and events including award winning titles like Il Postino, The Cider House Rules, The English Patient, Shakespeare In Love and Chocolat. In 2023, Patrick joined Frank Awards as partner, building the agency’s awards division.
Film elements provided by ShortsTV.
In October 2019, 30-year-old Shamony Gibson tragically died 13 days following the birth of her son. Two months later, the film team began documenting Shamony’s surviving mother, Shawnee Benton Gibson, and bereaved partner, Omari Maynard, as they began to process what happened and figure out their new normal.
In April 2020, 26-year-old Amber Rose Isaac, died due to an emergency c-section. Within weeks of Amber’s death, Omari reaches out to Amber’s surviving partner Bruce McIntyre and a lifelong bond is formed. Together, Omari and Bruce begin the fight for justice for their partners with their families and community by their side, while caring for their children as newly single parents. The film witness these two families become ardent activists in the maternal health space, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art. Their work introduces a myriad of people including a growing brotherhood of surviving Black fathers, along with the work of midwives and physicians on the ground fighting for institutional reform. Through their collective journeys, the film brings us to the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.
This is a special screening on Saturday, April 6 at 1pm at Ringling College. A panel discussion will follow. The panel is led by Dr. Washington Hill, Founding Director, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System, Senior Physician CenterPlace Health.
Admission to this event is free.
East Coast Premiere. Bull Street follows LouEster Sadie Gibbs (played by newcomer Malynda Hale), a 39-year-old small-town personal injury lawyer whose mother died in childbirth. Her grandmother, Mrs. Big-Gal (Loretta Devine), has raised her in their humble family home with love and a rich spiritual tradition. When an entitled Ivy League lawyer questions their ownership of the homeand its surrounding land, the stage is set for a clash of privilege against family. Judge Motley(Amy Madigan) must determine whether LouEster’s lifelong home really is her birthright or if the handshake transfer of land doesn’t hold up in court. From the Biblical roots of land ownership tao the contemporary struggle, preserving generational wealth is imperative. This stirring Southern drama is both a call to action and a tribute to undying determination. Never take your eyes off the prize.
In attendance Amy Madigan. Arielle Prepetit, Gary Ray Moore, Mathew Greer, Idella Johnson, Dir. Lynn Dow and Producer Wendy Tucker Tannock
Jazz and global history have never intertwined in such a compelling and convincing manner as in Johan Grimomprez’s Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, an engrossing documentary that examines how the great American art form and geopolitics collide in a nefarious chapter of Cold War history: the murder of Patrice Lumumba. The year is 1960, the Voice of America Jazz Hour broadcasts the likes of Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie behind the Iron Curtain, while a wave of decolonization movements tears through the African continent and the struggle for civil rights marches on stateside. Beat by beat, director Johan Grimonprez traces Lumumba’s rise of the 36-year-old independence leader to become Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister—and how corporate and colonial interests, along with machinations at the United Nations, conspired in his assassination. Deeply researched, the film interweaves archival records, home movies, newly unearthed speeches by Lumumba, and published memoirs by Congolese activists and writers with the story of the Black jazz legends (Armstrong, Gillespie, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln among others) who defined the era in more ways than one. Pulsating with the energy of the period, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat plays like both a dense historical text and a lively jazz concert while proving itself to be an invigorating piece of documentary filmmaking.
Florida Premiere. Organic Rising demystifies organic agriculture for the consumer. U.S. consumers are confronted with the U.S.D.A. organic label on a daily basis but only a handful of people know what it represents. Director Anthony Suau provides us with a thorough guide on the history of organic farming, the regulatory practices, and most of all the farming practices that have led to organic produce at your local grocery store or outdoor market. And to understand what organic is, it is also necessary to know what organics is not. Suau also takes a close look at conventional agriculture through the voices of farmers and renowned scientists. The research presented by the scientists, on the human and the environmental effects of synthetic pesticides, is profoundly disturbing and unprecedented. Organic Rising is a profound look that demystifies the regulatory process and farming methods to give us informed choices for maintaining a strong and robust agricultural future.
Audience Award Winner: Documentary, Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, inmates of a Washington DC jail are given the opportunity to attend a father-daughter dance held in the prison gym. After a ten-week “responsible fatherhood” counseling program, and much soul-searching on both sides of the bars, the men reconnect with their offspring for just a few hours. But while the contact may be short, this sensitive, powerful documentary shows that the effects can be far-reaching. Co-directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, CEO of Black advocacy group Girls For A Change and founder of the ‘Date With Dad’ program documented here, Daughters places its focus on these girls who are left behind when men are incarcerated. With the ages of the daughters ranging from five to 15 years-old at the start of filming, both their and their fathers’ frankness and honesty give this documentary an emotional authenticity which challenges many stereotypes around incarceration and serves as a poignant reminder that maintaining family bonds can be both healing and empowering. We get to witness a lot of joy, but Rae and Patton don’t shy away from more challenging moments, including heartbreak, skepticism, reluctance to engage, and anger. While this life-changing program is not a magic bullet, it emerges as one very important step on the road to change.
15 min documentary film discusses the work of Lemur Conservation Foundation in Madagascar and Myakka City, Florida. Lemurs are the most unique and most endangered primates in the world with 98% of the more than 110 species threatened with extinction.
One of Central Florida’s most celebrated jazz ensembles embarks on the exciting journey of celebrating and recording their 25th Anniversary Album “Within Us”. While in the midst of the COVID uncertainty, we gain a fascinating and informative inside look at the creative process of how a jazz big band recording evolves. From finding inspiration, to reuniting with old friends, to performing extremely difficult music with technical issues and having the studio being shut down in the middle of recording, this inside look at the process of recording and releasing a big band jazz album moves through a range of emotions and gives insight into the creativity, patience and resilience of the band and their composer, Chuck Owens, who shows what “Within Us” means.
Common Ground is the highly anticipated sequel to the juggernaut success documentary Kiss the Ground, which touched over 1 billion people globally and inspired the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to put $20 billion toward soil health. By fusing journalistic exposé with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the food movement, Common Ground unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how unjust practices forged our current farm system while profiling a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late. Common Ground is the recipient of the 2023 Human/Nature Award, a prize established to amplify a film that best exemplifies solution-oriented environmental storytelling.
Arash is a professional wrestler with dreams of representing his country and winning gold medals. The country is in turmoil and its people are suffering. Arash must decide between using his platform to stand up to tyranny, or put his head down and remain silent.
Screened as part of the Foreign 1 section.
Sixteen-year-old Manuel lives in Tijuana, Mexico with his grandfather while his mom works in the United States. When he meets a girl, he sees an opportunity to assert his independence, but what he doesn’t know about her will push him to the limit.
Inspired by real events.
Screened as part of the Foreign 1 section.
A poignant documentary that unfolds alongside Jon Linton, an artist who lost a friend and colleague to addiction and homelessness. In an attempt to process what happened, Jon walked out into to world, with his camera, to open himself to the reality of what it is to be unhoused. He wandered into a human experience akin to Tolstoy walking out into his beloved Moscow in the late 1800s.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 1 section.
Burton Rocks’ health left him isolated. So, he started calling some of America’s biggest stars.
They answered.
Forty years later, Burton shares his fascinating collection of interviews for the first time.
Screened as part of the Documentary Shorts 1 section.
As a young man in Scotland, singer George Orr played in bands and dreamed of becoming a rockstar. After repeatedly being told that he looked and sounded too much like a fellow newcomer named Rod Stewart, George’s dream slowly faded. Forty years and many professional sidetracks later – including stints as a martial arts trainer and a Miami paparazzo – George was able to turn the very thing that held him back in his early attempt at a career in music into his ticket to success later in life. As a renowned Rod Stewart tribute artist, George entertains sold out crowds with his singing and Chardonnay-soaked banter. NOT ROD is a short documentary about a big personality who reminds us that it is never too late to do what you love.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Documentary section.
It’s the summer before Phoebe Lee leaves home. The Chinese-American Lee family, who has lived in the Mississippi Delta for generations, is preparing for the day by taking inventory at their grocery store. The two Lee siblings — Phoebe and Raymond — work in tandem like they have all of their lives.
Except this summer is different. Phoebe is leaving home for a college far from Mississippi, and in doing so is saying goodbye to her older brother and an entire way of life.
Screened as part of the Deeply Poignant section.
Against all odds, a young man with autism and tourette syndrome enters a grueling gravel race, pushing himself to the limit as he faces physical and mental challenges along the way.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Documentary section.
Drowned in a family reunion chaos filled with testosterone and pig roast, REYNALD will try to prove to his nephew, his family but mostly himself that’s he’s still king.
Screened as part of the Foreign 3 section.
Twelve-year-old Iris is sent to live on a farm in rural Pennsylvania after an encounter with her mom’s boyfriend.
Screened as part of the Deeply Poignant section.
Lars and Frances are two young professionals who work day in and day out for Sol Corp, the mega-corporation that owns and runs the entire world. Their routine consists of putting on VR Headsets and transporting their souls into the “cloud,” rendering their bodies lifeless in the real world for 10 hours a day. To ensure their cats are entertained, they play “Bird Hours,” an NPR program that plays recordings of various birds, which are all extinct due to climate change. After reports of absurd catastrophic news events and a long-awaited session of intimacy is interrupted by Sol Corp, Lars smashes his and Frances’ headsets and they escape their apartment into a sun-drenched world of unknowns.
Screened as part of the Narrative Shorts section.
A close look inside the world of a Special Olympian, Becky Richter.
Screened as part of the Sarasota Filmmakers Documentary section.
An agoraphobic man named Greg, fears that someone outside of his apartment window is watching him. Every night he enjoys a routine of watching conspiracy filled videos from a public access TV talk show and has dinner with his only trusted friend, his neighbor. However, his paranoia is heightened when the talk show host begins speaking to him, informing him that his neighbor may not be what he seems.
Screened as part of the Ringling section.
