Review: SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL at Sarasota, Florida

The 21st Annual Sarasota Film Festival began with a bang and ended on a high note.

What makes Sarasota a great place for a film festival? It is the cultural hub of arts and entertainment on Florida's Gulf Coast. Residents and visitors alike enjoy the many films of various genres that are offered, so you can meet regulars who attend and newcomers who will return. There are always big names that you will want to see on the Red Carpet and parties you won't want to miss. The events and screenings are held in luxurious lounge chair theaters, high-end hotels and trendy eateries. Enchanting sidewalk cafes are to be found everywhere in this easy to get around, laid back city. And we do happen to have a few pristine beaches and awesome marinas.

Under the direction of chairman and president Mark P. Famiglio, the 2019 Sarasota Film Festival kicked off the festivities with their signature red carpet event - a screening of the documentary Mike Wallace is Here, from director Avi Belkin.

The Opening Night Film was a hard-hitting, fast-moving, no-nonsense documentary about Mike Wallace that utilized extraordinary footage to capture his broadcast journalism career and his entertaining investigations as well as his personal struggles he tried to keep from the camera. The audience has a front row seat to Wallace's career before, after and during 60 Minutes and shows memorable interviews with presidents, stars, gangsters and dictators. His harsh and abrasive line of questioning often made people uneasy. At one point her was asked how would he like if he was treated that way and he firmly said, "I wouldn't like it!" This film is a rich piece of journalism history, well documented and very thought provoking.

A poolside opening night party under the stars and stately palms followed the Mike Wallace is Here documentary, at the Modern, a new luxury boutique hotel in the ever-evolving enchanting Rosemary District. From April 5-14 film lovers from all over the country and the globe came to enjoy over 200 films, documentaries, shorts, community screenings, student events, and awards ceremonies. SFF boasts luminaries on their Advisory Board such as Geena Davis, William H. Macy, Edward Norton, Steven Tyler and Stanley Tucci. This year's screenings included Red Carpet and In Conversation Series with Greg Kinnear, Tyne Daly, Blythe Danner and Anne Heche.

Tyne Daly and producer/director Patrick Wong spoke with audience members after a screening of A Bread Factory, a film about Dorothea and her partner Greta, who have spent the last 40 years running a community art space called A Bread Factory in the fictitious town of Checkford, New York. They must come to terms with a celebrity couple from China who opens a competing art venue that steals their limelight by offering a more contemporary, pop art flamboyancy. The film was four hours long and presented in two-hour increments with a 30-minute intermission. It is a heartwarming tribute to what community theater is and how a community came together to save it. It features the final performance of the late British actor Brian Murphy and an impeccable ensemble including Elizabeth Henry-Macari, Jeanine Garofalo, and James Marsters. I told Ms Daly she has a big BroadwayWorld following due to her theatre credits and asked since she has done stage, TV and film, if she prepares any differently for her roles in various genres. She shared, "Not at all. It's the same thing - for actors anyway. There's a lot of technical stuff that is different that I still don't understand but as far as acting, it comes from the same place, your gut, your heart and your mind. So, there is no adjustment to be made accept how you use your energy in the course of a day. You have to pace yourself in the movies because you have to be on for 17 seconds after waiting for an hour and a half. I like theatre more because you get to do a lot more acting."

Blythe Danner and John Lithgow's first major on-screen collaboration is a love story titled The Tomorrow Man, about two lovable eccentric individuals who find each other in the twilight of their lives. Lithgow plays Ed who is a creature of habit and a long-winded talker who loves navigating the world from behind the wheel of his treasured pickup. Danner plays, Ronnie, a hoarder with a penchant for vintage World War II documentaries. When these two come together the movie allows you to judge whether their coupling is odd or the most natural match under the setting sun. Both are absolutely delightful in the way they come together in this film through characters they portray.

Kinnear's highly anticipated directorial debut, Phil was the SFF Closing Night Film. Kinnear starred in the film, playing Phil McGuire, a dentist facing mid-life crisis after a failed marriage and estrangement from his daughter. He sinks further into despair when a patient who's in for a routine check-up exclaims how blessed his life is with his successful wife. When Phil finds out later that this patient unexpectedly commits suicide, it takes him on a darkly comedic quest to try to figure out what went wrong and sets him on a journey that he never expected.

Since there were so many screenings I wanted to give you the highlights and add a few of the films that stood out. One that was so beautiful in its story of a tragedy was Ophelia. Based on a novel by Lisa Klein, it is a reimagining of Hamlet through the perspective of its tragic heroine Ophelia. Besides beautiful cinematography and a storyline that held your attention, the brilliant casting starred Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, and Tom Felton. There was so much to this film, I could see it again. The cast worked beautifully together and owned their roles. It was full of passion, love, hate, crime, and injustice. It was a homage to Hamlet's Ophelia and a tribute to Klein's novel.

August at Akiko's on the other hand was this year's bomb. It sounded interesting - an acclaimed saxophonist plays a fictionalized version of himself returning to his home on the Big Island of Hawaii after being away for a decade. He moves into a Buddhist bed-and-breakfast where he enters in unforeseen friendship with its owner Akiko. The cinematography was stunning. Alex Zhang Hungtai plays the saxophonist that returns home seeking something that is lost maybe? He looks for the house his grandparents used still live in and seems like he is in search for something of his past but walks through the entire film without any of the emotion or passion you would expect him to have. Akiko Masuda playing the owner of the Buddhist bed-and-breakfast was charming and carried the entire film. What escapes me is why the film was made, what it was trying to convey, and why in the world they used such loud jarring effects like screeching saxophone noises, and other annoying sounds. Both people screening this film on either side of me fell asleep within the first 15 minutes. I fought sleep myself waiting for a climax, a purpose, some passion, something!

Partnering with the Sarasota film Festival was Through Women's Eyes International Film Festival, celebrating their 20th year of offering current domestic and international independent films directed and or produced by women. Through Women's Eyes is produced by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the United States National Committee for UN Women. Their proceeds from the festival support UN Women initiatives. UN Women programs work to end the violence against women, promote economic and social independence, and foster gender equality. TWE also partners with Women Make Movies, a nonprofit media arts organization encouraging women filmmakers to explore important international issues.

SFF Chairman and president Mark Famiglio states "We are very proud of our festival and the entire community's support of what we started over 20 years ago. Our educational institutions continue to benefit from our service to the community. Our festival alumni continue to win industry accolades and our film loving community benefits". SFF will soon be taking up residence in their new permanent offices on Cocoanut Avenue in downtown Sarasota. For more information on Sarasota Film Festival visit, www.sarasotafilmfestival.com

For more information on Through Women's Eyes International Film Festival visit, www,throughwomenseyes,com