Update: Sarasota Film Festival To Feature Controversial Choices

This year's Sarasota Film Festival will feature some movies that will cause some chatter after the lights come up for their controversial topics.

"We expect to have some controversial films shown. It'll be very interesting," said Mark Famiglio, chairman of the board for Sarasota Film Festival.

The festival unveiled the full lineup of movies Wednesday night at a kick-off party at Selby Botanical Gardens.

The 15th annual Sarasota Film Festival happens April 5 - 14. More than 180 films, star-studded events and free movies and programs for kids will be featured.

"We'll be showing 233 films at the Sarasota Film Festival over the course of our 10 days. We have about 15 shorts programs and about another 102 feature films," said SFF Director Tom Hall. Half of those are documentaries.

As for the "controversial" and "shocking" films described by festival organizers, those .

"We've got After Tiller, which is an amazing movie that on the surface seems controversial about late-term abortion providers, but when you see the movie it's such an empathetic balance portrait of the story that I think people on either side of that divide will have something to hold onto and feel respected by, and I think it's a really great movie," Hall told Patch.

Another film that could engage discussion is The Dirties directed by Matthew Johnson. 

"It's a bullying/school violence film done in a very interesting way that I think is going to be shocking to people and the director's coming, and I'm really hoping we're going to have a discussion around that movie," Hall said.

Hall described Blackfish more of a button-pusher, as the documentary is based around the story of the killer whale that killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010, and compares the storytelling that of Academy Award-winning docuemtary The Cove, which covered the slaughtering of dolphins in Japan.

"It's so cinematic on the huge screen at the Van Wezel. There's a lot of underwater footage of trainers with the whales. It's a very sort of breathtaking footage," Hall said. "In that theater particularly, it will be pretty powerful and pretty overwhelming."

This isn't an animal rights movie, Hall clarified.

Even though just a few of the films take on tough topics, Hall hopes that the audiences respect and trust the selections it made.

"I hope we build up over the years that people trust us to come and see what it's about instead of having a lot of preconceived notions," Hall said.

Beyond the centerpiece films and the opening and closing night films, Hall hopes that people will dig through the program and discover some of the great films showing this year.

"These are movies that people may have heard less about and hope people will take the opportunity to discover the entire film program," Hall told Patch.

About 25 films made locally were submitted to the Sarasota Film Festival, and about half of those titles were accepted, he said, higher than most of the other categories. 

"We're trying our best to support our local filmmakers," Hall said.

Those local films can be found under SRQ Shorts.

"We have a half-hour documentary short made by students at Ringling with one of their mentors at Burning Man called Holding Space," Hall said.

Hall said there wasn't enough room in the program for locally made Blind Pass.

Sarasota filmmaker Leslie Glass will have her Sarasota-made documentary The Silent Majority screened at 4:30 p.m. March 24 at Ybor Muvico in Tamp as part of the Gasparilla International Film Festival. The movie focuses on teens who are striving to be drug and alcohol free with the help of community programs.

Sheriff Tom Knight appears in the film, and will be part of a post-film panel with Allison Kreiger, 2010 Miss Florida and food disorder expert, actors and other Tampa dignitaries.

That film won't be part of the festival, showing how tough it is to create a line-up with variety for Sarasota audiences.

"I feel like we're doing our best to keep that [local] momentum going and have people feel supported by us," Hall continued.

One short not from this area to watch is Tipping Point, which will be screened at the festival, as well as at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. Made by Italian Filmmaker Leo Foti and filmed in Los Angeles and New York, the short is a 14-minute montage of how people exist in a moment of time.

“It’s so exciting to become a part of these two amazing film festivals,” Foti said in a release. “I look forward to  premiering ‘Tipping Point’ to new audiences, while also meeting other filmmakers and viewing the works of my colleagues as I travel back and forth between the two coasts of Florida.” 

The short stars sAlex Rose Wiesel, Aeriel Miranda, Emanuele Secci, Caleb Hunt, Bonnie Shipston, Kwadwo A. Asiedu, Adam Korson, Nicole Ortega and Pedro Morillo. The Director of Photography was David Newbert (“Marfa Girl,” a film by Larry Clark). 

To get your tickets to those movies, you know can purchase tickets on the Sarasota Film Festival iPhone app, which also features movie times and more, Hall said.

The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

FEATURE FILMS

AFTER TILLER, directed by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane

ALIYAH, directed by Elie Wajeman

THE ANGELS’ SHARE, directed by Ken Loach

AUGUSTINE, directed by Alice Winocour

THE BALLAD OF THE WEEPING SPRING, directed by Benny Toraty

BARZAN, directed by Alex Stonehill and Bradley Hutchinson (World Premiere)

BEAUTY AND THE BREAST, directed by Liliana Komorowska

BETWEEN US, directed by Dan Mirvish

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME, directed by Drew DiNicola

BLACKFISH, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

BRAVE MISS WORLD, directed by Cecilia Peck

BROKEN, directed by Rufus Norris

BURMA, directed by Carlos Puga

C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez

CASTING BY, directed by Tom Donahue

CITIZEN KOCH, directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

THE COLD LANDS, directed by Tom Gilroy (North American Premiere)

COMPUTER CHESS, directed by Andrew Bujalski

CONCUSSION, directed by Stacie Passon

THE CRASH REEL, directed by Lucy Walker

CUTIE AND THE BOXER, directed by Zachary Heinzerling

DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, directed by Jared Moshe

DEATH METAL ANGOLA, directed by Jeremy Xido (North American Premiere)

THE DEFLOWERING OF EVA VAN END, directed by Michiel ten Horn

THE DIRTIES, directed by Matt Johnson

THE DISCOVERERS, directed by Justin Schwarz

THE END OF TIME, directed by Peter Mettler

FALL AND WINTER, directed by Matt Anderson

FILL THE VOID, directed by Rama Burshtein

FIRST COMES LOVE, directed by Nina Davenport

FORBIDDEN VOICES, directed by Barbara Miller

THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

FRANCES HA, directed by Noah Baumbach

A GIRL AND A GUN, directed by Cathryne Czbek

GOOD OL’ FREDA, directed by Ryan White

THE GREAT CHICKEN WING HUNT, directed by Matt Reynolds

THE GREY AREA, directed by Noga Ashkenazi

A HIJACKING, directed by Tobias Lindholm

HOMEFRONT HEROINES: THE WAVES OF WWII, directed by Kathleen M. Ryan

THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg

I USED TO BE DARKER, directed by Matthew Porterfield

IN THE FOG, directed by Sergei Loznitsa

IN THE HOUSE, directed by François Ozon

IT FELT LIKE LOVE, directed by Eliza Hittman

THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

LA SIRGA, directed by William Vega

LA SOURCE, directed by Patrick Shen

LACE BITE, directed by Sharron Bates and Carmen Klotz

LAND OF HOPE, directed by Sion Sono

THE LAST SENTENCE, directed by Jan Troell

LAURENCE ANYWAYS, directed by Xavier Dolan

THE LIST, directed by Beth Murphy

LITTLE FUGITIVE, directed by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin, and Ray Ashley

MAIDENTRIP, directed by Jillian Schlesinger

MARIA THE KOREAN BRIDE, directed by Maria Yoon

MEDORA, directed by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart

MONSTERS, directed by Melissa Thompson

MORE THAN HONEY, directed by Markus Imhoof

MUSICWOOD, directed by Maxine Trump

MY NAME IS FAITH, directed by Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, and Tiffany Suedela-Junker

NEWLYWEEDS, directed by Shaka King

NEXT YEAR JERUSALEM, directed by David Gaynes (World Premiere)

NO ONE LIVES, directed by Ryûhei Kitamura

NO PLACE ON EARTH, directed by Janet Tobias

NOR’EASTER, directed by Andrew Brotzman

NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, directed by Xackery Irving

THE OXBOW CURE, directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas (World Premiere)

PASADENA, directed by Will Slocombe (World Premiere)

PERSISTENCE OF VISION, directed by Kevin Schreck

THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY, directed by Sophie Fiennes

PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF, directed by Thomas Bean and Luke Poling

POST TENEBRAS LUX, directed by Carlos Reygadas

THE RAMBLER, directed by Calvin Lee Reeder

REALITY, directed by Matteo Garrone

REMOTE AREA MEDICAL, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman

RENOIR, directed by Gilles Bourdos

RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

RUNNING FROM CRAZY, directed by Barbara Kopple

RUNNING WILD: THE LIFE OF DAYTON O. HYDE, directed by Suzanne Mitchell

RUTA DE LA LUNA, directed by Juan Sebastián Jácome

SALMA, directed by Kim Longinotto

SHEPARD AND DARK, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

SOFT IN THE HEAD, directed by Nathan Silver (World Premiere)

SOMETHING IN THE AIR, directed by Olivier Assayas

A SONG STILL INSIDE, directed by Gregory Collins (World Premiere)

THE SPECTACULAR NOW, directed by James Ponsoldt

STILL MINE, directed by Michael McGowan

SURVIVAL PRAYER, directed by Benjamin Greené

THÉRÈSE DESQUEYROUX, directed by Claude Miller

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan

TOWHEADS, directed by Shannon Plumb

TRAILBLAZERS IN HABITS, directed by Nancy M. Tong

TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, directed by Morgan Neville

UP HEARTBREAK HILL, directed by Erica Scharf

VENUS AND SERENA, directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major

THE WALL, directed by Julian Roman Pölsler

WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS, directed by AJ Schnack and David Wilson

WHEN I WALK, directed by Jason DaSilva

WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON, directed by Sebastian Junger

WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, directed by Cary McClelland

WORLD CIRCUS, directed by Angela Snow

YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET, directed by Alain Resnais

ZARAFA, directed by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie

SHORT FILMS

Shorts Before Features

CHARACTER FACE- A CLOWN COLLEGE FANTASY, directed by Nic Beery (World Premiere)

HOW TO BE A FEMALE DIRECTOR, directed by Trisha Gum

LES, directed by Aída Ramazánova

LYDIA HOFFMAN, LYDIA HOFFMAN, directed by Dustin Guy Defa

QUEEN OF THE DESERT, directed by Alex Kelly

THIS IS NORMAL, directed by Derek Watson (World Premiere)

WHEN WE LIVED IN MIAMI, directed by Amy Seimetz

Shorts 1: Narrative Shorts I

BLACK METAL, directed by Kat Candler

CRESCENDO, directed by Alonso Alvarez Barreda

THE DISCARDED (EN MAL ESTADO), directed by Juan Antonio Delicado and David Delicado

LISPENARD, directed by Anna Stypko

MOBILE HOMES, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay

ON SUFFOCATION, directed by Jenifer Malmqvist

SHADES OF LIVING, directed by Aurora Fearnley

THE TAPE, directed by Matt Austin Sadowski

TIPPING POINT, directed by Leonardo Foti

Shorts 2:  Narrative Shorts II

BOOM BOX KIDS, directed by Taylor Gledhill

BUM FUTURE, directed by Laura Terruso

THE CAPTAIN, directed by Nash Edgerton and Spencer Susso

DOUBLE OR NOTHING, directed by Nathaniel Krause

GALAXY COMICS: THE MUSICAL, directed by Kevin McMullin

THE OPPORTUNITY OFFICE, directed by Chelsea O’Connor

PEARL WAS HERE, directed by Kate Marks

SPOSINI, directed by Nicholas VanDevender

TRYOUTS, directed by Lauren Ciaravalli (World Premiere)

Shorts 3: Narrative Shorts III

ALASKA IS A DRAG, directed by Shaz Bennett

ANGELA WRIGHT, directed by Mu Sun

GUN, directed by Spencer Gillis

JOYFUL GIRL, directed by Chloe Dumont

MIGRAINE, directed by Matthew Bonifacio

THE ONLY BAR IN TOWN, directed by Adam Budd

RED VELVET, directed by Aude Cuenod (World Premiere)

Shorts 4: Documentary Shorts

EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS, directed by Laura Green

HOLDING SPACE, directed by David “Evolutionshift” Houle

NGABEN: EMOTION AND RESTRAINT IN A BALINESE HEART, directed by Robert Lemelson (World Premiere)

PASSION AND ACCEPTANCE, directed by Wayne Thomas

THE RECORD BREAKER, directed by Brian McGinn

Shorts 5: World Shorts

BEHIND THE MIRRORS (DETRAS DELESPEJO), directed by Julio O. Ramos

CODA, directed by Jonathan Tomlin

THE CURSE, directed by Fyzal Boulifa

HOSPITALS, directed by Priscilla Y. Anany

POTWOR, directed by Piotr Ryczko

THE ROAD HOME, directed by Denie Pentecost (World Premiere)

Shorts 6: Animated Shorts

AND/OR, directed by Emily Hubley

BEING BRADFORD DILLMAN, directed by Emma Burch

THE EVENT, directed by Julia Pott

FERAL, directed by Daniel Sousa

FOXED!, directed by James Stewart and Nev Bezaire

FURNACE KEEP, directed by Gary Grant

IN HANFORD, directed by Chris Mars

IRISH FOLK FURNITURE, directed by Tony Donoghue

MARCEL, KING OF TERVUREN, directed by Tom Schroeder

MOUTH WIDE OPEN, EARS SHUT TIGHT, directed by Tom Madar and Emlly Noy

OH WILLY..., directed by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels

Shorts 7: SRQ Shorts

315 POUNDS, directed by Jeffrey Boos

BOOST, directed by KT Curran (World Premiere)

THE COVER, directed by Anthony Paull

DAD DATE, directed by Wingel Buendia

THE FOREVER, directed by Sean Benson

LAY ME IN THE RIVER, directed by Allison Morton and Ashley Bonn

OVERTIME, directed by Grant Duffrin

RATTLETRAP, directed by Stephen Reeves

Shorts 8: Midnight Shorts

THE APOCALYPSE, directed by Andrew Zuchero

DEVIL’S TEMPTATION, directed by Cineryong

MINOTAUR, directed by Javier Grillo-Marxuach

MR. BEAR, directed by Andrés Rosende

PENNY DREADFUL, directed by Shane Atkinson

SLASH, directed by Clay Liford

SLASHED: TALES OF FORBIDDEN LUST, directed by Kira Trinity

Shorts 9: Through Women’s Eyes I

THE EYES OF HEAVEN, directed by Grace Hendley

ME AND MY DEADBEAT HUSBAND, directed by Deirdre Morales

SILK, directed by Catherine Dent

UNRAVEL, directed by Meghna Grupta

THE WINTER, directed by Teresa Sutherland

Shorts 10: Through Women’s Eyes II

THE CART, directed by Natasha Novik

SCHOOL OF MY DREAMS, directed by Barbara Rick

SCHWESTERN (SISTERS), directed by Chantal Bertalanffy

SIX LETTER WORD, directed by Lisanne Sartor

STALLED, directed by Shannon Kohli

Shorts 11: NYU Shorts

BONESHAKER, directed by Frances Bodomo

BRAVE GIRL (SAHASI CHORI), directed by Erin Galey

GLORY DAYS, directed by Benjamin Rutkowski

KATYA & THE SCARLET SAILS, directed by Vika Evdokimenko

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER, directed by Charles Rogers

Q, directed by Felipe Vara de Rey

youthFEST Shorts I

GERONIMO, directed by Grace Feeney

MY LITTLE UNDERGROUND, directed by Élise Simard

NEXT DOOR LETTERS, directed by Sascha Fülscher

PAULIE, directed by Andrew Nackman

PEN PAL, directed by Brooke Goldfinch

TINA FOR PRESIDENT, directed by Carmen Emm

YEAH KOWALSKI, directed by Evan Roberts

youthFEST Shorts II

ANTOINE’S FOUR SEASONS, directed by Philippe Béziat and gordon

FOUR, directed by Margherita Premuroso and Luca Da Rios

THE INVENTION (EL INVENTO), directed by Giovanni Granada

KALI, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE, directed by Regina Pessoa

LUMINARIS, directed by Juan Pablo Zaramella

TIME TRAVEL BOY, directed by Alexander Monelli

TWIRL, directed by Nathaniel Winckler

youthFEST Shorts III

AMAQQUT NUNAAT: THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES, directed by Neil Christopher

BORIS THE RAT RECYCLES, directed by Leena Jääskeläinen and Kaisa Penttilä

DONALD, directed by Daniel Acht

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE, directed by Julie Rembauville and Nicolas Bianco-Levrin

LOLA & HER DOG, directed by Nathaniel Winckler and Christopher Birnbaum

PASTEURIZED, directed by Nicolás P. Villarreal

THE SCARED IS SCARED, directed by Bianca Giaever

A SEA TURTLE STORY, directed by Kathy Shultz

VIOLIN PLAY, directed by Tünde Vollenbroek

WOLF DOG TALES, directed by Bernadine Santistevan

WYLDE LIFE, directed by Stephen Levinson, Joel Moss Levinson, and David B. Levy

youthFEST Shorts IV

AND THEN IT’S SPRING, directed by Cha-Pow!

BINK & GOLLIE, directed by Kate Dicamillo and Alison McGhee

EDWINA, THE DINOSAUR WHO DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS EXTINCT, directed by Pete List

I'M FAST, directed by Galen Fott

SCAREDY SQUIRREL MAKES A FRIEND, directed by Galen Fott

A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE, directed by Philip C. Stead

SKY COLOR, directed by Peter H. Renolds

Kids VIP

RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

SHOW WAY, directed by Jacqueline Woodson

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY: BUSHRA’S FILM, directed by Annie Gibbs

Also, read: Sarasota Film Festival's Major Films Announced