'The Golden Age' Explores Self-Discovery, Peace: Sunscreen Film Fest

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Paris-based film director Jenna Sur is bringing hippy love to the AMC Sundial 20 with her film, "The Golden Age."

Filmed in France, the movie follows a broke Franco-American producer and a Parisian woman he meets in Saint-Tropez who bring a bit of peace to the world and to themselves through their art.

"The Golden Age" will be the closing feature film of the Sunscreen Film Festival Sunday. It has appeared at international film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival.

In a Patch interview, Suru said she was inspired by the village of Saint-Tropez — a coastal town on the French Riviera famous as an international hub for art and jet-set nightlife — to write her film. In the 1960s, artists from America and the United Kingdom were drawn to the location and it became similar to Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, an annual British music festival.

"It was after World War I and World War II, France said we have many great inventions, but this time we want to bring positive change. So it was a 1960s summer in Saint-Tropez where the hippy movement was very strong, and I wanted to pay tribute to all artists, and I want to say, in particular women artists who bring change and who are very brave, too," Suru said. "Change is always very difficult."

"The Golden Age," was Suru's directorial debut. She said it took about a year to film with hard work and long hours from everyone involved. They finished filming just before the COVID-19 pandemic paused the film industry in 2020.

Film festivals in London, Boston, Columbus and Paris have already shown "The Golden Age," and it won "Best Film" at London Independent Film Festival in 2020. Suru serves on the International Board of and she is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.

Suru is the director of the Paris International Film Festival, which presented the international premiere of "Kiss The Ground," an environmental documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson, and "Cream," Nóra Lakos’s romantic modern tale, which was recently acquired by HBO.

Angél, played by Suru, is a female character who plays an actress. Suru wrote her character to pay tribute to female actors who keep going no matter how hard it gets.

Angél does not feel comfortable with who she is and she doesn't understand her place in the world at the beginning of the film. She sees herself as a struggling actress performing to empty theater seats which causes her to feel as if she doesn't have a chance to inspire others or herself, Suru's website said.

Sebastian, played by Sebastien Cipolla, (the character is not based on Cipolla, he just happens to share the same first name), is very different from Angél. He is her romantic interest and is more of a dreamer, whereas Angél is what some would say is more realistic, Suru said.

Sebastian arrives from Los Angeles to escape the Vietnam War. Even though he is penniless in France, it doesn't diminish his desire to create a better world through art and with less violence. But as with any dream, many obstacles present themselves. Sebastian and Angél (fictional characters) share their narrative adventures and romance on the screen.

For tickets, time and location visit Sunscreen Film Festival.