Sarasota Film Festival

The Sarasota Film Festival is an annual event that brings unique, quality films to Sarasota, as well as Manatee and surrounding Gulf Coast communities.  The festival environment is entertaining and educational, and features films and audiences that range from local residents to national and international attendees.

The Sarasota Film Festival was founded in 1998, and by 2006, admissions were projected to reach well over 40,000 attendees.  The Festival includes a wide variety of entries, including feature films, documentaries, animated films, short films, and student films, as well as symposiums and a gala fundraiser.  185 movies were screened during the 2006 Sarasota Film Festival, including such films as "Art School Confidential," "Black Orpheus," and "Spirit of the Beehive."

The Festival awards include jury awards as well as awards for audience favorites.  Jury awards include prizes for Narrative Feature Film, Documentary Feature, the Independent Visions Competition, Screenwriting, and Originality.  Audience Favorite awards include prices for Narrative feature Film, Documentary, In-World Cinema, and Short Film.

The Sarasota Film Festival also offers numerous educational opportunities through its Outreach and Education Program, in which 4,000 local students learn about and participate in filmmaking.  The Young Filmmakers´ Showcase features original short films by young local filmmakers, and offers awards amounting to $3,000 in scholarships. 

Other programs include a Kids Jury; weekday Kids Trips which allows elementary and middle school students to view short films at the Festival, as well as meet with filmmakers and view behind-the-scenes exhibits; feature film screenings for middle and high school classes that focus on multi-cultural, educational films; Filmmakers in the Classroom, in which filmmakers from around the world visit with area high schools and colleges to educate about filmmaking; and Children First, an after-school program that allows underprivileged local children to attend the Festival for a free screening.

The Film Festival´s partnership with the "Embracing our Differences" program, an outdoor exhibit that presents and celebrates diversity, gives schools the chance to experience both the Festival and the exhibit at no charge.  More information about Embracing Our Differences is available at http://www.embracingourdifferences.org.

Tickets for the 2007 Sarasota Film Festival can be purchased through April.  Tickets are available at the box office, located in the Main Plaza adjacent to the Regal Hollywood 20 Theater, as well as online at http://www.sarasotafilmfestival.com or by calling (941) 366-6200 or toll free (866) 575-FILM.  Special event passes and packages also are available, and standby tickets will be made available for sold-out shows online or at the box office.

Year-round film programs allow film enthusiasts access to unique fine films, such as Monday Night Movies, a weekly event.  Monday Night Movies has in the fast presented such films as "La Strada" by Federico Fellini or Italy and "Les Enfants du Paradis" by Marcel Carne of France.  Future presentations will include "The Magic Flute" by Ingmar Bergman of Sweden and "Summertime" by David Lean of the United Kingdom.  Moonlight Movies is a series of free outdoor movie screenings.