wcw APRIL 2024

happening this month
Sarasota Film Festival April 5-14
Festival to Close with Steve Buscemi’s The Listener
The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF)
includes live and in-person screenings
and events that will take place
across Sarasota April 5-14. SFF
will feature a lineup of films that includes
64 features, with 4 World Premieres,
1 North American Premiere, 7 East Coast
Premieres, and 24 Florida Premieres; and
81 short films.
Bull Street
The festival will open on April 5 with the
East Coast Premiere of Lynn Dow’s BULL
STREET, a stirring drama where a South
Carolina small-town lawyer faces local
politics, an unwavering judge and the
town’s past in the battle of her life when
her estranged father’s family tries to evict
her and her grandmother from the only
home she has ever known, starring Loretta
Devine and Amy Madigan. Dow, Madigan,
and additional cast members will attend
the festival in-person and participate in a
post-screening talkback.
The Listener
On Saturday, April 13, the festival will
close with a special presentation of Steve
Buscemi’s THE LISTENER, a film that is
a stirring testament to the power of empathy,
following a crisis hotline worker
(Tessa Thompson) enduring the pressures
of her job. Director Steve Buscemi will
attend and participate in a Q&A conversation
following the film’s Florida Premiere
screening.
This Film is about
The Black Keys
Jeff Dupre’s THIS IS A FILM ABOUT
THE BLACK KEYS, which examines the
story of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s
journey from a basement jamming
session in Akron, Ohio to rock ’n’ roll super-stardom,
will play its Florida Premiere
as the festival’s Documentary Centerpiece
film on Friday, April 12.
The Man in the White Van
Narrative Centerpiece
screenings include the
April 12 East Coast Premiere
of Warren Skeels’
THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN, a thriller
inspired by a true story, diving into the
eerie underbelly of a seemingly idyllic
1974 Florida town and following the harrowing
experience of young Annie Williams,
whose carefree existence is turned
upside down as she becomes stalked by
an ominous man in a white van, starring
Sean Astin and Madison Wolfe; and the
April 13 Florida Premiere of Ethan Berger’s
THE LINE, a chilling, nuanced thriller
exploring the moral ambiguity of loyalty to
tradition, as seen through a college sophomore
in the throes
of fraternity culture,
starring Alex Wolff,
Austin Abrams, Lewis
Pullman, Halle Bailey,
and Angus Cloud. Star
and Sarasota-native
Austin Abrams will
attend the festival and
receive SFF’s Rising
Star Award.
Daughters
SFF’s Spotlight presentations include
screenings of Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s
DAUGHTERS, a documentary
distributed by
Netflix and following four
young girls as they prepare
for a special Daddy Daughter
Dance with their incarcerated
fathers, as part
of a unique fatherhood
program in a Washington,
D.C.; Jeff Zimbalist’s HOW
TO COME ALIVE WITH
NORMAN MAILER, following
the life and times
of an American icon, from his formative
years in Brooklyn through his career as a
preeminent cultural voice; Dheeraj Akolkar’s
LIV ULLMAN: THE ROAD LESS
TRAVELED, a delightful, engaging portrait
of one our greatest actresses, brimming
with intimate memories and profound
reflections on her hopes, fears, grief,
rejections, dreams
pursued, and
lessons learned;
Dawn Porter’s
LUTHER: NEV-
ER TOO MUCH,
an emotional and
jubilant celebration
of Luther
Vandross and his
music that resonates
with evocative
power; Stephen Soucy’s MERCHANT
IVORY, telling the story behind the longest
running partnership in the history of cinema
that has produced such classics as
Howard’s End, A Room with a View and
The Remains of the Day; Amei Wallach’s
TAKING VENICE, exploring the true story
behind the rumors that, at the height of
the Cold War, the U.S. government rigged
the most influential art exhibition, the
Venice Biennale, so that their chosen artist,
Robert Rauschenberg, could win the
festival’s Grand Prize; and Noah Pritzker’s
feature comedy EX-HUSBANDS, following
a middle aged man overwhelmed by his
pending divorce and the declining health
of his father, starring Griffin Dunne and
Roseanne Arquette.
SFF will host an April 6 showcase of all
five Live Action Short Film nominees at
the 96th Academy Awards, which include
Misan Harriman’s THE AFTER, Vincent
René-Lortie’s INVINCIBLE; Lasse Lyskjær
Noer’s KNIGHT OF FORTUNE;
Nazrin Choudhury’s RED, WHITE AND
BLUE; and the recipient of this year’s
award: Wes Anderson’s THE WONDER-
FUL STORY OF HENRY
SUGAR, which marked
the first Oscar win for Anderson.
On April 12, the
festival will also screen
short film THE LAST RE-
PAIR SHOP, the winner
of the Academy Award for
Best Documentary Short
Film at the 96th Academy
Awards. Editor Nick
Garnham Wright will attend
and participate in a
post-screening Q&A.
The Narrative Feature Competition will
showcase GOODBYE JULIA, directed by
Mohamed Kordofani; THE NATURE OF
LOVE, directed by Monia Chokri; Utopia’s
PET SHOP DAYS, directed by Olmo Schnabel;
RED ROOMS, directed by Pascal
Plante; and Magnolia Pictures’ THELMA,
directed by Josh Margolin.
The Documentary Feature Competition
will include A HOUSE IS NOT A DIS-
CO, directed by Brian J. Smith; INTO
THE SPOTLIGHT: THE JAKE ILARDI
STORY, directed by Liam Jordan; PORCE-
LAIN WAR, directed by Brendan Bellomo
& Slava Leontyev; SONGS OF EARTH,
directed by Margreth Olin; and National
Geographic Documentary Films’ SUGAR-
CANE, directed by Emily Kassie and Julian
Brave NoiseCat.
Independent Visions competition will feature
ART THIEF, directed by Arthur Egeli;
BLOOM, directed by Mark Totte; CUR-
RY SCENT, directed by Christa Boarini;
GOOD BAD THINGS, directed by Shane
D. Stanger; and PUDDYSTICKS, directed
by Megan Seely.
Narrative films in the 2024 slate also include:
Janis Pugh’s CHUCK CHUCK
BABY, Jason Cannon’s CLOWNS LIKE
ME, Joanna Arnow’s THE FEELING
THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOME-
THING HAS PASSED, Agnieszka Holland’s
GREEN BORDER, Vito Trupiano’s
HELLBENT ON BOOGIE, Natalie Mac-
Mahon’s THE MEANING OF A RITUAL,
Ken Loach’s THE OLD OAK, and Matt
Winn’s THE TROUBLE WITH JESSICA.
Alongside the film programming, this
year’s SFF features nightly events, including
an Opening Night Party at the Sarasota
Modern, Closing Night reception at
Sage, filmmaker receptions at Art Avenue
Gallery, and the Fantastical Friday Night
Street Party in the Rosemary District on
April 12, produced by SRQ Beats.
This year’s festival poster artist is Diana
Dubrovska. Dubrovska, a Ukrainian artist
who found refuge in California after
fleeing the horrors of war, brings her experiences
to life through her vibrant and
dynamic artwork.
This year’s festival will also feature a new
partnership with USA Swimming, formed
in conjunction with the Open Water National
Championships taking place May 3-5
at Sarasota’s Nathan Benderson Park. SFF
will welcome athletes and representatives
from USA Swimming at this year’s edition
to receive a donation directly supporting
the USA Swimming Foundation, which
aims to provide the opportunity for every
person in the US to learn to swim.
Tickets: www.sarasotafilmfestival.com/
Festival Highlights
• OPENING NIGHT FILM:
BULL STREET
In this stirring drama, a South Carolina
small-town lawyer (Malynda Hale) faces
local politics, an unwavering judge (Amy
Madigan) and the town’s past in the battle
of her life when her estranged father’s family
tries to evict her and her grandmother
(Loretta Devine) from the only home she
has ever known.
• CLOSING NIGHT FILM: THE
LISTENER
In this stirring testament to the power of
empathy, Tessa Thompson (in a masterful
performance) plays a crisis hotline worker
enduring the pressures of her job in this
new film from director Steve Buscemi.
• NARRATIVE CENTERPIECE
FILMS: THE LINE
This chilling, nuanced thriller explores the
moral ambiguity of loyalty to tradition,
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APRIL 2024 WEST COAST WOMAN 23