I know, I know. I promised I wouldn't be posting a ton about the upcoming Sarasota Film Festival, but I have been reading all of my favorite blogs these past few weeks and, to be fair, I want to write and the festival is just about all I have to talk about. Let's be honest; I have nothing else happening in my life. I have been totally consumed by work and I feel compelled to write so what to do? Stay quiet or talk about all of the great things that will be happening at the festival, which opens a mere two weeks from today? Hmm. Looks like I am going to be spending the next couple of weeks keeping everyone posted on what we've got planned for this year's festival...

Opening Night Film: In The Shadow Of The Moon

This film is popping up everywhere as an Opening Night Film: Hot Docs, True/False, and so many other festivals. When Holly and I saw this movie at Sundance, I leaned in at about the 75 minute mark and said "Opening Night Film." Programmers know a good film when they see one, and seeing it playing at such great festivals speaks volumes about In The Shadow Of The Moon; This is a special movie, and I have no doubt that our Opening Night is going to be very special. First, we've installed a 50 foot screen and a Hi Def projection system in The Van Wezel, our festival's beautiful 1750 seat home for Opening Night.

A Vision In Purple: The Van Wezel

Most importantly, we have a lot of guests attending the Opening Weekend, but I am most excited about our honored guests for Opening Night; Director David Sington and Astronaut and the sixth man (of twelve) to ever walk on the Moon, Dr. Edgar Mitchell. It's funny, I was talking to someone last night about this, and to think that only twelve people in the history of the world have ever walked on the Moon and to be able to host a Q&A with one of them? Well, it's a huge honor. It is also a Florida movie; All of the Apollo missions launched from Cape Canaveral and we've been in touch with NASA and the state government, all of whom have been helping us with this event.

David Sington's In The Shadow Of The Moon

The film is followed by a party under the stars for 1,500 guests in the courtyard of the Ringling Museum of Art. It is an incredible space, and with 19 bars, tons of food, and a great performance by the crooner Matt Dusk, it is a going to be a great night. This is the first documentary film ever to open our festival, and I am so pleased that everyone here in Sarasota is as excited as I am about the film as the best possible kick-off for an amazing ten days. We're an ambitious bunch down here at the Sarasota Film Festival and it is somtimes hard to convey that to our friends in the industry, so I owe a big THANK YOU to Erin Owens, Mark Urman and the gang at THINKFilm for working with us, buying into our vision for the night, and for making this possible. It's going to be a great way to get it all started...

The Courtyard At the Ringling Museum Of Art: Home of The Opening Night Party

...Before diving back into the prep for the Sarasota Film Festival. We announce our line-up on Monday, and I am really excited about the program Holly and I have been able to bring together. Stay tuned, as I'll be posting the line-up next week. I don't think I have the energy or desire to pull a Dentler (*grin*), but fair play; When you work on something this hard for this long, you want the world to know about it.

The process of getting the festival ready has been all-consuming this year; I've seen one film in a theater in the last month, and that was Zodiac (which I liked very much) a couple of weeks ago. Most people can't imagine how on earth going to a movie can be considered a break after spending months sitting in front of screeners, but what can I say? I love movies. Other than that screening, work work work. It's actually kind of nice to be doing something you love and to be so absorbed by it; I don't have any regrets about the work. It is, however, a steady stream of compromises, small victories, frustrations, and losses that, for some reason, when I am in work mode, all feel very personal.

When I'm not in Florida, and I'm out and about and watching other people's festivals come and go, burning brightly for ten days and then fading away, I am more philosophical about things. But when I am trying to bring in films to our festival, I see the program as an extension of Holly and me; A representation of our tastes, our politics, our ideas about film. In that way, it seems a very personal thing to have great plans and great ideas and to suddenly run into the word 'NO'. It happens all the time at every festival; Ambitions run smack into the reality of commerce, perception, and scheduling. Either way, any time we get a decline, it's always a little bit of heartbreak for what might have been.

Today, as an example, I went to a local video store to see a friend, and there, lining the shelves, were several DVDs of films that had played the festival in years past. I could remember each of them, the conversations with distributors and producers, the ones that I worked hard to try and screen but who chose not to attend, etc. I remember how grumpy the 'NO's made me, but more importantly, looking at the plastic boxes lined up in neat rows, I also thought "That's ours, that's ours, we had that one..." Another realization; Every festival programmer who has played the film feels exactly the same way I do. "That was our movie."

And then it hit me; What's the big fucking deal? In retrospect, while I am proud of the films we've shared, each year what I am most excited about is what we're doing NOW. What keeps me going and engaged are the filmmakers, producers and actors who want to share their work with our audiences, to spread the word about a cinema of ideas, and who have a great experience at our festival. And the reverse is also true; Showing these films to an audience eager for something new and alive and who, despite whatever stereotypes exist, are more than willing to experience art on the big screen-- that's why I do what I do for a living. And I'm really proud of what we're doing this year. So, doubts and frustrations be damned. We have 202 wonderful films and I am excited by them all. It is going to be a great festival. Until next week, a small sneak peek...