A parade of star presenters announced the winners of Audience and Jury Awards for the Sarasota Film Festival this year. John Tengrove’s The Wound won the Best Narrative Feature Competition and Firas Fayyad’s Last Men in Aleppo (pictured) took the Best Documentary Feature competition in the major juried categories. Other major awards included Mike Ott’s California Dreams, which took the Independent Visions Prize, and Menashe, which won the Terry Porter Visionary Award.
The same evening, legendary actress Diana Lane picked up the Sarasota Film Festival Award for Cinematic Excellence, which was presented to her by Rosanna Arquette. “She really is the greatest actress we have going on screen today,” Arquette said of Lane.
Actress. Comedienne. Podcaster. And now, feature filmmaker. Aisha Tyler has proven her perpetual worth ethic over decades in television and movies in the industry. She passed a major milestone as a director Friday night when Axis, the feature-length directorial debut, world premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival. The charismatic filmmaker strolled the red carpet alongside actor Emmett Hughes, the star of the film, before promising an emotionally challenging experience to film-goers at the Regal Hollywood 20. “Be prepared,” she the audience for the screening. “It’s artsy.” Continue reading Tyler premieres Axis at Sarasota Film Festival→
The call of the ocean rings familiar to many of us living on the Gulf Coast. The beach bums, boaters, fishermen, divers—this region calls a siren’s sound to many a waterman. But it remains clear that surfer supreme Laird Hamilton, subject of Rory Kennedy’s new documentary Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton, may feel a deeper attraction even than the ticket holders watching the film at the Sarasota Opera House on Friday night. Continue reading Kennedy’s ‘Take Every Wave’ Coasts Through Sarasota Film Festival→
The sidewalks of Sarasota serve as red carpets for such Hollywood stars as Diane Lane, Stanley Tucci, Rosanna Arquette and Aisha Tyler over the next 10 days. When documentarian Rory Kennedy walks into the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall tonight, it marks the launch of the 2017 Sarasota Film Festival, now the largest film festival in the Southeast United States, and good luck getting a place inside the Sarasota Opera House tonight. Continue reading Rory Kennedy kicks off Sarasota Film Festival today→
Oscar and Tony Award-nominated actor, screenwriter and director Ethan Hawke visited Ringling College of Art and Design this week, where he met with students, led a master class and discussed the possibility of future projects with the college. Hawke, known for his numerous collaborations with acclaimed director Richard Linklater (including Boyhood) and his Oscar-nominated turn in Training Day opposite Denzel Washington, recently worked with four Ringling College interns on his latest film Blaze, about cult musician Blaze Foley, which he wrote and directed and is set to release in 2018. Yesterday afternoon, Hawke took a moment with SRQ to talk about the joy of working with students, breaking into film and the future of production. Continue reading A Word With Ethan Hawke at Ringling College→
