All posts by SRQ Media Group

Cover to cover, page after page, SRQ gets it. A smart perspective paired with crisp design that is miles ahead of the pack, SRQ chronicles and reflects Sarasota's emergence as a dynamic cosmopolitan community. For the past three years, the Florida Magazine Association has recognized SRQ Magazine as the Best Overall Magazine on the West Coast. Locally grown, locally owned.
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‘The Wound,’ ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ lead Sarasota Film Festival award winners

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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.

A complete list of awards follows: Continue reading ‘The Wound,’ ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ lead Sarasota Film Festival award winners →

Festival, Movies

Tyler premieres Axis at Sarasota Film Festival

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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 →

Festival, Movies, Uncategorized

Kopple takes webcam tale to silver screen with ‘This is Everything’

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Barbara Kopple’s newest documentary, This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous, will likely be seen on the video sharing platform YouTube Red by far more people than ever purchase a ticket to see the movie in theaters. But she’s still excited to have brought the film to the Sarasota Film Festival this weekend as a Centerpiece Film. “Being on a screen in beautiful,” says Kopple, who still loves the idea of movies as a communal experience.

At the end of the day, though, she wants as many people as possible to see her film, which recounts the life of YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous. Continue reading Kopple takes webcam tale to silver screen with ‘This is Everything’ →

Festival, Movies

Kennedy’s ‘Take Every Wave’ Coasts Through Sarasota Film Festival

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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 →

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Rory Kennedy kicks off Sarasota Film Festival today

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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 →

Festival

Tucci, Arquette to attend Sarasota Film Festival

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Both Stanley Tucci and Rosanna Arquette will attend the Sarasota Film Festival, which runs from March 31 through April 9. In addition to promoting films in the program, each will participate in the festival’s “In Conversation With…” series discussing their acting and filmmaking careers. Continue reading Tucci, Arquette to attend Sarasota Film Festival →

Behind the Scenes, Movies

Castille Landon directing Burt Reynolds, Amy Smart in Palmetto production

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From memorable roles in films like Sex Ed and Paradise, FL and in television series like The Ghost Whisperer, Castille Landon has kept busy as an actress for close to a decade. But as she embarks on directing her second feature, which will be filmed entirely in the Palmetto area, Landon now sees a long future behind the lens. “As an actor, so much of your job is sitting by the phone waiting for a call that probably isn’t coming,” she tells SRQ. “I was working a lot, doing about three movies a year, but that still totals 20 to 30 days a year working. That was frustrating and I felt out of control of my own life.”

Now, Landon’s attentions are focused on directing And Then There Was Light, a film starring screen legend Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit)and Amy Smart (The Butterfly Effect, Road Trip) and written by Landon. The movie, about a young girl who begins to lose her eyesight after a horse riding accident, will be shot largely at the Southeastern Guide Dogs campus in Palmetto, as well as a nearby horse farm and other local spots. Continue reading Castille Landon directing Burt Reynolds, Amy Smart in Palmetto production →