2020 Virtual Sarasota Film Festival Extends to May 10th

In response to popular demand from the Sarasota community and audiences across the country and around the globe for continued arts and storytelling, the 2020 virtual edition of the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) has now extended its online edition to Sunday, May 10th. In conjunction with this extension, the festival has announced an additional feature film to the lineup 9/11 KIDS directed by Elizabeth St. Philip, Q&As for the upcoming weekend, and more visionary programming. “The public has spoken and in an effort to continue providing dynamic and thoughtful entertainment, we are pleased to extend our programming for an additional week so that audiences can continue to enjoy these engaging films and celebrate independent storytellers that showcase the local Florida community,” said Mark Famiglio, Chairman and President of the Sarasota Film Festival. SFF is presented with the generous support of various sponsors and partners from the Sarasota community including: The Famiglio Family, Amicus Foundation, 332 Cocoanut, Moon & Co Eyewear, Sage Restaurant, The Sack Family, Wallack Family Fund, Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office, New College, Ringling College, Gates Construction, DSDG architects, BMW/Lamborghini of Sarasota, Embassy Suites-Hilton as well as granting organization Sarasota County Tourist Development Cultural/Arts and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. EXTENDED DATE | SFF will now run through Sunday, May 10th, 2020. UPDATED PROGRAMMING | A list of updated programming for the festival including an additional feature film, filmmaker Q&A’s, and updated educational programming listed below. ~Additional Feature Film Announced~ 9/11 KIDS | Directed by: Elizabeth St. Philip Summary: The President of the United States wasn’t in Washington DC on September 11, 2001. He was in a classroom in Sarasota, at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School. George W. Bush received the news of the 9/11 attacks in a room full of 2nd grade students from Newtown and Bayou Oaks, two of Sarasota’s historically black neighborhoods. This documentary catches up with those students, nearly two decades later, and delves into the realities of black and brown life since the dawn of the 21st Century. The film is produced by Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Studios company. ~Q&A’s~ The festival will present the following Q&A’s and filmmaker panel this upcoming weekend, available to the public for free: Saturday, May 2 12:00PM – RUTH WEISS, THE BEAT GODDESS Filmmaker Q&A with Director Melody C. Miller 6:00PM – MICROPLASTIC MADNESS Filmmaker Q&A with Directors Atsuko Quirk, Debby Lee Cohen Sunday, May 3 12:00PM – Sarasota Filmmaker Panel Panelists to Include: Kathryn Parks (Director, HER PLACE), Parker Alexander Meyers (Director, AND-1139), Sage Hall (Director, PIE CAR) 2:00PM – AMERICAN TRIAL: THE ERIC GARNER STORY Filmmaker Q&A with Director Roee Messinger 4:00PM – EROTIC FIRE OF THE UNATTAINABLE Filmmaker Q&A with Director Frank Vitale For an updated slate of the Sarasota Film Festival’s virtual edition, please visit sarasotafilmfestival.com. ~Additional Educational Programming~ The festival has added 5 additional films to youth program Hollywood Nights, featuring the work of local filmmakers from Booker High school, Riverview High school and the Sarasota Military Academy, available to the public for free. The judges for the Hollywood Nights Young Filmmaker Showcase will be Sarasota Judge Charles Williams, MTV’s “Siesta Key” Producer Gary Kompothecras, and SFF Creative Producer and Critic Joe Neumaier, with the winners announced next week. Next weekend, the premiere of Chapter 1 of the World’s Largest Zombie Movie, with over 350 participants from 15 countries. FOR TICKETS, FILMS, & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | Tickets can be purchased along with Q&A’s and films viewed through the Sarasota Film Festival app available for download in the app store or the Film Festival website. An all-access pass for all films in the program costs $30, with each film or each shorts program costing $3.99 and educational programming free to audiences.