2022 Sarasota Film Festival Wrap Up

By Gus Mollasis | May 2022

I’ve attended every one of the 24 Sarasota Film Festivals through the years as either a fan, a filmmaker, or a journalist covering the event. And every time, it’s like visiting an old friend. 

I’ve always felt a special connection to this festival. Perhaps it’s because of my love for cinema, but I think it runs deeper than that. In a town that celebrates the arts, I believe that the Sarasota Film Festival is one of the many reasons why Sarasota is truly an A-lister community.  

Over the years I’ve seen this film festival grow, shine, struggle, pivot, survive, thrive— but always live to fight another day and provide yet another year of great films and wonderful events. 

Every year, the Film Festival creates a fabulous array of scenes and experiences. This year, even among the extra precautions, was no different. After the last two years being particularly hard through the horror story that is COVID-19, SFF took a big step closer to being the event that it previously was, the event that I have come to love and look forward to every year. A place to connect with friends, watch wonderful films on the big screen, join in on riveting conversations with their filmmakers, and to mingle with familiar actors and movie stars.

In fact, I got the chance to sit down with Jacqueline Bisset for a warm, friendly, and memorable interview. We talked of John Huston and George Cukor. Of Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, and of course, Anthony Quinn. She seemed pleased that I found her Jackie believable opposite Quinn’s portrayal of Onassis in the 1978 hit The Greek Tycoon. “He was Onassis. When I saw him the first time, he was Ari and I knew I had to up my game and be Jackie,” she told me enthusiastically. 

When I thanked her on behalf of me and my boyhood pals for her performance in The Deep, she flashed a knowing smile.

Yes, I missed the Sarasota Film Festival, and am thankful to have it back to quasi-normal. Seeing films on the big screen with real people sitting next to me sans mask was simply refreshing. 

With this all said, I am also grateful to give out my annual Gussie Awards to a handful of the films that moved me. Drum roll please!

Playing Through

Playing Through was a film that shined light on the remarkable life and golf career of Ann Gregory, who became the first woman of color to enter the USGA Women’s Amateur.  A film made in Sarasota with a committed community effort, I award Playing Through a much deserved Gussie for telling a story worth telling, and commend the community who helped put it on the big screen.

The Fabulous Ohs: The Marriage and The Music

Local talent Kathryn Parks tells the personal story of her parents, a small-town composer and a strong-willed singer/librettist, as they spent their lives chasing their musical journey together. I award a Gussie to Kathryn for celebrating her mom and dad and bringing their touching story to the screen.

Porcupine

As opening night films go, Porcupine had heart, laughs, and pathos. More than that, it made you think. For all of this, it was one of the best opening night films in the history of the Sarasota Film Festival. Jena Malone gives a powerful and poignant portrayal which has never been better. Malone plays Audrey, a young woman estranged from her family who is seeking life’s answers. She happens on a YouTube clip about the concept of adult adoption and decides to give it a try. Malone will steal your heart in this moving and poetic film experience brilliantly written and directed by Michael Cahill.

Montana Story

This was, I’d say, the best film I saw at the Sarasota Film Festival this year. A huge canvas is painted brilliantly by acclaimed writer/directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel. The story covers two estranged siblings, Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague, returning home to a land that they loved in order to be by their dying father’s bedside. It is here that they confront each other and their past. Montana Story is an often painful story set on a beautiful backdrop, with two outstanding performances by the young stars. Because of this, it is a well-worthy Gussie Award winner, and a must-watch.

Listening To Kenny G

Okay, I listen to Kenny G. And I like him. You got a problem with that? This refreshing and original documentary examines why so many people hate Kenny G, and why even more people love his music. Director Penny Lane makes all the right choices, showing all sides of the record of this multi-million-selling artist. In the end, however, it is Kenny G’s self-deprecating personality that wins the day. Even the harshest Kenny critics won’t be able to resist the charm and charisma that plays in the veins of this smooth jazz player. I surely couldn’t resist—and that’s why Listening To Kenny G earned a much-deserved Gussie Award.       

Little Satchmo

Louie Armstrong moved the world with his unique musical talent. Once one heard his iconic horn and voice, it was never forgotten. In Little Satchmo, what we hear is a different voice. The voice of a father talking to his one and only child, Sharon Preston-Folta. In this riveting documentary, we hear “Satchmo” interact with Sarasota-local Preston-Folta in a story about a father and daughter. Little Satchmo reveals their secret and loving relationship in a film that will make you see the jazz legend in a new light. A beautiful film worthy of a Gussie Award.

The Automat

I love films about food and restaurants—and I love Mel Brooks. Well, The Automat has both. Mel Brooks helps tell the story of Horn and Hardart’s meteoric rise to becoming one of America’s most unique restaurants—and sadly, of the closing of its final store. The story centers on the vending machine popularized in the 20th century that offered fresh cooked meals in a commissary-style eatery. In this nostalgic, Gussie Award-winning film, Brooks lovingly remembers putting a nickel in the slot and choosing the goodies behind the glass. Apple Pie. Lemon Meringue. There were no bad choices at The Automat.

Long Island Gus

When you have a riveting story about a guy named Gus who will do just about anything to help his ailing buddy get a kidney, but mysteriously disappears in the process, then there is a good chance that it will hook this guy named Gus (yours truly). I’m a sucker for documentaries with a little quirk and a lot of a heart, and Long Island Gus definitely falls under that category.

And that’s a wrap! The 24th Sarasota Film Festival is history.