Spotlight | The 25th Annual Sarasota Film Festival: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same.

By Gus Mollasis | May 2023

That was the tag line of the 25^th annual Sarasota Film Festival, and in many ways that statement was so true. 

As I took in this year’s silver anniversary festival, I reminisced about the prior 24 festivals which I attended as either a journalist or a filmmaker as well as its number one fan. 

Yes, there have been some changes over the years for both Sarasota and the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF). The town has grown so much over these years and so has the festival.

While still a charming and nationally respected festival, it has thankfully recaptured some of the momentum it lost over the pandemic years. It was great to see people once again enjoying and engaging in cinema on big screens all around town. And by all around town, I mean all around town. With screenings at The Sarasota Opera House; CMX Ciné Bistro Siesta Key; the Municipal Auditorium, and at Burns Court Cinemas, Sarasota Film Festival 25 was everywhere and all at once.

But mostly this festival was a collaborative effort – the essential ingredient in filmmaking. In particular, the collaborationwith Burns Court and the Sarasota Film Society warmed my heart. I am hopeful it provided a glimpse into what the film landscape in Sarasota will look like in the future as an industry battles to introduce new patrons and bring back those lost to streaming. After all, cinema theaters are an old friend and the classic and best way to see cinema—on the big screen and with other people. 

With SFF, I had the opportunity to introduce several films, facilitate the question-and-answer sessions that followed—a staple of any good and viable film festival. 

But more than that, it gave cinema fans a chance to meet and engage with filmmakers who went on their filmmaking journeys to create their own works of art. 

I was honored to moderate a “Q and A” session at the Municipal Auditorium for the powerful and original film, The Conspiracy, by Director Maxim Pozdorovkin. The film shined a light on specious conspiracies and antisemitism, which sadly is always a timely subject. Both the film and the interview afterward with producer Caroline Hirsch and prominent civic leaders provided a community forum for a thought provoking and sobering discussion. Hirsch, herself the founder of the iconic Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York, helped produce this serious and important film that was stunningly created using bold and innovative animation. 

I was delighted to see a theater full of enthusiastic film fans laughing together during a showing of the crowd-pleasing Late Bloomers. It proved to me once again how important it is to see films with other people. There’s that word again – collaborative. A film is scarier, more thought provoking, funnier and just more impactful when you watch it with other people. It is a collaborative effort and the laughs landed early and often with the crowd as they watched Late Bloomers. It truly was wonderful to hear people laughing together in a movie theater. It was also a wonderful sight to see familiar faces who had become friends over the years. 

With film director Barbara Kopple I share a special bond—our admiration and mutual friendship with the incomparable composer, musician, and a force of nature—David Amram. For those who do not know him, Amram has worked with everyone from Jack Kerouac to Dizzy Gillespie, while scoring the original Manchurian Candidate and Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass. A few years back, I was honored to help bring him to the Sarasota Film Festival where he was introduced and given a lifetime achievement award by none other than Barbara Kopple. 

Kopple herself is a splendor in filmmaking. A documentary filmmaker extraordinaire with two Oscars to prove it (1977’s Harlan County and 1991’s American Dream), she is a hard-working filmmaker who consistently delivers new subjects and compelling stories. She always comes back to Sarasota Film Festival to unveil her latest project. And this year was no different as she brought her powerful film Gumbo Coalition to the festival. 

It was also great to see former Sarasota Film Festival Director Tom Hall and former SFF Senior Programmer Holly Herrick receive a special award from SFF President Mark Famiglio as recognition for helping to shape the festival into the respected film force it is today. Had it not been for the tireless and painstaking efforts of Mark Famiglio over many years, the Sarasota Film Festival would not have made it this far and for sure would have qualified in the shorts category as opposed to being considered a formidable film festival. 

For the best part of SFF’s 25 years, I would catch the flashing celluloid images of light, color, and shadows with a group of five friends. Our “film posse.” It included Ann, Billy, Amy, and Becky. Often the five of us would sit together taking in as many films as possible to the point of blurred vision. We would also partake in the extravagant parties where we would meet the young filmmakers and stars creating our own undocumented documentary of sorts and a history of a film festival that we all loved and a place and time where we had all fell in love with each other and became film friends. Sadly, Billy is no longer with us. And Ann is unable to attend. Still, the memories we collaborated on will live within us and continue today. I smiled when Amy said, “Can I have this seat?” as we took in the impressive Little Richard documentary, I Am Everything. 

Yes indeed. The More Things Change, The More Things Stay The Same. 

Filmmaker and educator K.T. Curran brought her powerful film Bridge to the Other Side to SFF. Curran, who has local roots, also directed the 2019 film Surviving Lunch which dealt with the subjects of bullying and gun violence. She turned her focus to the often-stigmatic subject of mental illness. Produced using both actors from outside the area as well as many talented actors from this region, Bridge to the Other Side played to two sell-out crowds—one at Cine Bistro, where I was honored to serve as moderator, and the other at the Municipal Auditorium. Those in attendance were engaged in necessary and effective filmmaking from a director who not only makes good films but also films that help make us better people. 

One of the best people I have ever met at any of the film festivals I have ever attended is without a doubt Roma Downey. She is an actor, author, director, and herself a powerhouse Hollywood producer responsible for creating wholesome and holy worksthat millions upon millions of souls have taken communion with over the years. But to me, when I first met Roma at the charming luncheon hosted by the Bijou Garden Café, what impressed me the most was her calm, gentle manner, and kindness when she spoke. Dare I say her angelic demeanor? She was after all responsible for creating the character of Monica opposite Della Reese’s Tess in the ultra-successful CBS TV Series Touched by An Angel. At the Q & A that followed her inspirational talk, one thoughtful attendee asked, “Do you think that Touched by An Angel could be shown on CBS today?”  After a thoughtful pause she said, “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”Another attendee chimed in and was met with a rousing applause after commenting, “It’s just what we all need right now.”

As it turns out her feature film that would close out the festival was just what the doctor, make that what the angel, ordered. When I saw that “On a Wing and Prayer,” her film starring Dennis Quaid and directed by Sean McNamara, was the closing night film, once again I smiled. The movie is based on a true story of a man, who on Easter Sunday must safely land a plane with his family on board after the pilot has died in flight. 

As I watched at the Opera House, I flashed back 25 years to a time and place when I penned my book On a Wing and Prayer and my inspirational journey with my Detroit Red Wings to capture an elusive Stanley Cup. 

The More Things Change, The More Things Stay The Same.

As Roma Downey’s story washed over me at the Sarasota Film Festival on Palm Sunday, I was moved by its harrowing story and hopeful message. And yes, I was moved by the gal from Ireland who fashions herself, like many of her Irish ancestors, as a storyteller. And that she is. But she is much more than that. As I watched with Becky, one third of my film posse sitting next to me, and Amy the other third in the row in front of me, I couldn’t help but be moved by the goodness that filled the room on this holy day. Maybe she truly is an angel. And I know I am not the only one who felt that they were touched by the work of this angel. 

As another SFF winded down and I left the Opera House, I caught a glimpse of SFF President and Chairman Mark Famiglio with renowned filmmaker Alexandria Bombach. I had bumped into Ms. Bombach at the Ringling College Studio Lab Open House a couple of days earlier. While standing there and chatting with the impressive Ringling professor Patrick Alexander in front of the coffee set up, I heard Bombach quip, “Are you guys guarding the coffee?”  We both laughed.

As I stared at Bombach and Mark Famiglio chatting in the sunshine, I realized I had not seen her film It’s Only Life After All, a film on the popular folk-rock band The Indigo Girls. Admittedly I knew little about them or their music. I was wiped out and all filmed out. The debate in my mind grew—should I see it or not. 

Then I had a flashback of the last day of a festival from years past. That day I was blurry eyed and tired. Still, I was coaxed by my film posse to take in one last film. The film was Locke, a 2013 film starring Tom Hardy about a man who deals with every conceivable aspect of his life on one long car ride. It is still one of my favorite films from a Sarasota Film Festival. 

Encouraged and feeling my second wind, I decided sleep would have to wait. There was indeed one more film to see. I ducked my head into the front row of a packed Burns Court theater and waited for the lights to go down. But before they did, the director of the film Alexandria Bombach, saw me and said, “Still guarding the coffee?” We both smiled. 

Yes, sleep would have to wait. There was indeed one more film to see. And It’s Only Life After All.

And there it ended. The 25^th Sarasota Film Festival.

Yes. The More Things Change, The More Things Stay The Same.

The 25th annual Sarasota Film Festival Gussie Awards

The following films have received my award called “The Gussie” for excellence in filmmaking. They are films that moved me, made me laugh, cry, or think, and presented in no particular order by Gussie Spielberg Mollasis.

The Conspiracy—Innovative and powerful documentary; Director Maxim Pozdorovkin

On A Wing and A Prayer—Hopeful and spiritual narrative; Director Sean McNamara

Gumbo Coalition—Powerful documentary on two innovative civil rights leaders; Director Barbara Kopple

Invisible Beauty—Profile on fashion revolutionary and activist; Directors Bethann Hardison & Frederic Tcheng 

It’s Only Life After All—Engaging documentary on folk rock duo The Indigo Girls; Director Alexandria Bombach 

Bridge to The Other Side—Powerful and important narrative on mental health crisis; Director KT Curran

Other People’s Children—Engaging film about one woman’s rewards and regrets regarding having her own family; Director Rebecca Zlotowski   

Late Bloomers—Hilarious comedy with life lessons learned when a young woman encounters a cranky elderly Polish woman; Director Lisa Steen 

Little Richard: I Am Everything—Fascinating expose on one of Rock’s architects; Director Lisa Cortes     

It Ain’t Over—Documentary on the incomparable Yogi Berra; Director Sean Mullin 

Fairyland—Powerful story of young girl growing up in San Francisco with her gay dad; Director Andrew Durham  

La Gaceta—100 years/3 generations behind America’s only trilingual newspaper; Director Lynn Marvin Dingfelder 

Run, Raven, Run—Fascinating documentary on the history on survival of Gypsies and their music; Director Michael Rainin

The Red Suitcase—Extraordinary Short about arranged marriages; Director Cyrus Neshvad