The 2019 Sarasota Film Festival is almost here. Here are some flicks you won’t want to miss
The lineup for the 2019 Sarasota Film Festival is here.
If you love a good movie, you won’t be disappointed.
For its 21st year, the festival is bringing daring, award-winning and internationally acclaimed cinema to a screen near you.
The Sarasota Film Festival runs April 5-14 at theaters throughout Sarasota.
Tickets are on sale now; visit sarasotafilmfestival.com or call 941-366-6200 for more info and a complete schedule.
Here are some of the feature films coming to the 2019 festival.
Mike Wallace is Here
The opening night film takes a look at the life of hard-hitting television journalist Mike Wallace.
Wallace interviewed the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Salvador Dali, Frank Lloyd Wright, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and many more high-fliers.
Details: 6-9 p.m. April 5. Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
All There Is - A Circus Story
The festival will get a little hometown flavor with this documentary’s new perspective on Sarasota circus culture.
The film explores the legacy of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth, which had its last show in 2017.
Pahokee
A spotlight film at this year’s festival, “Pahokee” follows the exciting but challenging lives of four teenagers who live in a small Florida town on the edge of Lake Okeechobee.
The documentary sees the students struggle through the economic hardships of their town and prepare to embark on promising futures.
“Pahokee” was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Sundance describes it as a a “poetic window into a unique town’s loving identity.”
Details: 7:30-9:25 p.m. April 7. Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
Opheila
This fresh take on the classic Shakespeare tale “Hamlet” features some familiar faces, including Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen and George MacKay.
The story is framed from Ophelia’s (Watts) point of view as she serves as lady-in-waiting to the queen and becomes involved in a forbidden romance with Prince Hamlet (MacKay).
Details: 7:30 p.m. April 6. Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
Meeting Gorbachev
Famed German director Warner Herzog and British director André Singer team up to examine the life and philosophy of Mikhail Gorbachev, who served as the final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985-91.
Herzog conducted three sit-down interviews with Gorbachev over a six-month period, and the conversations offer some interesting historical perspective and not-so-obvious parallels between Russia and the U.S.
Details: 1:30-3 p.m. April 7. Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, 801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
Phil
American actor Greg Kinnear’s directorial debut will have its world premiere on the closing night of the Sarasota Film Festival.
The dark yet comedic movie finds a dentist named Phil (played by Kinnear) going through a midlife crisis when a seemingly happy patient commits suicide. Phil decides to find out what went wrong, and adventure follows.
Details: 6-9 p.m. April 13. Sarasota Opera House, 61 N Pineapple Ave., Sarasota.
Info: sarasotafilmfestival.com.