2016 Sarasota Film Festival | The political drama 'The Congressman' closes the festival

Robert Mrazek has been a United States congressman -- he served five terms, from 1983 until 1993 -- and a successful novelist, with five military-themed novels to his credit. He's also written three nonfiction books that deal with United States military history.

Mrazek is 70 years old, and he's just written his first feature film, and he co-directed it, too. His script was strong enough that it attracted a couple of big-name stars, Treat Williams and George Hamilton. And the programming people at the Sarasota Film Festival liked the finished movie so much that they made it the festival's Closing Night Film. That's one of the most prestigious spots in the festival.

The film's called "The Congressman," and Mrazek, Williams and Hamilton will all be at the festival to celebrate one of the film's first screenings. They'll also be at Florida Studio Theatre at 4 p.m. Saturday for a moderated conversation and a question-and-answer session with the audience. (Tickets are $30, or $25 for SFF members.)

"The inspiration for the film was kind of two-fold," Mrazek said. "I spend about half the year on a small island off the coast of Maine, Monhegan Island. I write every day. It's the opposite of public life. It's just you and your imagination and your word processor.

"The other inspiration," he said, "was my disillusionment with the polarizing politics of the moment."

Mrazek paired his two inspirations into a story about a congressman who doesn't recite the Pledge of Allegiance along with his colleagues, and is surreptitiously videotaped by someone in the gallery.

In the storm of media controversy that follows, the congressman (Williams) retreats to a tiny New England island, where he encounters a self-sufficient community of lobstermen who are struggling to hold onto their traditional lifestyle.

He gets involved in their struggle, which helps him gain a different perspective on his own life, and on the political life in Washington.

It sounds like a drama, but it's essentially a comedy.

"Two-thirds of it was shot on this remote island that doesn't have anything to do with politics," Mrazek said.

One reason he was able to attract Hollywood stars to his first-ever film, he said, was that he first attracted producer Fred Roos, a respected producer of such films as "Apocalypse Now," "The Godfather, Part II" and "Lost in Translation."

"George (Hamilton) said his career was pretty much at a standstill for a while, until Fred cast him in 'The Godfather, Part II,' " Mrazek said. "So he was glad to do anything for Fred."

Williams, when he wasn't working on another project, would travel to the island to prepare for his role in "The Congressman." "He'd walk along the beach studying his lines," Mrazek said. "He'd call me when he had questions. By the time we started shooting, he was the character."

Details: 7 p.m. April 9, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Tickets: Non-members $30-$60, members $25-$48. Information: 941-366-6200, sarasotafilmfestival.com.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "2016 Sarasota Film Festival | The political drama 'The Congressman' closes the festival."