Top actors give Sarasota an intimate look at filmmaking during close of Sarasota Film Festival 17th annual Sarasota Film Festival
SARASOTA -- A day before the conclusion of the Sarasota Film Festival on Saturday, actresses Blythe Danner and Rachel Weisz spent the day mingling with festival guests, walking the red carpet at the Sarasota Opera House, and discussing their film careers and their most current independent projects, along with their directors.
The festival will wrap Sunday at the Regal Cinemas Hollywood 20 on Main Street in Sarasota, culminating in a student event called Hollywood Nights, where young filmmakers who participated in the film festival's education programs will walk the red carpet and premiere their films in a theatrical setting, while competing for awards and
scholarships.
The 10-day event, now in its 17th year, celebrates rich, character-driven independent films, narratives, shorts and documentaries by new and veteran filmmakers from the United States and abroad.
Earlier in the day, Danner entertained at an informal luncheon along with conversation overlooking the beachfront at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Club. Her movie, "I'll See You in My Dreams," was the featured closing-night film at the Sarasota Opera House. Also attending the event was "Dreams" director Brett Haley, and actress Jane Seymour, whose independent film "Bereave" premiered on Friday.
Later in the afternoon at an In Conversation With ... discussion at Florida Studio Theatre, all eyes focused on actress Rachel Weisz and Tom Browne, a British actor and writer/director, whose film, "Radiator," which debuted Saturday, is a semi-autobiographical account of Browne's relationship with his aging, eccentric parents, taking place over the course of just three days in his paresnts' home in northern England.
Weisz, who is best friends with Browne's wife, Rose, since childhood, was given the screenplay by Rose Browne and immediately offered to serve as executive producer.
"It was fantastic and massively personal and it was his voice. I said, 'Let's raise the money with friends and family if they're willing to make it on a micro-budget,'" Weisz told the audience.
The English actress, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Constant Gardener," has also received accolades for movie performances in "The Shape of Things," "About a Boy," and "Constantine."
Brown is this year's recipient of the Emerging World Cinema Auteur Awards.
"I wrote 'Radiator' at a stage in my life where my dad was bed-bound and my mother was struggling to cope. The film is about the end of life, how love changed during the course of a very long-term marriage, and how you fit into your parents' lives, particularly at the end," Browne told the audience.
Asked about her creative input and role in the project, Weisz said she enjoyed "illuminating some muscles" on the other side of the acting spectrum.
"It's a different critical faculty and sensibility than acting. Your using a completely different part of your brain."
The draw for audience member Hillary Ryles, hearing Weisz and Browne speak in such an intimate setting, is learning about the other side of storytelling.
"Just the technical aspect and the personal conversation. The art of filmmaking, whether small or bigger budget starts with something intimate and this is an opportunity to have a picture of that," the Sarasota resident said. "I love films of all makes, especially independent, non-blockbuster hits."
Closing night at the festival concluded with an awards ceremony and an Unwrap Party, celebrated Hollywood chic sytle at the Starlite Room in Sarasota.
A complete list of all movies featured Sunday, with screen times and ticket information is available online at sarasotafilmfestival.com or by calling 941-366-6200.
Kathryn Moschella, Lakewood Ranch reporter can be reached at 941-745-7010. Follow her on Twitter @MoschellaHerald.
This story was originally published April 19, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Top actors give Sarasota an intimate look at filmmaking during close of Sarasota Film Festival 17th annual Sarasota Film Festival ."