By Mark Pukalo
The 28th Sarasota Film Festival will offer an interesting menu of premieres, highly-regarded movies that debuted at other major events and a large, diverse group of documentaries.
The April 10-19 Festival opens with Renny Harlin's "Deep Water," about a plane that crash lands in shark-infested waters, forcing the passengers to go into survival mode. Former Kiss front man Gene Simmons produced the film.
A film named "In the Hand of Dante" with an all-star cast including Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, Oscar Isaac and John Malkovich ends the festival. The drama involves a poem, a priest and a mob boss.
In between is a variety of films for every film lover's taste. Here is a look at just some of the 47 features and 39 shorts available at several locations.
The movies in the running for the Narrative Feature Competition include "The Scout," "Two Pianos," "Late Fame," "Honeyjoon" and "Charlibird."
Late Fame (left), with the great Willem Dafoe and Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall), was featured at the Venice and New York Film Festivals and received solid reviews. Charlibird, about a small-town story of a music therapist who confronts her past when working with a new patient, sound very intriguing.
The Documentary Feature Competition category is loaded, led by "Cookie Queens," "The Trial of Alec Baldwin," "Soul Patrol," "Nuisance Bear" and "A Portrait of a Postman."
Cookie Queens, a coming-of-age story about Girls Scout cookie seasons will be interesting, along with an examination of the hysteria around the accidental shooting by Alec Baldwin on a movie set. Soul Patrol features a black special ops team from the Vietnam War reuniting to tell their stories.
There are many others that caught my eye or came well-reviewed from previous film festivals. You can check out the entire list at https://www.sarasotafilmfestival.com/
"Omaha" (right) first played at Sundance in 2025. It packs an emotional punch as a widowed father takes his kids on a road trip after their house is foreclosed on. John Maguro, who always makes a film better, is the lead. Have some tissues ready from what I hear.
"Fish Fry & Fellowship" is a documentary about a church fish fry which brings together a diverse group of people who talk of their memories of segregation.
"Give Me the Ball!" is a documentary about the Hall of Fame tennis star Billie-Jean King.
"Arthur's Box" is a feature about a night shift doorman's normal life being forever changed by the arrival of a new tenant.
"On the End" centers on Montauk mechanic who meets a wild diabetic woman named Freckles online and opposites attract.
"Deepfaking Sam Altman" is a documentary where the director interviews an AI version of Altman to try and find answers.
"She Runs the World" (left) is a sports documentary on one of the greatest American track stars of all time - Allyson Felix.
"Steal this Story, Please!" examines the world of independent journalism with a pioneer in the industry (Amy Goodman).
"The Last One on the Road" is a feature about small-town Italian criminals who re-enter the game after many years when a former colleague shows up out of exile.
"Bunnylovr" received some mixed reviews at Sundance 2025, but the premise is interesting about an online sex worker dealing with increased pressure from clients. Sounds like a Sean Baker film and the always watchable Rachel Sennott supports lead Katarina Zhu.
"Carolina Caroline" Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner star in a drama about a small-town girl who falls for a con man and goes on a crime spree. It was first seen at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival. We'll see if Gallner can create a character similar to the one in the under-appreciated "Dinner in America."
"I Want Your Sex" (On top of story) drew rave reviews at Sundance earlier this year. A young man (Cooper Hoffman) becomes the sexual slave of an iconic artist (Olivia Wilde) and does not quite know what he got himself into. It's a wild ride.
"Normal" (right) stars Bob Odenkirk as a sheriff who takes a job in a small town, thinking it will be a good break for him. But the town's name does not describe the community. Just saw the trailer for this at a movie on Thursday (Undertone).
"Westhampton" sounds like an interesting documentary about a man who was responsible for a bad accident returning to the town where it happened. It debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival last year.
There's so much more. Check out the festival website for info on all the films, the sites and the special events.
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