Scene & Heard

+ SFF makes a play for female theatergoers
Ladies: This year’s Sarasota Film Festival is for you. Soak it up.

Although its organizers have not come out and stated this fact: SFF’s events and partnerships are awash in estrogen, from the pet project of celebrity guest-of-honor Geena Davis (Davis is being honored for founding the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media), to its collaboration with Through Women’s Eyes (TWE), a film festival sponsored by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. National Committee for UNIFEM.

Now in its 12th year, the TWE lineup includes Kim Longinotto’s documentary, “Pink Saris,” about a gang of women fighting for women’s rights in India; Michèle Midori Fillion’s “No Job for a Woman: The Women Who Fought to Report World War II”; Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s “Miss Representation,” about the damaging representations of women in the media; and the premiere of Mimi Chakarova’s sex-trafficking investigation, “The Price of Sex.”

Fans can meet the women who called these shots at a filmmaker’s reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 9, at Art Center Sarasota. Tickets are $75. For a complete list of TWE films, visit www.throughwomenseyes.com.

+ La Musica to ‘GPAC’ the house
La Musica turns 25 this month with a string of concerts April 4 through April 15, at the Sarasota Opera House, led by Artistic Director Bruno Giuranna and associate Artistic Director Derek Han.

For those of you South Sarasota County residents who cringe at the thought of trekking into downtown Sarasota at the height of season, The Glenridge Performing Arts Center is hosting a free open rehearsal at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 8.

Catch performers Federico Agostini (violin), Anne Schoenholtz (violin), Julie Albers (cello) and Franco Petracchi (bass) as they work through “In Rossini, Sonata a Quattro No. 1 in G major.”

Remember, not all musicians will let you drop in on a rehearsal — especially the perfectionists.

+ Roller derby films predicted to ‘Bomb’
Just when you thought the wild Bradentucky Bombers couldn’t get any cooler, they get immortalized in not one, but two short films screening at the Sarasota Film Festival.

Sarasota writer/director Moe Lynch’s “Crushed” stars Bradentucky Bomber Mary Brown as a skater who keeps her roller derby life a secret from her co-workers, despite the telltale bruises cropping up on her arms and legs.

State College of Florida film student Amanda Ibasfalean’s “Derby Girls: Inside the Bradentucky Bombers” stars the entire all-female roller derby league.

A Bradenton native, Ibasfalean highlights the league’s sportsmanship, athleticism, charity work and ability to juggle work, motherhood and skating.

For more on the films, visit www.bradentuckybombers.net.

+ Gloria Musicae brings back Mozart’s ‘Requiem’
It’s been 10 years since Gloria Musicae presented the regional premiere of Robert Levin’s completion of Mozart’s “Requiem Mass in d Minor.”

The composer died before he could finish it, which left classical-music groupies scrambling to fill in the missing pieces, including Levin, whom many of you know as the artistic director of the Sarasota Music Festival.

Well, Requiem-ites, the lost Mozart work returns next week to Gloria Musicae. The concert’s four soloists, handpicked by famous mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, are as follows: soprano Julie Davis, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, tenor Joshua Stewart and bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11, at the Sarasota Opera House. For tickets, call 360-7399 or visit www.gloriamusicae.org.

HOT TICKETS
‘Deathtrap’: Ira Levin’s classic mystery thriller is up now through May 14, at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Directed by Peter Amster, the play stars Mercedes Herrero, Bryan Torfeh, James Clarke and third-year conservatory student Dane Dandridge. The show holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway. For tickets, call 351-8000 or visit asolorep.org.

‘Ghost-Writer’: Florida Studio Theatre closes its season with Michael Hollinger’s new play “Ghost-Writer” about a New York novelist who falls in love with his young secretary. FST regulars may recognize Hollinger’s name. The playwright’s “Opus” prompted the company to collaborate with the Sarasota Orchestra two years ago. “Ghost-Writer” is up now through May 29, in FST’s Keating Theatre. For tickets, call 366-9000 or visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

Contact Heidi Kurpiela at [email protected]