- March 26, 2025
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Last year, as it celebrated its 25th anniversary, the Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival quietly rebranded as the Reel Equals Film Festival and broadened its mandate to include other underrepresented voices. This year, it’s spreading the word about its bigger tent, so to speak, because there’s more room on the agenda.
The festival, which is funded through submission fees, tickets and patron and sponsor donations, doesn’t have to worry about changing political winds and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) backlash because it doesn’t rely on government funding of any kind, says E. Scott Osborne, president of the festival.
“It’s a nice position to be in, to have the support of the community and loyal and generous donors,” says Osborne.
Although everyone was invited to participate in the festival before, Through Women’s Eyes now explicitly says on its website, “We welcome everyone — women, LGBTQIA people, men, non-binary people — to join our efforts” at Reel Equals.
There was no deception involved in downplaying the broader mission last year, Osborne says. But a lot of the programming for the 25th anniversary focused on audience favorites throughout the years, what she calls “greatest hits,” so the decision was made to postpone the rebranding push until the party was over.
From Osborne’s point of view, embracing a more inclusive festival is not only a way to raise awareness; it’s way to spread more joy. If there is one film that embodies the ethos of Reel Equals, she says, it’s the opening night selection: Michal Goldman’s “Why We Dance,” which tells the story of a real-life dance instructor who began teaching classes online during Covid and attracted a wide following.
After the film screens on Friday at Ringling College of Art and Design, the film’s star, Ketty Rosenfeld, will lead attendees in a celebration of movement.
In addition to “Why We Dance,” which is 37 minutes long, the Opening Night block of films includes two shorts, “Airborne Abyss,” an exploration of lethal air quality, and “Capetillo,” about a female lector, the term for those who read literature to cigar factory workers.
After the opening night festivities at Ringling College, the festival moves to Ringling College’s Sarasota Art Museum. The lineup of films can also be viewed online, a programming feature many festivals adopted during pandemic shutdowns but dropped later on.
Having online screenings isn’t just a matter of convenience. Some film lovers may not be able to leave their homes because of mobility issues.
Over the years, half of the films in the Through Women’s Eyes fest have come from outside the U.S. That global perspective continues this year, with 29 films (many of them shorts) from 10 countries.
In perusing the entries, it seems the festival’s programmers are attracted to heartwarming (not in a corny Hallmark Channel way) films that showcase the endurance of the human spirit.
Of course, it’s dangerous to generalize, but these are tales of ordinary people galvanized by a personal challenge or a social condition to stand up for themselves or their communities. Do they do emerge victorious? Not always, but they are wiser after the reckoning, whether it be with nature or political injustice.
Throughout its history, the festival now known as Reel Equals has never shied away from controversy, and this year promises to be no different. Sure to get audiences talking are “Undocumented,” about a Mexican family crossing the border illegally to seek medical treatment, “If That Mockingbird Don’t Sing,” about a young woman facing an unexpected pregnancy, and “Culture War,” a documentary set in our own backyard about the transformation of New College.
This year’s Reel Equals Film Festival puts a special emphasis on the environment and climate, topics that audience members told fest organizers that they wanted to learn more about. (This programming decision was made before last year’s hurricanes, Osborne notes.)
The eco-oriented films will unspool in a sidebar called the Green Room, a clever word play that nods to the room where talent waits before going on camera.
Among the films in the Green Room block are the documentaries “Forces of Nature,” about three Alabama women who come together to advocate for the land and water in their communities, “Rebels With Cause,” about urban guerrilla gardeners in London, and “Until the Last Drop,” an exploration of river use that was filmed in six countries.
As part of the Green Room programming, Dr. Heather O’Leary of the University of South Florida will moderate a panel discussion on Saturday, March 8, on local water resources. The panel includes Christine Johnson of Big Waters Land Trust and Dr. Abbey Tyrna of Suncoast Waterkeeper.
No festival would be complete without at least one selection that everyone wants to see. Which is the buzziest selection at the 2025 Reel Equals Film Festival? “That’s like asking a mother who is her favorite child,” laments Osborne.
However, pressed further, she points to “Here’s Yianni!” The star-studded feature follows the wife of a Greek diner owner in New Jersey who is losing his memory. As the restaurateur falls into dementia, he imagines he hosts a late-night talk show.
The cast features Julia Ormond, Rosanna Arquette, Kevin Pollak and Joe Cortese. The New Jersey waterfront scenes are said to be a highlight, even for people who live in Florida.
