The 2026 Sarasota Film Festival takes flight

Come for the celebrities; stay for the films. That’s the vibe at many film festivals. But in Sarasota, it’s the other way around, according to Sarasota Film Festival President and Chairman Mark Famiglio. “The people who come to the Sarasota Film Festival are true cinephiles,” Famiglio says.

Sure, they appreciate a celeb sighting or two, but what really draws patrons to the SFF is Q&A’s with directors, actors, writers and others with a stake in the film. There’ll be plenty of these during the 2026 SFF, which takes place April 10-19 at multiple venues downtown.

Based on this year’s surrealist poster of a manatee with a bowler hat ascending over Sarasota Bay, the 2026 SFF is ready to fly high. This year’s lineup includes 47 features, with four world premieres, 17 Florida premieres and 39 short films. 

The SFF is celebrating its 28th year, small potatoes compared to the centennials going on at the Sarasota Opera House, Art Center Sarasota and other institutions. But that’s a respectable run in a world where the Sundance Film Festival, the granddaddy of indie festivals, is only 48 years old.

While some are ready to write the obituary of theatrical exhibition, there are still many people who appreciate the chance to “sit in the dark with other people and watch movies,” Famiglio says. Speaking from observation, some SFF patrons get positively giddy about the prospect.

With its passionate audiences, many of whom are veterans of college film societies of the 1970s, its dedicated volunteers, its prime location and perfect weather in April, filmmakers and movie lovers from all over are eager to attend the Sarasota Film Festival. Each year, more than 50,000 tickets are sold to its screenings.

“We’re a filmmaker-centric festival,” explains Famiglio. “They are the stars of the festival.”

As in previous years, you never know who’s going to show up at the SFF. Famiglio says Gene Simmons, co-founder of the rock band Kiss, decided to drop in a few years ago because “he was in the neighborhood.”

Simmons will be back at the SFF this year for the opening night film “Deep Water,” which he produced. Director Renny Harlin (“Die Hard 2,” “Deep Blue Sea”), will also be in attendance. “Deep Water” follows two pilots (Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart) whose plane goes down in shark-infested waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Filmmakers know how to wait in line 

SFF’s closing night film will be Julian Schnabel’s “In the Hand of Dante,” featuring an all-star cast including Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Al Pacino and Martin Scorsese. The film follows the journey of a handwritten manuscript from a priest to a mob boss to novelist Nick Tosches, who’s asked to prove its authenticity.

Schnabel will attend the April 18 screening, where he will be honored with the Achievement in Directing Award.

The SFF will also hold a retrospective screening of Schnabel’s “Before Night Falls,” about the Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas who was persecuted for being gay before escaping to the U.S. in 1980.

With lines for TSA screening backing up at some airports (though not at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, which uses private contractors), there might be some unexpected no-shows at this year’s festivals.

Famiglio says his SFF team has been booking flights out of the White Plains airport in New York’s Westchester County, where Breeze offers direct service to Sarasota, to avoid delays at major New York airports.

Famiglio says he’s optimistic that Simmons, Harlin, Schnabel and others won’t be deterred by any travel snafus. “Filmmakers are accustomed to dealing with hardships. They’re not immune to waiting. They have to wait for financing, talent and locations to become available,” he says.

If worse comes to worse, a private plane out of Teterboro, New Jersey, might be possible, Famiglio says. 

He says the SFF has spent more than usual on travel insurance this year, he says, just in case flights are canceled or someone doesn’t clear security in time for their flight.

Such uncertainty might have some people pulling their hair out, but Famiglio seems to thrive on chaos. The SFF is infamous for announcing its lineup and venues at the 11th hour, but Famiglio always seems to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Courtesy image

He’s done it again with one of the strongest lineups in recent years. With its position as Florida’s “Cultural Coast,” films about the arts always play well in Sarasota, and this year’s SFF is full of them.

Highly anticipated is the Florida premiere of Jacob Patrick’s “Sono Lino,” which follows Italian glassmaker Lino Tagliapietra as he prepares for his last hot glassblowing session.

Tagliapietra’s work was on display at Ringling College of Art and Design’s in a show called “The Maestro of Murano” that closed March 28.

Awards propel the film festival circuit, helping movies find audiences at other festivals and generating buzz that can lead to a distribution deal of some sort. The badges also look good on film posters.

The films vying for an award in SFF’s Narrative Feature Competition are Libby Ewing’s “Charliebird,” Lillian Mehrel’s “Honeyjoon,” Kent Jones’ “Late Fame,” Arnaud Desplechin’s “Two Pianos” and “The Scout,” directed by Paula Gonzalez-Nasser.

Competing for the top prize in the Documentary Feature category are Alysa Nahmias’ “Cookie Queens,” Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman’s “Nuisance Bear,” Chris Charles Scott’s “A Portrait of a Postman,” J.M. Harper’s “Soul Patrol” and Rory Kennedy’s “The Trial of Alec Baldwin,” about the aftermath of an accidental fatal shooting on the set of a film Baldwin directed.

Finding the Sarasota connection

Films with local interest and special events include:

•  "Sidecar Sadie to the Rescue," directed by Jan Soderquist and Gareth Rockliffe , with a Q&A and a Gulf Coast Humane Society showcase after the film
• "Call It What It Is," directed by KT Curran, which will include a panel discussion on buillying prevention with students, school staff and community experts
• "Fish Fry & Fellowship," Paul Ratner's documentary about a African-American church in Palmetto whose screening will be preceded by a real fish fry
• "The Healing Mirror," a documentary directed by Bubba Henson, Cedric Hameed and Megan Howell that profiles Sarasota anti-homeless initiative Second Heart Homes, and
• "Killjoy + Tether," two new short films by local filmmakers Michael J. Kinsey and Marquis J. Dawson. 

As in previous years, there are sidebars of special interest films grouped in such categories as Florida, the Black Experience (co-curated by Paul Toliver and Charles Williams), arts, environment, sports, Judaism, LGBTQ+ and music. Some films are in more than one sidebar.

Like other arts groups, the SFF changes its venues from year to year, depending on availability. Famiglio says Ringling College and New College of Florida have both been generous and “unrelenting” over the years with their support. He notes that since many Ringling grads end up working in film, the college is a natural setting for SFF screenings.

Six student short films will screen under “The Best of Ringling Film.”

Having New College and Ringling College onboard is helpful when SFF adds encore screenings at the end of the festival to accommodate festgoers who got shut out of popular films. These are often added on the fly, so check the website or stop by the box office at 332 Cocoanut Ave., now open daily from noon to 6 p.m.

Image courtesy of Janet Combs

The programmer for this year’s SFF is Brian Gordon, who has been involved in the film festival world since 1987 and is the former executive director of the Nashville Film Festival. Now based in New York, Gordon is a screener for such festivals as POV, Sundance and Tribeca.

Gordon may do the heavy lifting for curating the SFF, but Famiglio says he “watches every film.”

So, what are the films that Famiglio is most excited about? On his must-see list are comedian John Early’s directorial debut, “Maddie’s Secret,” “Charliebird,” “Arthur’s Box,” “I Want Your Sex,” “Late Fame” and “Bunnylvr.”

Despite his film festival cred, Famiglio is at heart a music fan. So it’s no surprise that topping Famiglio’s must-see list is Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s “Everywhere Man: The Lives and Times of Peter Asher.” It profiles the musician, producer and manager who helped shape artists such as The Beatles, Carole King, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.

It’s unlikely that Asher, who is 81 and lives in the U.K., will pop by the SFF screening, but stranger things have happened.