Sarasota – Sarasota’s 4th annual Sarasota Fabulous Independent Film Festival kicks off later this month The festival, which runs Friday through Sunday, Aug. 22-24, sports an impressive collection of LGBT films which run the gamut of genres, be it documentary, drama, foreign and roman tic comedy.
The films themselves will be shown at Burns Court Cinemas again this year and the festival begins with a screening of Blackbird, presented by Watermark, on Friday, Aug. 22 at 7:30 p.m. In addition to that, there will be a cocktail party held at M.A.D.E. and an opening night dance party at Throb (drinks come with tickets for both these events), as well as a closing night party at Caragiulo’s on Aug. 24.
Magida Diori, who is the mastermind behind Broken Rules LC, the production company behind IFF, stresses that the festival sports a casual atmosphere and a come-as-you-are attitude.
“It is one the most laid back festivals you could ever deal with,” Diori says. “Don’t come entirely naked, as you might get into trouble, but otherwise we are not the fashion police.”
As for the films themselves—nine full-length features and seven shorts—Diori has a personal stake in all of them. Since she is responsible for getting them to the IFF, she has seen them all and developed a special relationship with each.
The films do run the gamut. There’s Cupcakes, directed by Eytan Fox, which is a light-hearted Israeli romantic comedy that, according to Diori, and makes “a perfect closing film for the festival.” The Circle is a Swiss film which is part documentary/part drama/part thriller narrative which tells the story of gay organization Der Kreis, which was the only one its kind to survive the Nazi regime.
There’s also,To Be Takei, a documentary of actor-turned-activist George Takei, who survived a stint in a Japanese internment camp, became a famous actor best known for his role as “Sulu” in the original Star Trek franchise and became even more famous as a social networking phenomena as he continually fights for equal rights.
“He’s an interesting character,” Diori says of Takei. “I didn’t know what I was going to see when I screened the film. He is a very nice person and that is what transpires in the film. You always hear those stories about how Hollywood people are evil; he does not have that aspect.”
The opening night’s Blackbird, directed by Patrik Ian Polk (of TV Noah’s Arc fame) is getting its Florida premiere. Blackbird, in fact, has been shown “everywhere else but here” according to Diori, so its presence here is a cultural boon for the cinematic community.
“I wanted the film but it was not possible when I started talking to them a few months ago,” Diori recalls. “Then I received an email asking me if I was still interested. I am very grateful.”
Although Diori is a fan of every film involved (“I could talk to your forever about them”), it’s Queerituality that is the centerpiece film of the festival. It’s the last film by local director Tom Murray, who passed away four years ago. That creation almost didn’t make it onto the screen, which would have been a major loss to the community as a whole.
“Four years ago when I did my first festival I called [Tom] up and asked him ‘How are you feeling? What are you up to?’. He said ‘I’m doing the first draft screening [of Queerituality],’which he was going to show to friends and then tweak it. I wanted to it be in the festival and he said he’d let me know. Two weeks later he died of a heart attack.”
It was a long and arduous journey getting Queerituality out from there and although Diori is not part of the actual production, Diori made the personal connections with Murray’s partner of 37 years and the editing team who transferred the film from it’s now obsolete editing system.
“They’re actually editing the film as we speak,” Diori says. “So it’s a world premiere and not just a Florida premiere.”
Through it all though, Diori is adamant about the worth of all the films at IFF.
“I was talking with a friend of mine and he asked me ‘If you had to choose three of them, which one would you chose?’ Diori says. “Now, originally I was going to downsize the program to only five or six films. I looked at him and said, ‘I haven’t been able to reduce the number of films. How am I going to tell you three of them? They all have something to tell.”
For more information on ticket pricing and the films, you can visit IFF at FabulousIFF.com.
More Info
WHAT: Fabulous Independent Film Festival
WHEN: Aug. 22-24
WHERE: Burns Court Cinema, 506 Burns Lane, Sarasota
TICKETS: $8.50-$10 at FabulousIFF.com
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