Welcome to Behind the Fest, Backstage’s questionnaire series with film festival figures looking for that next big festival hit. Featuring behind-the-scenes insight from the organizers and programmers at Sundance, TIFF, Cannes, and more fests from around the globe, these tips might just hold the key to your indie film success story!
What people told Sarasota Film Festival co-founder and president Mark Famiglio when his event launched in 1998 was, “It’s not Hollywood.” His response: “No, it’s not. It’s Sarasota. What are our assets?”
Back then, the easy answer to that question was beaches. “Everybody enjoys the beaches,” Famiglio says of the west Florida coastline that’s the backdrop to his festival. “And we try to orient some of our celebratory stuff toward the tourism areas here.” But in the 22 years since inception, another answer has emerged. “Basically, it’s the tradition,” he can now add. “It’s the financing. It’s the general emotional support that we give filmmakers.”
This year, that support is virtual. Like several other film festivals in recent weeks (SXSW, Ann Arbor, and ReelAbilities among them), programming in the 2020 SFF is migrating online. The move allows for the showcasing of entrants’ work, including that of local filmmakers, at a time when public gatherings are banned. The digital expo, scheduled to run April 27 through May 3, is also a way to maintain what’s become a beloved Sarasota institution. “The community comes to expect it every year, and we work hard to deliver it,” Famiglio says of the festival. To understand what Sarasota residents and visitors so eagerly await, Backstage asked Famiglio to explain the event’s pull and offer advice to aspiring filmmakers.
Tell me about the history of the Sarasota Film Festival. Why was it founded?
It was founded to support independent filmmakers, and that’s expressly stated in our mission: to bring film and the vision of independent filmmakers to our region. And we’ve been doing it since 1998. Sarasota is a film-loving community, and the entire Gulf Coast region is very, very engaged in the festival and everything that happens here.
How does the SFF fit into the broader festival landscape?
We’ve gotten great accolades from filmmakers themselves because we really put them on a pedestal...when we bring them in, we celebrate filmmaking.... We’ve been able to maintain a level of programming quality, together with the actual celebrations and the interactions between our community, our visiting tourist community, and the filmmakers. And so we really try to deliver constancy in that interaction.
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When and how should filmmakers submit their work?
We open up submissions at the end of the previous year.... Most of the stuff is submitted online. We have a lot of recurring filmmakers, people who have been here. And a lot of recommendations are made from filmmakers to other filmmakers.
What are the benefits for a filmmaker of submitting to your festival?
We have an extremely educated, intelligent, filmgoing public here. It’s hard for me to overstate it—it’s pretty sophisticated. People in Sarasota have a keen interest in the arts generally, Sarasota being known as this arts tourist destination.... So one of the things is the interaction that takes place before and after, and I dare say, during the screenings because the filmmakers are often there on site and the producers and other people involved, whether they’re actors, directors—they get to interact with the community. And I’ve heard commentary about how wonderful that it is and how it’s not only inspiring to many of them, but it allows them to further hone their craft.
What kind of films do you consider in the selection process? Are you looking for anything in particular when you evaluate submissions?
We throw a wide net, in fishing parlance. We allow and are willing to cultivate visions. One of our areas is called “independent visions.” We have no issues walking outside the normal parameters. And we do! We are willing to look at films that teach us something, either teach us something technically or story-wise because of course it’s all about the storytelling—or a lot of it is. Something that stretches our limitations...that makes us stand in other people’s shoes. I think that’s really a big part of it. And not just trying to understand the human story but perhaps to understand different ways of presentation.
What other programming do you have throughout the year?
We did an American Indian festival, actually, a couple of months ago, which was super-well-received, together with a college here in a town called New College, which is an unusual and academically superior place.... And we also did Visions of the Black Experience, which is something that’s going to be a regular festival.
We’re also doing an online zombie film right now with children from around the world, which is really quite interesting. We have hundreds if not now thousands of submissions from children who have been given little scenes to film either on their phones or [other] options.
What advice would you give attendees and industry professionals for getting the most out of any film festival?
Interact with the programming staff, and take advantage of our really fantastic hospitality groups in Sarasota, including the hotels and the restaurants. They get very engaged with the filmgoers. I’d say really take advantage of the public. You never know who you’re talking to. And more often than not, they’re very gregarious, film-loving, and very open with what they can do to assist.
Any particular piece of wisdom you have for early-career filmmakers?
Just stay with it. Don’t mortgage the house. Use a credit card. With today’s availability of techniques for filming, there’s no excuse for not doing it. Budget should not be the problem.
There’s such a need for content. The world’s metamorphosed and will continue to change in ways we that have not yet imagined. And so chronicling that and documenting that...is going to be such a rich and needed experience. Now more than ever there are needs for storytelling, fiction and nonfiction.
What’s your favorite film seen recently?
It’s gotta be “Marriage Story.” It was the style; it was topical. And because I happened to be involved in a reality show effort, believe it or not, that involves divorce as a business and the impact on children and people, it was especially interesting to me!
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