Tampa Film Fan

sunscreen film festival starts today

The second annual Sunscreen Film Festival opens today and runs through Sunday at the Vinoy Renaissance Resort in St. Pete.  The opening night film tonight at 8 p.m. is Darius Goes West:The Roll of His Life, making its Florida premiere.  Darius is a 16-year old with a fatal genetic disorder (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) who embarks on a cross-country journey with his friends to see the country and to promote awareness of DMD.  Darius Weems will attend the screening, along with his mother, his friends and director Logan Smalley.

On Saturday and Sunday, the festival will screen several feature films (including The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah, Mojave Phone Booth and Last Stop for Paul, among others) and a plethora of short films.  Kid-friendly shorts, international dramatic shorts, shorts featuring unique words and images, funny shorts, Florida shorts, shorts for the media-savvy consumer, and parental guidance-required shorts: the SFF has ‘em all.  I’ve watched about two-thirds of the short film selections so far and have seen some really great films (along with a couple that I can do without ever seeing again).  Many of the filmmakers will attend their screenings to participate in Q and A sessions.

On Saturday at 2 p.m. there will be a panel discussion on independent film production and financing.  Then, the festival will wrap up Sunday night at 9 p.m. with the awards ceremony.  They’ve got some talented judges lined up — like Bob Ross from the Tampa Tribune — but somehow they let a know-nothing film fan blogger sneak in as one of the short film judges.  I’m incurring the wrath of The Mother-In-Law by leaving Easter dinner early on Sunday to attend the awards ceremony, but a film fan’s gotta do what a film fan’s gotta do.

Visit www.sunscreenfilmfestival.com for more info or to purchase tickets.  See you there!

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)