Tampa Film Fan

news and notes:digital media storage cost, kinsler, seminole heights movie, ground up films

• I don’t know which surprises me more: that I read a Computer World article without falling asleep, that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a council devoted to studying technology, that digital media storage is more expensive than film storage, or that the article’s comments were more interesting than the article itself.
• Filmmaker and Tampa native Lauren Kinsler recently finished shooting the short film Widow in the Bay area. Kinsler told me that “the shoot was great and we are now in the post-production phase.” To learn more about the film and future screening dates, visit www.widowthemovie.com.
• On Thursday, April 17, the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association presents Seminole Heights:An Intimate Look at the Early Years at the Tampa Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the film starts at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $5, with free admission for anyone who lived in Seminole Heights before 1945 (see the box office on the evening of the event for these free tickets). Here’s the scoop from the Tampa Theatre’s website: “Discover Seminole Heights’ part in the Civil War. See the development of the neighborhood in the early decades of the 20th Century. Hear tales of growing up during the Great Depression when material goods were scarce, but the abundance of backyard vegetable gardens and warm camaraderie kept bellies full and spirits high. Co-sponsored by Eric Krause Designs and Quillian Craftsman, the film is written, directed and filmed by award-winning filmmakers Gene and Krissy Howes of Cigar City Pictures, Seminole Heights residents.” (h/t to the Reclaiming Our Heritage e-newsletter)
• Local filmmakers Jon Wolding and Jen Persons have a new website at www.GroundUpFilms.com. You can check out their short films, read about their philosophy, or just hang out and get distracted.

second annual gasparilla film festival february 27-march 2, 2008

After a successful debut in 2007, the Gasparilla Film Festival has bigger and better plans for this year’s festival, which opens February 27. At a recent press conference, festival executive director John Rosser and president Eric Odum presented the film line up, announced guest appearances, and listed the panels, receptions and special events planned for this year. 81 films from ten countries will be screened over five days, with at least 20 of the selected films having a connection to the Tampa Bay area.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the special events and screenings planned for this year:

Wednesday, February 27:

• Opening Night VIP Reception at the Tampa Theatre
• Opening night film Kabluey, a “hilarious, unique and heartfelt comedy” starring Lisa Kudrow, Chris Parnell and Christine Taylor. **Executive producer Jeff Balis is a Tampa native.**

Friday, February 29:

• An exclusive screening of The Good Fight, an “exclusive sneak-peak, work-in-progress” about FSU Seminoles’ coach Bobby Bowden by acclaimed filmmaker George Butler (Pumping Iron). Following the screening, George Butler and fellow producer Elisabeth Haviland James will be on hand to answer questions from the audience. (Tickets to the screening and the reception may be purchased separately or together.)

Saturday, March 1:

• A special, 45th anniversary screening of Blood Feast, the “first film ever to showcase explicit gore!” Legendary filmmakers Herschell Gordon “Godfather of Gore” Lewis and David F. “Mighty Monarch of Exploitation” Friedman will be in attendance! There’s a reception at 8 p.m., the film screening at 9 p.m., and then at 10 p.m. Lewis and Friedman will participate in a Q and A session with St. Pete Times film critic Steve Persall! (Sorry about the overuse of exclamation points, but I’m really excited about this event. !) “True fans of independent filmmaking will no doubt appreciate Lewis and Friedman’s fearless and pioneering cinematic legacy. However, the fact remains that their blood-soaked repertoire continues to influence people of all stripes to this very day…most notably, curious youngsters eager for kicks,” said Andy Lalino, producer at Film Ranch International, the sponsor of this special event and screening. I’m told that there will be a nurse on scene at this event, just in case. This event will put the GASP in the Gasparilla Film Festival, for sure. (While I wish I had thought of “GASParilla” myself, I must give credit to Film Ranch International for coming up with that.)
• Women’s Power Hour — The Gasparilla Film Festival is supporting Women’s History Month by showcasing the short films Ten At The Top in Tampa Bay (**by local filmmaker Renee Warmack**), In Between, Drive Lesson and Loose Ends. This event will take place at Channelside Cinemas at 5:30 p.m., followed by a complimentary networking session from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. and is sponsored by local publishing company JimSam, Inc. There will be gift bags for the first 50 people to enter the theater for this screening. Also on March 1, Channelside Cinemas is hosting the 3rd Annual Focus on Females Women’s Healthcare Symposium, a free day-long series of health-oriented seminars, screenings, demonstrations, and classes.
• Campus MovieFest — Sixteen of the best five-minute movies from the 06-07 tour of Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student film festival, will be screened. Don’t ignore or dismiss this because of the “student” or “five-minute movies” aspects. Last year, the Campus MovieFest films were some of the best short films I’ve seen in the past few years (and I’ve seen hundreds of ‘em, at film festivals, at local screenings, online and on DVD). I have high hopes for this year’s Campus MovieFest crop as well.
• An exclusive screening of The Flock, a “heart-stopping psychological thriller” starring Richard Gere and Claire Danes.
• Several panel discussions/seminars, including: Worldwide Marketing and Distribution of Your Film, Budget Techniques for Producing Your Film and Working in 16mm and Other Filmmaking Techniques.
• Screenings of Requiem, a documentary about “one of the most misunderstood predators on our planet — the shark” featuring beautiful underwater photography. Requiem will screen at the Florida Aquarium and the filmmakers will be in attendance.

Sunday, March 2:

• The Young Filmmakers Series screenings.
• A special family screening of the kids’ action/adventure film The Flyboys starring Stephen Baldwin and Tom Sizemore. One free children’s ticket with each adult ticket purchase.
• The Closing Night/Award Ceremonies — hosted by Wendy Ryan of ABC’s Action News.

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS: I have permission to announce that Shane West, star of TV’s ER and the GFF selection What We Do Is Secret, will be at the Gasparilla Film Festival this year. I’ll post more details when I get ‘em.

Other films to be screened at the festival include:

Special American Indies (Features):

• Autism–The Musical (U.S. premiere) — A documentary about five autistic children in L.A. who write, rehearse and perform their own full-length musical.
• Big Rig (Florida premiere) — This documentary is “an extended portrait of modern American as seen through the eyes of long-haul truck drivers as they span 21,000 miles, 45 states and dozens of truck stops.”
• Daydreamer (Florida premiere) — A mystery/drama/sci-fi feature that “zigs and zags, defying convention.”
• Judy Toll:The Funniest Woman You’ve Never Heard Of (Florida premiere) — A documentary about Judy Toll, “one of Hollywood’s funniest and talented comedy writers in the 80s and 90s…whose lifetime career achievements remain largely unknown even today.”
• The Memory Thief (Florida premiere) - A “fascinating and unsettling film about a young tollbooth worker whose search for meaning leads to an obsession with the Holocaust.”
• What We Do Is Secret — This drama takes a look at the Germs, “the seminal band from the late 70s L.A. punk rock scene,” and Darby Crash, “their enigmatic lead singer.”

Fun and Fear (Features):

• American Fork — Comedy starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Quinlan.
• 100 Tears — A horror film about two reporters drawn into “the bizarre world of a serial murderer known only as The Teardrop Killer.” **Locally-produced film.**
• Viva (Florida premiere) — “A comic tale of a suburban housewife in 1972 who is abandoned by her husband and goes out to find herself in the middle of the sexual revolution.”

Latin Panorama (Features):

• Death of a Bureaucrat — A “hilarious tale of the ludicrousness of bureaucracy” from Cuba.
• Drained — A Brazilian comedy.
• Dream Havana — Cuban documentary about two friends “faced with a life-altering choice” of whether or not to attempt escape from Cuba.
• El Custodio — An Argentinean drama about a man trapped in the thankless role of bodyguard.
• It’s Better That Gabriela Doesn’t Die (East coast premiere) — A Mexican comedy about soap opera obsession.
• Making Tom Ze’ — A Brazilian documentary about the controversial musician Tom Ze’.
• The Man of 2 Havanas (Florida premiere) — “Everything your parents never told you growing up about U.S.-Cuba relations…”
• Tocar Y Luchar (Florida premiere) — A documentary about a network of hundreds of orchestras in Venezuela.

And shorts, shorts, shorts. Lots of short films, many of which are locally produced, several that are making their premieres at the festival, and all of which sound interesting.

Visit www.gasparillafilmfestival.com for details on the films, filmmakers and the schedule. A variety of festival passes and ticket packages are available through the website as well.

See you at the festival. (If you get there first, save me a good seat, will ya?)

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)

news and notes:icon film studios, beach theatre, sunset cinemas at the tampa theatre

• Congratulations to local filmmakers Chris Woods and Simon Lynx on the 15th anniversary of Icon Film Studios.
• The Beach Theatre in St. Pete has started the new year off with a bang. The theater’s website has been overhauled, an online special events calendar has been added and the kinks in the email newsletter subscription process have apparently been resolved. Oh, and they’ve got some interesting screenings and ongoing film series planned. All hail screenwriter and theater owner Michael France for nurturing a local alternative for film fans who need a break from the multiplex.
• The Tampa Theatre is launching a new program called Sunset Cinemas in the coming months. The theatre will host outdoor screenings of classic movies at various parks throughout the Tampa Bay area. Each screening will begin with a locally-produced short film. Local filmmakers who are interested in being part of the Sunset Cinemas series should email paulguzzo@hotmail.com (Note: films cannot have excessive cursing, nudity or violence.) (h/t to Guzzo Brother #1)

february film fan fun

As always, there’s a great selection of movie screenings and film-related events in the Tampa Bay area this month. Here’s a brief look at some of them:

• February 4 – Screening of The Jane Austen Book Club at the Beach Theatre to benefit the Friends of the St. Pete Library
• February 8 – The Tampa Film Review, a free monthly screening of local films
• February 8 – Opening of the Dali and Film exhibit at the Salvador Dali Museum; runs through June 1. This exhibition examines “the profound relationship between the paintings and films of Salvador Dali.”
• February 9 – free screening of Tarzan Finds A Son as part of the Kids’ Free Matinee Series at Beach Theatre
• February 10 – Buster Keaton silent film double feature (Sherlock, Jr. and Cops) at Tampa Theatre
• February 13 – The World of Black Cinema presentation; part of USF’s Black Emphasis Month activities
• February 15 – Pinellas Filmmakers Society; free monthly networking meeting of local filmmakers, followed by a screening of local films
• February 16 – Zombie Night (film, costumes and more) at Beach Theatre
• February 17 – Classic musical An American in Paris screening at Tampa Theatre
• February 18 – free screening of Florida film A Flash of Green at Beach Theatre, with appearance by writer/director Victor Nunez
• February 21 – screening of Surfing Costa Rica’s Jungle Breaks at Beach Theatre
• February 23-March 1 – Environmental Film Festival at Eckerd College
• February 23 – Movie Blueprint screening as part of clip Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival’s ongoing monthly series
• February 24 – Oscar Night America at Tampa Theatre
• February 27-March 2 – Gasparilla Film Festival

Email your event info to me at tampafilmfan(at)aol.com to be added to the Event Calendar page. See you at the movies!

prince among slaves screening and panel discussion january 31

Received via email:

NAACP, CAIR and WMNF 88.5FM invite you to attend the Tampa premiere and panel discussion of Prince Among Slaves on Thursday, January 31, at 6:30 p.m. at the Tampa Theatre.

Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival
Tampa Bay Film Commission
Hillsborough County African American Liaison
Muslim Student Association – University of South Florida
Black Student Union – University of South Florida
Jarvis El-Amin, Community Activist
Hakeem “The Dream” Aquil, Community Activist

Visit www.princetampa.org or www.tampatheatre.org for more info.

oscar night at tampa theatre is february 24

Received via email:

The excitement and glamour of Hollywood are coming to Tampa Theatre on Oscar Night. Guests can experience the thrills and surprises of the 80th Academy Awards® on Sunday, February 24, at Tampa Bay’s own Oscar Night® America–Tampa Bay sponsored by Ferman Motor Car Company. This is one of only 52 official parties sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that will be held across the country on Oscar Night.

Last year, official Oscar Night parties raised almost $3 million for local charities in 47 cities. All money raised stays in the community. Only one charity party in a given market may participate in Oscar Night America, which makes Tampa Theatre the only Academy-sanctioned telecast location in the Tampa Bay area.

The Tampa Theatre, along with Oscar Night America hosts in other cities, isn’t going to let the writers’ strike get in the way of having some Hollywood fun and raising money for charity. The event is moving forward as planned. You can read more or purchase tickets on this page of the Tampa Theatre’s website.

friday was a good day for tampa bay

“Well, you’re quite the busy bee.”

This is The Husband’s standard response whenever I give him long, detailed descriptions of where I’m going and things I’m doing on any given day. Technically, it’s code for “I’m listening and being supportive because I love you, even though you’re boring me to death” and is a much better line than my standard comment to him of “Is your story very long?”

This busy bee buzzed around to three film-related events this past Friday: A press conference at Eckerd College about the movie Misconceptions that’s currently being filmed in Pinellas County; the Tampa Bay Film Industry and Actors Network Meetup; and the Tampa Film Review. Here are a few things I discovered over the course of the day:

• Academy Award and Emmy-nominated director Ron Satlof (The A-Team, Diagnosis Murder) teaches filmmaking intro classes at Eckerd College. Eckerd College continues to support film in all sorts of ways: the International Cinema Series, the Environmental Film Festival, the film studies program, and now this. Wow.
• I’m a terrible photographer. (You’ll see for yourself when I download my photos.)
• My 10th grade math teacher was right: There’s no escaping math in life, no matter who you are or where you go. The Meetup group watched an instructional DVD on lighting techniques for interviews, which was interesting and informative (and not as tedious as it sounds here). When the narrator mentioned the “inverse square law” that determines light reflection, however, I suddenly developed sweaty palms and a strong craving for a sharpened No. 2 pencil.
• A Major Movie Star has agreed to be the guest of the upcoming Sunscreen Film Festival! Festival co-director Tony Armer “leaked” the news at the Tampa Film Review, but since nothing has been officially released to the media yet, I promised Armer and fellow co-director Derek Miner that I wouldn’t name names here. Keeping this secret is killing me….
• Film fest director, filmmaker and extreme multi-tasker David Audet surfaced from under the mountain of DVDs he’s screening for the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image to present the Bud Lee Cinematography Award at the Tampa Film Review. I was able to chat with him long enough to find out that (1) The YFMI is going to be jam-packed — as always — with an eclectic, unusual assortment of films, art and performance; (2) PIX Fest, the Pinellas County film festival originally scheduled to debut this summer, is still going to occur, but probably in a very different way than previously imagined ; and (3) The literary festival Deep Carnivale:A Celebration of Words, fresh from its successful debut last September, will be bigger and better come September 20. This year’s festival will have more of everything: more activities, more venues, more authors…and hopefully more attendees, more attention, more fun.
• Speaking of book news, I met JimSam, Inc. publishing pro Marcia Freespirit (a busy bee herself) Friday night. Her company has some intriguing book/film collaborations planned for 2008.
• In the spring, the Tampa Theatre is going to launch an outdoor classic film screening series at various parks in the Tampa Bay area. Locally-produced short films will be part of this series as well, playing just prior to the main movie at each screening.
• The Sunscreen Film Festival has finalized the judging panel for short films: Filmmaker and UT film professor Tom Garrett…and me. I’m not sure how I snuck in there, but I’m sure I proved my professionalism by jumping up and down with joy when co-director Derek Miner asked me. (Surprisingly, he didn’t rescind his offer.) Here’s an interesting side note: Sunscreen Film Festival co-director Tony Armer graduated from Eckerd College, which brings us full circle.

I’ll post my photos as soon as possible. Hopefully, The Husband’s stories are all short today.

(cross-posted on www.sticksoffire.com)

faq:looking for local screenings of classic, older movies

Dear Tampa Film Fan:

I am a fan of strictly older films, all kinds.  Is there a particular site or location that will keep me posted about older films being shown (whether film societies or clubs, museums, libraries, etc.)?  I have been going to the Tampa Theatre for quite a while and have recently come across the Beach Theatre, but it has been extremely difficult finding theatres or groups that show older films.  I did come across the Sarasota Film Festival, and they seem to show some old films, but I’m not sure if this is through the entire year.  I know there are a couple of theaters in Orlando and Ocala, but that is very far to go, unless it is some real special event.  I am originally from a large city that has numerous film revival theaters.  I am very happy to have the Tampa, and now Beach, theaters, but am always looking for classic movie screenings. I have little to no interest in current films.  Many of the films I see on the big screen I either have seen on Turner Classic Movies or I own on tape or DVD.  But I do miss the event of going to see film on the big screen.  Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Dear Reader:

I don’t know of any one site that will give you this information. I try to keep the event calendar here at TFF as updated as possible, but it’s not limited to any particular film genre. Here are a few suggestions you might be interested in:

(1) The Tampa Theatre and the Beach Theatre are the main local theaters that show older movies on a regular basis, but there are special events at other local theaters every once in a while (like the recent screening of a classic Star Trek episode). You might want to use a site like http://tampa.mrmovietimes.com, where you can search for theaters near a certain zip code and easily check their screening schedules.

(2) There are many film festivals in the Tampa Bay area, but the majority of them don’t show classic films on a regular basis. There are a few exceptions, however, that I think you’ll be interested in: (a) the Film Noir Festival, a week-long retrospective of infamous and not-so-famous examples of film noir held at The Studio(at)620 in St. Pete in February/March (www.thestudioat620.com); (b) Cinema Italiano, a one- or two-day film fest of classic Italian movies, part of the annual Festa Italiana in March/April (www.festaitalianatampa.com).

(3) Eckerd College has a film series called the International Cinema Series on Friday nights (during the school semester) that screens a mixture of older and newer foreign films (www.eckerd.edu, search for “cinema”).

(4) Local libraries offer a variety of classic film screenings: some weekly, some monthly and occasionally a “special event” screening. Most libraries list their events on their websites and in monthly/quarterly newsletters available at each of their branch locations.

Hope this helps.

Local film fans — Please let me know what else should be listed here. Post a comment with your answers to this question.

(This post has been added to the FAQ page.)

star trek:the original series is coming to a theater near you on tuesday (updated)

I stumbled across this event posting while looking through Creative Loafing’s online calendar:

Star Trek:The Original Series

Captain Kirk and his swashbuckling crew of space explorers are brought to theaters during this special single-night screening event, which features two digitally remastered, high-definition first season Star Trek episodes — The Menagerie, parts one and two. Participating theaters: Regency 20, 2496 W. Brandon Blvd., Brandon; Woodland Square 20, 3128 Tampa Road, Oldsmar; Park Place Stadium 16, 7200 U.S. 19 N., Pinellas Park; Hollywood 18, 6701 Cinema Drive, Port Richey; and Citrus Park Stadium 20, 7999 Citrus Park Town Center Mall, Tampa.

Tuesday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.
$12.50

———————–

UPDATE 11/12/07: There will also be screenings on November 15. Check theater listings for details. (h/t SyFy Portal)

———————–

How cool is that?

If I remember correctly, The Menagerie episodes are the Christopher Pike ones: A clever use of footage from the actual first pilot episode with Christopher Pike as the captain of the Enterprise instead of James T. Kirk. Interesting and well-done, but for some reason not really among my favorites. Plus, $12.50 is a little steep for me these days.

But the chance to watch two Star Trek episodes in a movie theater? How can I NOT go? I haven’t yet bought The Husband any birthday presents (and his birthday is Monday!) and he’s a much bigger Star Trek fan than I am, so I could pass this off as part of his birthday present that I’ve planned for all along. That settles it. I’m going.

Live long and prosper. And pass the popcorn.

———————

UPDATE 11/12/07: Here’s the description from the AMC Theatres website:

Fathom presents Star Trek:The Original Series–beamed onto the big screen in select movie theatres nationwide. This event features the original Season 1 episodes The Menagerie Part 1 and 2, digitally re-mastered in High-Definition and Cinema Surround Sound. Also included is greeting from creator Gene Roddenberry’s son, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry and an exclusive 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at how the episodes were digitally re-mastered from the original negatives.

SyFyPortal has an interview with Gene Roddenberry, Jr. that all good Trekkers and Trekkies should read.

november film fan fun

Here’s a look at some of the film-related events coming up in the Tampa Bay area:

• November 5 — one night only screening of award-winning Spanish film Madeinusa at Tampa Theatre, hosted by ARTE 2007 and the Ybor Festival of the Moving Image
• November 9 — French film Blame It On Fidel (La Faute en Fidel) screening at Eckerd College as part of their International Cinema Series
• November 9 — A Clockwork Orange screening at the St. Pete Beach Theatre as part of the Late Night Cult Flicks Series
• November 10 — Women’s history documentaries Sisters of ‘77 and locally-produced Ten at the Top in Tampa Bay will be screened at HCC-Davis Island, followed by a discussion led by local historian Doris Weatherford. Click here to read the press release.
• November 10 — The Magic Sword screening at the St. Pete Beach Theatre as part of the Free Kids Matinee Series
• November 11 — The Tampa Comic Book and Toy Convention includes an indie film festival

Visit http://tampafilmfan.com/blog/calendar-of-events for more info on these and other local film screenings and events. Email your event info to me at tampafilmfan(at)aol.com.

(cross-posted at www.sticksoffire.com)