Sarasota Film Festival Celebrates 25 Years Of Movies

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Showtime also supported the fledgling festival, providing several of its films for screenings. And many of those stars have returned to Sarasota over the years as the event grew.

But there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding that first event.

“It was really exciting that first year. Nobody knew where it was going,” Famiglio said. “Most of the public didn’t know what’s a film festival.”

He added, “Trying to figure out what it was going to become was kind of interesting.”

There had never been anything like it in Sarasota, though a French film festival, sponsored by UniFrance, ran for several years in the 1990s, he said. While that had a high profile globally, the Sarasota Film Festival really “made the region a destination for filmgoers,” he said.

Held annually in Sarasota, the Sarasota Film Festival brings hundreds of films to the region – and virtually, as well, since the COVID-19 pandemic – over 10 days, including features, documentaries, shorts and kid-friendly picks. It’s the largest film festival in the Southeast, drawing more than 50,000 ticketholders.

“We are known nationally and internationally, I saw that with confidence,” Famiglio said. “We have an impact on the film world, generally, an impact on filmmakers and an impact on young filmmakers.”

Throughout the year, the festival offers educational programming for youth in the community.

It also focuses on diverse voices, as much as possible. From the start, at least 50 percent of the movies screened were by women filmmakers.

“And we did that not because they were women, but because they were better films,” he said.

The festival also strives to include voices from various communities, including Black, Jewish, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ filmmakers, he added. The nonprofit also collaborates on the Visions of the Black Experience Film Series each fall.

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Despite its growth and global standing, it hasn’t always been easy to operate the festival.

Famiglio recalls the 2008 financial collapse, when festival organizers saw their budget drop drastically and suddenly from more than $7 million to less than $2 million. That’s when he took over day-to-day operations of the festival.

“When I took over, I became more understanding of the business aspects,” he said. “The choice was go the way of the French film festival or make some changes. At that point, I had a lot of cash and time invested in the festival. It was almost a chamber of commerce effort on my part. I didn’t see terminating as an option. It was a tough decision, but I said, ‘OK, I’ll put my head down and do it.’ It was a lot of work, a lot of work. Transitioning during the economic downtown was the toughest thing I’ve ever done, really.”

The festival had another trying year in 2020 when the entire world went into lockdown because of the pandemic.

That March, the festival was able to host its sponsor kick-off party, Famiglio said. “And a couple of days later, we had to close it down.”

They worked quickly to move the festival online, which meant creating a new platform for the films. Within just nine days, the festival’s movies were available for virtual screenings.

“It just felt like the show must go on, however we could,” he said, “and it did and we succeeded. It broadened our reach internationally.”

Three years later, the virtual screenings are a permanent and important piece of the festival.

Of course, people still flock to Sarasota for the in-person events, Famiglio said. “There’s still a demand to be in the theater, and Sarasota is filled with cinephiles. People are very sophisticated, and they want to hang out with the actors, directors and filmmakers.”

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