Helen Mirren & Alan Rickman’s (in his final role) ‘EYE IN THE SKY’ TO OPEN FILM FESTIVAL!
Suncoast Credit Union Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF) started in 2006 and is held annually in Tampa, operated by the 501 (c)(3) non profit Tampa Film Institute. It’s mission is to provide year long regional support for film screening, production and education. Every year it’s program is an eclectic mix of high quality films and stellar talent, encompassing a diverse range of subject matter from around the globe. This year is no exception with outstanding offerings within it’s 10th year anniversary official selections!
The 10th annual festival will be held March 30-April 3 at the Tampa Theater and Ybor City’s Carmike Cinemas in Tampa, Florida. With 115 films, the festival will host international and regional premieres of narrative features, documentaries and short films from around the world, special tributes, master classes, panel discussions and much more.
This year’s special tribute will celebrate the many accomplishments of Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony winner RITA MORENO. GIFF will honor Moreno with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, GIFF will screen her latest film, REMEMBER ME.
A jury of industry professionals and acclaimed filmmakers will be presenting awards to competition films in the following categories: Narrative Feature, Documentary, Spotlight and Shorts.
OPENING NIGHT FILM (NARRATIVE):
EYE IN THE SKY (UK. Premiere): Academy Award winner Helen Mirren stars alongside Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Iain Glen in this timely thriller about a terrorist-targeting drone mission that becomes a flashpoint when a civilian girl enters the kill zone. Directed by Gavin Hood.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM (NARRATIVE):
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME (USA. Florida Premiere): A group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Starring Zoey Deutch, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman, Blake Jenner. Directed by Richard Linklater.
NARRATIVE FEATURES:
Precious Cargo (USA. World Premiere): After a botched heist, Eddie, a murderous crime boss, hunts down the seductive thief Karen who failed him. In order to win back Eddie’s trust, Karen recruits her ex-lover and premier thief Jack. Starring Bruce Willis, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Claire Forlani. Directed by Max Adams.
Embrace Of The Serpent (COLOMBIA. Florida Premiere): Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people and two scientists who work together over the course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Starring: Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar. Directed by Ciro Guerra
Ma Ma (SPAIN. Florida Premiere): A woman recently diagnosed with cancer forms an unexpected bond with a soccer scout whose wife has been gravely injured in a car accident. Starring: Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz, Luis Tosar. Directed by Julio Medem
Love and Friendship (FRA/NETHERLANDS. Florida Premiere): In the 18th century, the seductive and manipulative Lady Susan uses devious tactics to win the heart of the eligible Reginald De Courcy. Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny. Directed by Whit Stillman
The Daughter (AUS. Florida Premiere): A young man returns to his dying hometown and discovers a dark family secret that could tear apart the lives of those he left behind, in this contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck. Starring: Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, Ewen Leslie, Paul Schneider, Miranda Otto, Anna Torv, Odessa Young, Sam Neill. Directed by Simon Stone
The Debt (USA. Florida Premiere): A hedge-fund honcho puts through the deal of a lifetime: the redemption of a billion-dollar debt owed by the Peruvian government to its citizens. The quick buck soon turns into a nightmare. Starring: Stephen Dorff, Alberto Ammann, Carlos Bardem, David Strathairn. Directed by Barney Elliott
The Adderall Diaries (USA. Florida Premiere): Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, the films tells the story of an author paralyzed by writer’s block and an escalating drug dependency who is sucked down the rabbit hole of a high-profile murder case. Starring: James Franco, Ed Harris, Amber Heard. Written and directed by Pamela Romanowsky
One More Time (USA. Florida Premiere): After one too many big city problems, Jude heads to the Hamptons home of her father, an over-the-hill crooner desperately charting his musical comeback. Starring: Amber Heard, Kelli Garner, Christopher Walken. Directed by Robert Edwards
Little Men (USA. Florida Premiere): Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler when he meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather’s funeral. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake’s father, Brian and Tony’s mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious. Starring: Greg Kinnear, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barber, Alfred Molina. Directed by Ira Sachs
A Beautiful Now (USA. Florida Premiere): As a beautiful dancer balances between reality and fantasy, she asks her friends to help her figure out the passions and relationships that have shaped her identity. Starring: Abigail Spencer, Cheyenne Jackson, Collette Wolfe. Directed by Daniela Amavia
Puerto Ricans in Paris (USA. Florida Premiere): Two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag. Starring: Luiz Guzman, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson. Directed by Ian Edelman
The Black Coat’s Daughter (USA. Florida Premiere): Beautiful and haunted Joan makes a pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all-girls prep school where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. Starring: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, James Remar, Lauren Holly. Directed by Osgood Perkins
The Truth About Lies (USA. Florida Premiere): A desperate, unemployed man who lives with his mother weaves an ever-growing web of lies to impress a beautiful woman. Starring: Fran Kranz, Odette Annable. Directed by Phil Allocco.
DOCUMENTARIES:
Hair I Go Again (World Premiere): Facing a mid-life crossroads, two longtime friends risk everything as they set out to fulfill their dreams of achieving rock & roll stardom. Directed by Kyle Kruger
Hano! A Century in the Bleachers (Florida Premiere): Meet Arnold Hano, 93, legendary sportswriter and social activist. Baseball fan, war veteran and storyteller emeritus: few have lived and chronicled the American experience as extensively. Directed by Steve McClure
SMART (Florida Premiere): Groundbreaking feature-length documentary about a group of highly trained, adrenaline-fueled professionals who risk life and limb to rescue animals. They’re Los Angeles’ Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team! Directed by Justin Zimmerman
No Greater Love (Florida Premiere): U.S. Army Chaplain Justin Roberts goes on missions with the legendary NO SLACK battalion in Afghanistan in 2010/2011 armed with only a camera. Directed by Justin Roberts
CUBAN SIDEBAR: Films focusing on Cuba
Craving Cuba (World Premiere): A Cuban-American woman seeks to understand her true identity. Directed by Zuzy Martin Lynch
The Forbidden Shore (World Premiere): The amazing diversity of contemporary Cuban music is gorgeously explored in Ron Chapman’s third documentary feature. Chapman captures the full gamut of what’s happening now in Cuba, both the most exciting artists and the distinct musical scenes they move in. Directed by Ron Chapman
Havana Motor Club (Florida Premiere): Reforms have offered opportunity in Cuba but the children of the Revolution are unsure of the best route forward. For a half-dozen drag racers, this means last-minute changes to their beloved American muscle cars, as they prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba since 1960. Directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt
FLORIDA FOCUS: World premiere of independent films made in Florida
Waiting on Mary: A struggling actor, traumatized by a brutal divorce, assumes the personality of a colonial character he played at a failed amusement park as a way of retreating from his pain. Directed by Zachary Beckler
Bear With Us: A modern farce about a guy who attempts to propose to his girlfriend in the most romantic way possible, but his plan falls apart when a ravenous bear stumbles upon their charming cabin in the woods. Directed by Kire Patputts
Dooder And the Lighthouse: Dooder Parker is eighty-six and full of life. When the historic lighthouse in his hometown becomes doomed to fall into the Gulf, his recounting of local history evolves into a reflection on his love for his wife. Stories intertwine to paint a portrait of a vanishing way of life. Directed by Deborah Louise Ortiz
In addition to feature length films, GIFF will present over 70 short films. Short film blocks include:
“LOL”: Comedic short films
“Films on a Mission”: Short films focusing on a specific cause
“Thrill Ride”: Thriller, action and horror short films
“Love is In the Air”: Romantic short films
“Motion Tunes”: Short films related to music
“Save the Drama”: Drama short films
“Films 101”: College made short films
“High School Film Showcase”: GIFF’s high school filmmaking competition sponsored by Suncoast Credit Union
In addition, Gasparilla will feature in-depth, informative Industry Panels:”Meet The Press,” “Casting Directors,” “The Performance: Actor’s panel,” “Special Effects,” “Do’s & Don’ts for a Film Festival Run” and “The Pitch.” Also, GIFF is proud to welcome Academy Award nominated animator Bill Plympton (1987’s YOUR FACE).
If you are a movie buff or film geek and live in the Tampa Bay Area, this is a MUST SEE event! I hope to screen a few of the GIFF entries and have some reviews in the upcoming weeks!
For more information on all the films to be screened and industry events, please go to:
www.gasparillafilmfestival.com facebook.com/gasparillafilm or twitter.com/gasparillafilm.
all art- GIFF 2016