When the Sarasota Film Festival opens tonight with a screening of Time Out of Mind, an Oren Moverman film starring Richard Gere as a transient estranged from his daughter, it will be just the first of many features screening at the 10-day-festival focusing on homelessness. Sarasota Film Festival president Mark Famiglio said it is no coincidence the programming has taken that bent at the same time leaders in Southwest Florida struggle with the issue themselves.

Famiglio has spoken extensively with government and nonprofit leaders about the problem facing the region, and decided the festival would make it a mission this year to further the conversation. “We are not trying to effect change,” he stressed. “We are trying to foment discussion, and I think we will have a lot of that.” Other films, including documentaries like Queen Mimi and Homme Less will show the true life stories of people affected by life on the streets, and narrative films like Homeless will put a face on the issue in scripted dramas. 

The festival will also host panels around films to further discuss the matter. Famiglio said as a citizen, it has been frustrating to see political leaders squabble. “There is a solution, everybody seems to think, but everyone wants to pass the buck. It’s always about funding.” 

Of course, the somber tone of the film doesn’t change the excitement of having Hollywood once again descend upon the city. Moverman and legendary actor Ben Vereen have both confirmed they will attend Opening Night in support of Time Out of Mind. And countless other filmmakers and on-screen talents will also attend the party in anticipation of screenings for more than 200 films scheduled in Sarasota venues from tonight through April 19. 

Follow our wall-to-wall coverage of the Sarasota Film Festival at SRQ Backlot.

The doors open tonight for Sarasota’s newest performing arts venue, Urbanite Theatre, with the U.S. premiere of the award-winning play, Chicken Shop. Written by London-based playwright Anna Jordan and starring Joseph Flynn and Ashley Scallon, Chicken Shop tells the tale of Hendrix and Luminita - one a bullied son of two moms, desperate to prove his masculinity, and the other a young woman caught in the world of modern day sex trafficking – and the bonds they form in the upstairs room of a local fried chicken shop.

“This is a perfect example of the kind of shows that we’re going to do,” said Brendan Ragan, who founded Urbanite Theatre alongside co-founder and fellow FSU/Asolo Conservatory grad Summer Dawn Wallace. “It’s very exciting and something the community has never seen before – award-winning, fringe, intimate blackbox theater.”

Impressed by the manner in which the play dealt with heavy and universal subject matter such as modern-day masculinity, the objectification of women and sex trafficking, the Urbanite founders could see why Jordan’s original run won Fringe Production of the Year in London last year, and fought to bring the U.S. premiere to Sarasota. In an attempt to make the story more relatable, Ragan and Wallace worked with Jordan on updating the locations and the dialogue to fit a New York City-based version. “The issues this play addresses are devastatingly important in the U.S., and in Florida specifically,” said Ragan. “We didn’t want to present these issues as alien or exclusive to the UK. They’re immediate and they’re here.”

To direct Urbanite’s first production, Ragan and Wallace tapped veteran performer and director Barbara Redmond, a previous regular among the Asolo Rep talent and Wallace’s former instructor at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. “We left the show in very, very capable hands,” said Ragan. “We saw the show last night and it’s great. The audience is going to love it.”

Chicken Shop opens tonight at Urbanite Theatre at 8pm and runs Wed-Sun until May 3. Tickets cost $20 or $5 for students. 

Photo Credit: Cliff Roles

By “Painting the Town Blue” throughout the month of April, the Child Protection Center hopes to provide a visual reminder of the need for child protection in our community and are teaming up with local businesses to spread awareness. Tonight, the Burns Court Neighborhood Association has dubbed their Friday evening walk on April 10, from 6-8 pm, as “Paint the Town Blue – Sip, Shop and Stroll.” Come out, shop, dine and enjoy the arts in historic Burns Court. Shops will dress up their windows, decorate with blue balloons and have fun activities to build awareness about the realities of child abuse. Other local shops in Downtown Sarasota have also been involved including Alex and Ani, where you can find these delightfully blue bracelets.  

The Beachhouse Restaurant, a mainstay in Bradenton Beach dating back to the early ‘90s, has long been recognized for its original teal and orange logo inviting new diners from the nearby beaches and shops to enjoy beachfront meals and welcoming returning visitors back to their favorite island restaurant.Having recently completed the first of two phases of renovations—unveiling a new dining room and bar in 2014—the Beachhouse is within weeks of unveiling its new front façade and is taking the next important step: the introduction of its new logo.The new logo was influenced by the new interior décor and also incorporates mention of one of the restaurant’s most coveted assets, the waterfront. 

The Beachhouse Restaurant

Neal Communities, the area's largest and most established, locally owned and operated private builder, is unveiling Magnolia Point, an intimate community of 74 home sites in Manatee County, by hosting a kid-friendly open house on Saturday, April 11. Magnolia Point is located along Whitfield Avenue and Tuttle Avenue between Sarasota and Bradenton. The community will have 74 home sites available, with an additional parcel of 37 home sites to be added in future phases. Magnolia Point will be connected via a walking trail and will offer ample open space. 

Neal Communities