Photo courtesy Rich Schineller, Ringling College: Director Tim Sutton (right) speaks with students at Ringling College's filmmaking program.

Dark Night opened at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, and filmmakers hope it will open to a wider audience this fall. Director Tim Sutton says the feature film, shot entirely in Sarasota, would not have been possible without the support of Ringling College of Art and Design. He expects the school’s willingness to take risks on student-professional ventures will lead to more artistic success in the future. “The ecosystem at Ringling is about experimentation,” Sutton said. “NYU is not going to get involved in a professional film mixed with students, or it has got to be directed by Spike Lee and two interns get to work on set.”

That’s a sharp contrast, Sutton says, to the work accomplished on Dark Night. The film, loosely based on the 2012 Colorado shooting at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, was cast and shot here with a micro budget and small crew.  “This film should be winning cinematography awards all over the country,” Sutton says. 

Sutton connected with the Ringling filmmaking program through Semkhor Productions, the company that has connected the Sarasota school this year with such respected filmmakers as Kevin Smith and Dylan McDermott. The Dark Night director returned to the Ringling campus this week. Sutton in early 2015 also held casting call here for local talent to fit major character archetypes in his script. “I looked for an Iraqi veteran. I looked for a fitness freak,” he said. After casting was done, Sutton says he encouraged the actors to naturally inhibit the roles, often having them come up with their own dialogue in favor of the words in the script.

The film held its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. He has since been in contact with distributors, and hopes soon to announce a New York and international premiere for the film.

Photo courtesy Rich Schineller, Ringling College: Director Tim Sutton (right) speaks with students at Ringling College's filmmaking program.