Sarasota Film Festival Aims For Connectivity

If the Sarasota Film Festival was a software upgrade, it would tout being user friendly, having more features and a sleek new look.

That's exactly what it unveiled Wednesday night at a launch party at the newly opened Half Shell Oyster House restaurant on Main Street.

Festival Director Tom Hall unveiled a Vince Fraser designed poster and artwork for the festival's 2012 image that included the model's styling by Sarasota's .

The new Web site at www.sarasotafilmfestival.com features a new ticket ordering system and an easier experience with the phone-in box office, he said.

"Accessibility is really our priority this year," Hall said. "People in Sarasota, Manatee County, throughout Florida shouldn't have a reason to not come to the Sarasota Film Festival."

A community festival forum will be held at the Selby Library in February, and more details will be announced soon, he said.

The main festival will run April 13-22 and tickets go on sale March 23.

Here's other educational opportunities the festival offers this year:

"YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE
Sumission Deadline: March 1, 2012
Student filmmakers age 18 and younger may submit short films for the chance to screen during the 2012 SFF youthFEST, competing for awards and scholarship prizes. Click here to submit now!

REEL LIFE STUDIO
Application Deadline: February 27, 2012
Students respond to prompts to create short films based on principles and techniques from unique filmmaking niches and genres. This year, SFF takes a look at visual storytelling, suspense and writing for the audience. Films screen at the2012 SFF youthFEST, competing for awards and scholarship prizes. Applications will be available soon.

SEE JANE STUDIO
In partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the See Jane Studio challenges students to be responsible, conscious content creators as they learn about gender representations in media while writing and producing their own short films. For information on bringing this program to your school, contactyouthFEST@sarasotafilmfestival.com.

KIDS VIP TRIP
Application Deadline: February 27, 2012. Kids VIP Trip facilitates free weekday morning field trips to the Hollywood 20 theatre in Downtown Sarasota during the week of the festival. Classes screen a SFF youthFEST feature film or short film program and visit Embracing Our Differences, a diversity-focused art and culture exhibit located at Island Park. Click here to download an application.

CLASSROOM CRITIC
Application Deadline: February 17, 2012. Movies introduce students to the art of filmmaking and emphasize cultural and media literacy. Classes learn the basics of film analysis, screen, and review SFF youthFEST short films. Selected Kid Critic reviews are published in The Observer and on our blog. Click here to download an application.

JUNIOR JURY
Junior Jurors screen SFF youthFEST Feature Film selections and short film programs while learning how to analyze film, think critically, and understand aspects of film production and theory. Juries select winners for the SFF youthFEST awards.  

FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
Application Deadline: March 16, 2012
Filmmakers from around the world visit high school and college classrooms for screenings and discussions of their experiences in the industry. Past filmmakers in the spotlight have included Ingrid Veninger (Modra), Tze Chun (Children of Invention), and Roland Legiardi-Laura and Amy Sultan (To Be Heard). Click here to download an application.

FILM ACADEMY
Application Deadline: March 16, 2012
Professors in film, media arts, visual literacy and communication visit high school classrooms as part of this traveling lecture series that brings higher education discourse to students wishing to pursue these academic routes. Click here to download an application.

YOUTH SCREENWRITERS CIRCLE
Aspiring screenwriters learn the basic techniques of screenwriting and complete short screenplays that address a variety of current issues facing today’s teens. Staged readings of the screenplays are performed at Youth Screenwriters Circle LIVE! during the festival. 

YOUTH SCREENWRITING WORKSHOP
Application Deadline: March 16, 2012
For classes with screenwriting already integrated into their curriculum, this workshop introduces students to various techniques of critiquing, improving and rewriting with methods of constructive critique and strategies for preparing a finely tuned final draft. Applications will be available soon."