If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
That may be true for Zippos and Big Macs, but when it comes to entertainment, a lot of us want different, better, more. The artists that depend on our adulation, our anticipatory social media posts and our money need to keep upping their game, or we get bored, and go looking for someone who’s going to give us something new. Nowhere is that maxim more true than in the movie business, where topping oneself — whether it’s an actor, director or franchise — can pretty much be dogma.
It’s gotta be true to some degree for film festivals too, right? There must be at least some pressure to outdo last year’s soiree, in order to keep current, keep evolving, keep current, keep people interested.
“Yeah, that’s very important,” says Monica Varner, executive director of the Bay area’s own Gasparilla International Film Festival, kicking off its annual run March 20. “We want to change it up every year, so we can grow our audience and make sure the people that are already attending regularly stay engaged and know that we’re always bringing the best films to Tampa.”
Keeping it fresh has never seemed to be much of a problem for GIFF, now in its 12th year. The fest has reliably raised the bar every time out, and this installment is no different. Earlier this year, GIFF announced it was joining forces with the Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival. The fact that the two veteran showcases will be running concurrently adds to GIFF’s already impressive slate of films while upping its cultural cred, bringing in a dedicated audience and opening up the festival to even more venues across the Bay area.
“We’ve been talking to them for a while,” Varner says. “We have a lot of people that go to both festivals and we’ve been asked before why we don’t do them at the same time... we were finally able to sit down and work it out this year. They’re already in Pinellas and Pasco, and reach out further than Hillsborough, so we’ll be able to screen in [places like] Largo and Palm Harbor without too much extra strain on our volunteers and staff.”
Teaming up with TBJFF is just one of the exciting developments on tap this time around for GIFF. The films are more diverse than ever, combining docs and more serious fare with a wider variety of comedies and even musicals, as evidenced by the opening-night flick, Stuck, for which Breaking Bad actor Giancarlo Esposito will be in attendance, and the Florida premiere of veteran thespian Eric Stoltz’s latest directorial effort, Class Rank, a hip coming-of-age rom-com featuring Kristin Chenowith, Olivia Holt and Bruce Dern. Stoltz is also scheduled to appear at GIFF.
“It’s something different to be doing a musical on opening night, but it’s such a great feel-good movie, I think people will really enjoy it,” says Varner. “We have a lot of fun, uplifting movies which are really good with everything that’s going on in the world... We try to have a good variety. It’s really all about having a good time.”
Sounds like that's what's in store in films like Class Rank and The Feels, about a lesbian bachelorette weekend that goes awry. Harder-hitting fare includes Jon Hamm’s vehicle Beirut; a doc about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RBG; Love After Love with Andie MacDowell, about a family struggling with loss; and Brothers in Arms, a provocative doc (narrated by Charlie Sheen) about the making of Oliver Stone’s 1986 Vietnam war opus Platoon.
Perhaps the announcement that’s got local cinephiles the most buzzed, though, is that Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, principals behind the so-bad-it’s-beloved modern-day cult classic The Room, will be in town for the statewide premiere of their new feature, Best F(r)iends. Wiseau’s profile has never been higher in the wake of James’ Franco’s movie-about-the-movie The Disaster Artist, and word has it that a screening of The Room itself will go down at GIFF as well, with the auteur and star himself on hand.
“They’ll both be attending and hosting a q-and-a and afterwards, we’ll be screening The Room and they’ll both be attending that,” Varner confirms. “We’re really excited about that one. That’s going to make for a really fun Friday night for the festival.”
