But what if you’re not an aspiring actor or filmmaker? Here’s our list of Sunscreen events that the average movie-goer can enjoy.
Start your Sunscreen marathon with a cute dog Matt Grabow’s “The Year of the Dog” launches this year’s Sunscreen with an adorable Alaskan Husky named Yup’ik who befriends a recovering alcoholic (played by Grabow) in Montana. Thursday, April 27. 4 p.m. AMC Sundial 12, theater no.1. theyearofthedogmovie.com
Get “A Taste of Love” in Dunedin Sunscreen’s official opening night film brings us home to Dunedin, where a struggling out-of-work Network TV chef finds love while visiting her parents. The indie romantic comedy isn’t a Hallmark movie, but it sure sounds like one. And with veteran Hallmark movie producer Elayne Schneiderman Schmidt on the job, I think it’s safe to say that this film falls into the Hallmark romance genre. Thursday, April 27. 7:30 p.m. AMC Sundial 12, theater no. 1. tasteoflovemovie.com
Watch children dance their way out of homelessness “Lift” is more than just the name of a documentary; it’s also the name of a 30-year-old New York City Theatre Ballet Project program. The program provides scholarships to homeless, home-insecure, and at-risk children and offers them a future in ballet. The documentary (stylized, “LIFT”) tells the story of one such child, Steven Melendez, who entered the program at age seven and is now the artistic director of the New York Theatre Ballet. The film, which won an audience award at Tribeca, shows Melendez paying it forward, connecting with at-risk kids and teaching them to dance. Friday, April 28. 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 2. liftdocumentary.com
Go behind the scenes of Marvel Ever wonder what it’s like to produce a Marvel blockbuster? Marvel Vice President Mitch Bell will be at this year’s Sunscreen to answer all your questions. Friday, April 28. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 1. sunscreenfilmfestival2023.sched.com
Face your fears Sunscreen’s “Chills and Thrills” shorts block brings a series of real-life and imagined fears to life on the big screen. The films vary in length from 3 to 15 minutes and feature everything from make-believe tales of shadow creatures (“The Lurking Shadows”) and murder (“Hammer”) to a real-life story of what it’s like to live with OCD, afraid of what your disorder might do to your family (“Waving”). Friday, April 28. 1:15 p.m.-3:15 p.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 1. sunscreenfilmfestival2023.sched.com Explore Native American culture with Áron Gauder in “Four Souls of Coyote” “Nothing is eternal but the Earth and the mountains;” this is the message within “Four Souls of the Coyote.” The animated feature, from Hungarian animator Áron Gauder, tells a Native American creation story within the context of present-day life. Friday, April 28. 3 p.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 3. 4soulsofcoyote.com
Celebrate Tampa’s heritage If you missed the October 2022 premiere of “La Gaceta: 100 Years and 3 Generations Behind America’s Only Trilingual Newspaper” at Ybor City’s Cuban Club, now’s your chance to see it in St. Pete. The locally-made documentary tells the story of Ybor City-based newspaper La Gaceta as they celebrate 100 years of telling local news stories. Like the paper, the film is trilingual. Friday, April 28. 8:30 p.m. p.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 3. lagacetanewspaper.com
Peer into the lives of wild horses The writer and director of Disney’s 2020 “Black Beauty” remake, Ashley Avis, took a deep dive into the lives of wild horses in the Western United States. See what she saw in the feature-length documentary “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West.” Saturday, April 29. 9:30-11:15 a.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 3. wildbeautyfoundation.org
Catch your first dogumentary I’m sure you’ve seen a documentary, but have you ever seen a dogumentary? Well, here’s your chance. “Abby’s List” follows Mark Sutherland as he accompanies his aging dog Abby on a cross-country bucket-list trip. The feature-length documentary features appearances from celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna and Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy. Saturday, April 29. 4:15-6 p.m. AMC Sundial 12 theater no. 2. abbyslistmovie.com
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2023.