Jack Young ‘21
STAFF WRITER
With COVID-19, many favorite entertainment events have been shut down or canceled. In 2020, both the St. Pete and Sarasota film festivals were among these, but this year, they are back with some amazing films.The four-day event includes a screening of "Electric Jesus," an award-winning film about a teenager in the 1980s who goes on the road with a Christian hair metal band.
Thirty-one feature films from the US and around the world in various categories including foreign, documentary, thriller, drama, and comedy will be shown, including 130 short films across 16 different thematic blocks.
The karate sensi in “Karate Kid” will be the subject of a documentary about his life off-screen during the festival. Through the battle of many hardships such as drugs and alcohol, Pat Morita was able to get his life back on tract and continue a successful career.
The festival has partnered with AMC Theater in Sundial to host the event. It will be in-person, and coronavirus safety guidelines are in place at AMC. One of its policies is reduced theater capacity by 50 percent. AMC's website said it has enhanced cleaning procedures and has social distancing standards before, during and after screenings. Masks are required.
The Sarasota film festival starts on April 30 thru May 9 in downtown Sarasota, including in- person and virtual visits. The free virtual festival shows more than 20 films speaking to the native American experience in America and many other topics that will appeal to anyone’s interest.
With a mix of outdoor screening, celebrity conversations, limited parties, and some indoor film events, COVID safety is top tier. Anyone that has a short film is able to enter it into the film festival for a chance to be one of the featured films during the festival and to walk their red carpet.
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