Pictured: Block party from Sarasota Film Festival 2017. Photo courtesy of SFF.

Tune in, turn off, drop in, drop out, grab some popcorn and explode—the 20th annual Sarasota Film Festival has arrived. Kicking off this evening with an opening night party at the Sarasota Opera House, audiences will first gather inside for the opening night film—Class Rank, a whip-smart comedy about high school outsiders jockeying for position post-graduation, directed by Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction, Madame Secretary)—before spilling out into Five Points Park for a block party till midnight. And while Stoltz is scheduled for the screening, only time will tell if he stays to party. Tickets to the party are $25.

The festival continues throughout the week and through next weekend. With hundreds or films (narrative and documentary, short and feature-length) slated for this year, the majority will screen in the newly renovated theaters of the Regal Hollywood 11 Cinemas on Main Street. The newly opened Art Ovation Hotel will play host to a handful as well, right across the street from Florida Studio Theatre, where the festival will once again host In Conversation events with various festival guests, including Stoltz, writer/actor Steve Guttenberg, documentarian Rory Kennedy and Oscar-nominated actor Virginia Madsen. Sarasota Opera House will host the closing night films—Love Means Zero, a documentary about tennis legend Nick Bollettieri, and Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow, the latest documentary from Kennedy.

Screening begin tomorrow at 10am, with the final showing of the day at 10pm. The In Conversation event with Stoltz is also on Saturday, scheduled to begin at noon at FST. The first film in the narrative competition will screen as well, with Don’t Leave Home showing at 8pm at Regal Hollywood 20.

For those interested in the annual Through Women’s Eyes selections (a sort of mini-festival within the festival and focused on women filmmakers) the majority will screen throughout this weekend, including RBG, the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on Saturday, and the award-winning drama August in Berlin on Sunday.

Tickets for all showings and events are currently on sale. Depending on the film and occasion, tickets run from $10 to $20. For a full listing of films and events, complete with descriptions, showtimes and prices, follow the link below to the Sarasota Film Festival guide.

Pictured: Block party from Sarasota Film Festival 2017. Photo courtesy of SFF.

Sarasota Film Festival Film Guide