The Sarasota Film Festival is set to open with director Mariem Pérez Riera and Roadside Attractions’ documentary Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It, organizers said Friday.
The film recounts performer Rita Moreno’s career from her upbringing in Puerto Rico to her success on Broadway and in Hollywood. And Bleecker Street’s Dream Horse, a horse racing drama that stars Toni Collette and Damian Lewis and is directed by Euros Lyn, will close the April 30 to May 9 event.
The 23rd annual Sarasota festival intends to take place with virtual and in-person events amid the pandemic. The festival will also screen IFC’s film Centigrade from director Brendan Walsh as a midnight horror special.
And Sarasota will honor James Reed and Pippa Ehrlich, who directed My Octopus Teacher, with an excellence in documentary filmmaking award this year. The film will play as the festival’s Centerpiece presentation and Reed and Ehrlich will participate in an In Conversation With… session.
