SARASOTA – With more than 200 films screened over the course of 10 days. Saturday night’s closing film and award ceremony saw the stars of Hollywood arrive to the Suncoast.
“I’m thrilled to be here. I was here four years ago with See You in My Dreams which was a great experience. They invited me back and I said of course I’m coming,” said Blythe Danner.
The Emmy and Tony Award winning actress, Danner, was presented with the Sarasota Film Festival Icon Award to honor her legacy.
“To be acknowledged having been around for 50 years I’ve been in the business 51 years almost so that means a lot to be acknowledged,” said Danner.
Danner also premiered her latest film The Tomorrow Man a love story between two eccentric individuals who find each other in the twilight of their lives. Emmy Award winning actress Anne Heche was also honored with the Career Tribute Award.
“Thomas James is going to give it to me and it’s very meaningful to be given the awareness with the roles that I played that matter to people, it means a lot,” said Heche.
The festival concluded with the world premiere of Greg Kinnear’s directorial debut film Phil, in which he also stars. The movie follows a dentist facing a mid-life crisis but after a patient of his commits suicide he goes on a quest to find out what possibly could have gone wrong.
“Telling a story takes a lot of energy, a lot of time, creating a character takes that as well,” said Kinnear. “But ultimately really rewarding certainly to come here to Sarasota tonight and have it play is a great thing.”
