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Sunscreen Film Festival shines light on St. Pete

Sunscreen Film Festival

Erin Davies stars in the documentary Fagbug, which shows her cross-country journey to combat homophobia.

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 27, 2009

TAMPA - "Burn Notice" star Jeffrey Donovan, "Watchmen" co-star Patrick Wilson and veteran character actors Bill Cobbs and Michael Rooker are on the talent roster for the fourth annual Sunscreen Film Festival, which starts Wednesday in downtown St. Petersburg.

More than 50 films, including the 2008 mystery thriller "Passengers" - starring Wilson and Anne Hathaway - will be screened during the five-day festival that is expected to pump more than $400,000 into the local economy, according to Sunscreen executive director Tony Armer.

"We're expecting more than 6,000 to attend," Armer said. "We've got an interesting lineup of films, and our workshops feature probably the best collection of industry and Hollywood professionals of any film festival in Florida."

The films will be screened in the Baywalk Muvico 20 Theaters, beginning with "Passengers" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Billed as a "VIP Only" event, tickets for the opener are $175, which includes admission to all films, a Q&A with Wilson and post-movie party.

Wilson, the son of WTVT, Channel 13, anchor John Wilson and singer Mary K. Wilson, grew up in Pinellas County and has enjoyed success on Broadway ("The Full Monty," "Oklahoma!") and in films ("The Alamo," "The Phantom of the Opera"). He plays Nite Owl II in "The Watchmen."

Films, including shorts and full-length comedies, dramas and documentaries, will be shown on various screens at Baywalk throughout the day on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Donovan, who is filming the third season of the hit USA series "Burn Notice" in Miami's South Beach, said he's coming up this weekend for the festival's closing events. He does not have a film in the festival.

"I'm coming to check it out and help support Florida's independent film industry," he said. "I fell in love with the state when I came here to work on 'Burn Notice,' and I love it so much that I've moved here."

Cobbs ("Night at the Museum," "Ghosts of Mississippi") and Rooker ("JFK," "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer") co-star in the short film "This Man's Life," produced by Orlando-based Todd Thompson.

Festival publicist Paul Wilson, Patrick's brother, said there are workshops on various aspects of filmmaking from sound design to financing and distribution, but the top draw is the Sunscreen Actors Track on Wednesday and Thursday.

Billed as "the best acting and auditioning workshop outside of L.A.," it features casting directors John Jackson ("Sideways," "About Schmidt," "Citizen Ruth") and LaTanya Potts ("The Steve Harvey Show," "Moesha" and many others).

Tickets to matinee showings are $1; evening screenings are $8; a day pass for multiple films is $35. The festival is presented by the nonprofit St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Society.

For information and a complete list of films, go to www.sunscreenfilmfestival .com.

Sunscreen Sampler

Five films from the 50-plus at Sunscreen:

• "Passengers" - Anne Hathaway is a therapist counseling the survivors, including Patrick Wilson as Eric, of a mysterious plane crash. Romance blooms as the survivors begin to disappear. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

• "Pretty Ugly People" - An obese woman slims down for a wilderness hike with her "friends" that turns nasty. Stars Missi Pyle, Melissa McCarthy and Allison Janney. 5 p.m. Saturday.

• "Route 30" - Curtis Armstrong and Dana Delany star in this offbeat trio of stories about a Civil War tour guide obsessed with the past, a man attacked by a demented Amish neighbor and a man who escaped from Bigfoot. 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

• "Hampshire: A Ghost Story" - Strange things happen at a haunted restaurant where dinner turns deadly. 7 p.m. Saturday.

• "Fagbug" - Erin Davies' personal documentary recounts how her Volkswagen Beetle was vandalized with slurs against gays. It inspired a cross-country odyssey in defiance of homophobia. 8 p.m. Friday.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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