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Film Festival Presses On

Tribune file photo (2008)

Actor Shane West, given a special recognition award, speaks to the audience at the Gasparilla Film Festival closing party at the Florida Aquarium on March 2, 2008.

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By WALT BELCHER

wbelcher@tampatrib.com

Published: February 9, 2009

Updated: 02/09/2009 11:34 pm

TAMPA - Despite a downturn in the Florida economy and a 50 percent drop in sponsorship, the third annual Gasparilla International Film Festival will be bigger and better this year, organizers said at a news conference Monday.

"We're screening over 120 films representing 30 countries during the run of the festival," Gasparilla Film Festival Director Eric Odum said.

Organizers added "international" to the title this year and expanded the festival to 10 days. It will run Feb. 26 through March 7. Festival President Chad Moore said a record turnout is expected.

Plans for the 2009 festival were made before the economic recession, Odum said. "We've had a major sponsor back out, so we are trimming back on the parties - but not the films."

Festival officials also announced some of the top films and celebrities involved in this year's event.

Actress Terry Moore, star of 1950s films such as "Mighty Joe Young," "Come Back, Little Sheba" and "Beneath the 12-Mile Reef" (about Tarpon Springs sponge drivers), will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Moore, 80, will attend the opening night event.

Among the features to be shown is "Nothing But The Truth," a drama about a newspaper reporter who is jailed for not revealing her sources. It stars Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett and Alan Alda. Director Rod Lurie ("The Contender," "Commander in Chief") will attend the kickoff screening.

Also scheduled is "Kassim The Dream," a drama about junior middleweight boxing champion Kassim Ouma, who was kidnapped as a child in Uganda, trained as a solider and left Africa to become a professional fighter.

The lineup includes thrillers, such as "Clear Lake, WI," about a town that was mysteriously quarantined in 1994. And there are comedies, including "Misconceptions," the story of a devout woman who is to become a surrogate mother for a gay couple.

Documentaries are scheduled, including "Strip Club King - Joe Redner," a profile of the Tampa businessman, and "Ghost of Ybor - Charlie Wall," a look at a Tampa gangster from the early 1900s.

Another documentary, "The Streak," produced by actor and former Brandon resident Mark Consuelos and his wife, Kelly Ripa, recounts the history of the legendary Brandon High School wrestling team that went undefeated for 439 matches.

"We think we've got a lot of diversity here," Odum says. "And there's at least one free event every day."

Admission to individual screenings is $10 per person or six screenings for $50. Films will be shown at the Tampa Theatre, Channelside Cinemas and the Tampa Firefighters Museum.

For tickets and information, go to www.gasparilla filmfestival.com.

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

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