This Friday, March 31 marks the start of the 2017 Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) and the red carpet event. An institution in this community, SFF–named among the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker magazine–brings the top names in the film industry and some of the best emerging independent artists in film to the west coast of Florida.
At this year’s opening event, Ringling student and member of the College’s Social Media Team Tyler Shea (Advertising Design, ’17) represented Ringling College on social media and reported back. See what she had to say:
Friday, March 31st was a big day for Ringling students, the art and design community, and Sarasota. Film lovers from all over came together to kick off the annual Sarasota Film Festival at the Sarasota Opera House, in downtown Sarasota. Student-led ART Network got to the Opera House early, setting up cameras with other local news stations all waiting to pick the brains of indie filmmakers on the red carpet.
This year’s theme was “See and Be Scene,” a message that came with posters designed by Ringling College’s (Tyler Mathis, Motion Design, ’19) through the Ringling College Collaboratory. SFF’s logo bumpers were designed by Motion Design students Pramod Sonea and Brittany Muagari.
On top of celebrating Ringling talent, Friday focused on Rory Kennedy, the youngest daughter of US Senator Robert Kennedy, and granddaughter of US President John F. Kennedy. She’s directed numerous documentaries on various subjects, from Last Days of Vietnam, which followed the final, chaotic days of the Vietnam War, to Ethel, a chronicle of the life of her grandmother Ethel, and the political dynasty of her husband Robert F. Kennedy. Her latest film, Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton, documented the passion and unrelenting ambition of a surfer as he pushes the boundaries of surfing, pioneering various styles and inventing a whole new way to ride the wave. It was two hours of awe-inspiring wave heights and incredible innovation.
The Sarasota Film Festival continue through the week, with various talks and screenings with professional and well-known actors, producers and directors throughout the industry, and concludes on April 7th. 2017.
As a nationally renowned art and design institution, it is only fitting that Ringling College of Art and Design partner with SFF to provide opportunities for emerging student artists and add value to the festival. We work together through several programs: the Ringling College Collaboratory, ART Network, and through our Motion Design department.
In the months prior to the start of the festival, SFF once again teamed up with the Ringling College Collaboratory, a program at the College that introduces students to real-world client challenges, to create a theme and poster for the year. This year’s series of posters, 3 in total, was created by Motion Design student Tyler Mathis and received acclaim from Indiewire.