TAMPA, FL — For Tampa Bay filmmakers like Andrew Kiaroscuro, Lynn Marvin Dingfelder and Larry Wiezycki, it’s a chance to have their films screened in front of a hometown crowd.
For actor and St. Petersburg resident Patrick Wilson of “The Conjuring,” “Insidious” and “Aquaman,” it’s a chance to reunite with his brothers, actor Paul Wilson and WTVT Fox 13 Tampa anchor Mark Wilson, who make up the band, The Wilson Van, and have some fun performing for Tampa Bay film buffs.
And for the hundreds of movie fans who attend the Gasparilla International Film Festival, it’s a chance to preview some never-before-seen films by directors from around the world and smoodge with actors from the films.
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Whatever the reason, the nonprofit Tampa Film Institute, dedicated to promoting and supporting the growing film industry in Tampa Bay, said the 2023 Gasparilla Film Festival is a can’t-miss event this year.
The fest will kick off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with an opening night VIP reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Courtyard at The Franklin Exchange Building, followed by the premiere of the film, “Miranda’s Victim,” at the Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St., Tampa.
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Some of the directors and actors in the film, including Taryn Manning of “Orange is the New Black” and Nolan Gould of “Modern Family,” along with TikTok influencer and therapy dog, Koda the Fluff, will attend the reception and premiere, according to the film fest organizers.
Directed by Michelle Danner, the film stars Abigail Breslin, Donald Sutherland, Emily VanCamp, Andy Garcia, Ryan Phillippe, Kyle MacLachlan, Taryn Manning, Luke Wilson and Nolan Gould.
The film is based on the true story of Patricia Weir who was 18 years old in 1963 when she was kidnapped and brutally raped. Committed to putting her attacker, Ernesto Miranda, in prison, Weir’s life was destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggered a law that transformed the nation. See the trailer here.
The Gasparilla International Film Festival, now in its 16th year, is Tampa Bay’s largest celebration of independent films. It’s hosted by the nonprofit Tampa Film Institute in collaboration with Film Tampa Bay, a division of the Visit Tampa Bay tourism bureau, which markets Tampa Bay as a premier location for filmmakers.
Running from March 23 to 26, this year’s festival includes 23 feature films, 50 short films, 5 educational panels, four parties, a high school film competition and more than 50 filmmakers from around the world. The festival showcases films of all genres, including features, documentaries, shorts, music videos and international films.
Venues for the films shown during the festival include AMC Westshore 1, the University of Tampa Ferman Black Box Theater, the University of Tampa Charlene A Gordon Theater and Tampa Theatre.
Filmmaker Andrew Kiaroscuro
Among the films to be screened at the festival will be “115 Grains,” directed by Andrew Kiaroscuro of St. Petersburg, and starring Evan Gamble, Geoffrey Kennedy, Eugenie Bondurant and Chloe Mondesir.
This is Kiarascuro’s first time entering the Gasparilla International Film Festival.
Kiaroscuro, who goes by the initials “AK,” said the film is about a broken police officer who is forced to seek counsel from an unorthodox therapist who solves his inner turmoil using experimental hypnosis, sending him back in time to face his past.
“‘115 Grains’ began as a short film, actually, and the challenge was how do we show what conflicts and/or stressors a police officer could face in a short amount of time?” said Kiaroscuro. “Film festivals typically look for short films under 15 minutes. So the concept of using hypnosis thematically was a tool to quickly transport our viewers through these traumatic events in a short period of time. That core element stuck with the feature-length version that was coupled with true events that happened to an actual police officer the main character was based off of.”
Inspired by the works of directors Steven Spielberg, Nolan Fincher and Quentin Tarantino, Kiaroscuro founded his own production company, Kiaro Pictures, in 2016.
His first feature film was, “Mind Heist,” in which a jewel thief is injured during a heist and awakens at a safe house with no memory. was released in 2021. Kiaro Pictures currently has two other film projects and a reality show in production this year. He said he’s a believer in shooting locally and hiring local talent to support the Tampa Bay film and TV industry.
“The idea of Kiaro Pictures was born out of a deep-rooted passion for combining cinematic visuals with compelling stories,” Kiaroscuro said.
Describing filmmaking as “a calling from above,” Kiaroscuro said that, as a child in Raleigh, North Carolina, he would find any excuse to shoot mini movies using his siblings and friends.
He said he was fortunate to bring together a like-minded team of professionals at Kiaro Pictures, including director of photography, Brad Hamilton; production manager Kristen Mathe; post-production sound supervisor, Cosme Liccardo; first assistant director, Daniel Scott Dagesse; editor/colorist Tim Buttner; and hair and makeup artist Priscilla Carey.
“We understand that the most beautiful moments in life are depicted through imagery, no matter if it’s wedding footage or slideshows of grandchildren’s achievements,” said Kiaroscuro. “Watching the sparkle in people’s eyes when the impact of our videos resonate within them only reaffirms why we created this service.”
He has set two main objectives for his studio.
“The first is to strive for crafting timeless works of art, meaning creating content that leaves generational impact and is remembered for a multitude of years. The second is to become the first Oscar-winning Florida-based production company. Our hope is to see the Tampa area become a hub for filmmaking the same way Atlanta is.”
“115 Grains” will be presented Saturday, March 25 at 12:30 p.m. at the AMC Westshore 2, 210 Westshore Plaza. Click here for tickets. Click here to watch the movie trailer.
Filmmakers Lynn Marvin Dingfelder And Larry Wiezycki
Also on tap for this year’s festival is a screening of “La Gaceta: 100 years and 3 Generations Behind America’s Only Trilingual Newspaper” at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at AMC Westshore 6.
Directed by Lynn Marvin Dingfelder and Larry Wiezycki, the film, produced on the newspaper’s 100th anniversary, documents how La Gaceta newspaper was founded by Victoriano Manteiga in Ybor City in 1922. Mantiega emigrated from Cuba in 1913 to accept a job as a “reader” in the Morgan Cigar Factory. Manteiga would read novels, social notes and local and world news to the factory workers as they rolled cigars. That experience morphed into a desire to publish his own news.
He passed his passion for politics and storytelling onto his son, Roland, and grandson, Patrick, who is now the publisher and editor of La Gaceta.
The documentary features interviews with members of the Manteiga family, as well as Tampa politicians and historians, who discuss the newspaper’s influence on Tampa’s political landscape, culture and history.
For those who can’t attend Saturday’s screening, the film will also be shown at the Sarasota Film Festival on March 30 at 4 p.m.
The creative minds behind the film are Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmakers whose credits include the PBS documentary, “JFK in Tampa: The 50th Anniversary,” “The Fabulous Rockers Forever!,” “The Goody Goody; Then & Now,” and “Saving Paradise: Artists with a Cause!,” which won Best Florida Film at the 2020 Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg.
Dingfelder and Wiezycki have converted a historic brick building in West Tampa into the Creative on Main Street production studio.
Filmmaker Tamara Nemirovsky
Film buffs have a difficult decision to make Sunday because the world premiere of the film, “Second Chances,” will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. at the AMC Westshore Theater 6 and the high school film competition will take place at 1 p.m. at UT’s Charlene A. Gordon Theater.
Directed by Tamara Nemirovsky and starring the Rev. Justin Larossa, Mindi Vaughan, Charlotte Hillmon, Shalandra Rijo, Kurien Mathew, Jerome Clemon and Jeannie Wood, this documentary follows the lives of four Tampa residents in different stages of recovery from addiction whose worlds were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Originally from Argentina, Nemirovsky is now a professor at the University of South Florida’s School of Art and Art History and The Honors College.
“I thought that it was going to be a small project, something maybe 20 minutes long,” said Nemirovsky.
But the film morphed into a 52-minute-long documentary following the struggles of four people who were working through their recovery at The Portico Cafe in Tampa, which offers job training and affordable housing to people transitioning from homelessness, addiction and incarceration.
Nemirovsky said she began filming a documentary of the struggles of recovering addicts, but the pandemic in February 2020 forced her to revise here plans.
“The story of these people recovering from addiction was greatly affected by COVID,” she said.
When the pandemic brought business to a halt, the cafe workers, facing fears of contracting the virus and the uncertainty if they would keep their jobs, became fearful that they would “fall back into old habits,” Nemirovsky said.
Nemirovsky will be on hand after the screening for a question-and-answer session.
Closing night of the Gasparilla Film Festival will feature the premiere of the film, “Blackberry,”directed by Canadian filmmaker and actor Matt Johnson, about a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley.
The film will be followed by a Closing Night Wrap Party at 9:30 p.m. at the Floridan Palace Hotel Ballroom where Wilson and his brothers will entertain.
The evening will include complimentary specialty cocktails, wine and beer along with late-night snacks. Click here for tickets.
Click here for the full schedule of films, a synopsis of the films and other activities scheduled during the festival.
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