Sarasota Film Fest slices costs

The Sarasota Film Festival will attempt to stage its traditional 10-day festival of movies, stars and parties at about half the cost of last year's.

Festival organizers are holding an invitation-only Reel Changes party tonight to announce details of the 11th annual festival planned March 27 to April 5.

Mark Famiglio, who took over as board president earlier this year when the festival was $330,000 in debt, said supporters should expect a similar festival, but one run differently to reduce costs.

"We expect approximately the same number of films and events," Famiglio said.

An expanded education program involving several colleges and universities in the state will be unveiled at tonight's event.

Famiglio said he expects to cut the budget -- which was about $3 million this year -- by nearly 50 percent.

The opening night film will be shown as usual at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, but the post-screening party will move back to the hall's bayfront park from the Ringling Museum. The closing night gala tribute dinner, held recently at the Longboat Key Club, will become a reception and tribute program at the Sarasota Opera House.

"It's going to be an actual tribute event, and after cocktails, you will go and sit in a seat and enjoy an actual tribute to several important industry folk," Famiglio said.

"We're being very astute about what we're doing, not that they weren't smart in the past, but we want it to continue with as much bravado as it does every year," he said.

During the summer, the festival reported that it owed $330,000 to vendors and others. Famiglio said that the short-term debt has been "reduced substantially," though he declined to give specific amounts.

"We still have some debt, but it is being reorganized, most of it has been put into long-term stature, which will extend and is not onerous enough to put any burden on the festival moving forward and it is being resolved very amicably."

Famiglio said the festival has saved money by using volunteers instead of paid staff to organize next year's event.

To further control costs, the parties "will all have major sponsors. Money is being donated specifically to each event," Famiglio said.

He and other board members have also been reviewing applications for a new executive director to replace Jody Kielbasa, who resigned shortly after this year's festival.

Famiglio said he and others have begun the process of "building relationships with celebrities" who might attend the festival with films or as tribute night honorees.

Last year, the festival honored actors Charlize Theron, Liv Ullmann and Stanley Tucci, among others.