Thanks to the Sarasota Film Society's Cine-World Film Festival, you can experience a world of film just by hopping between the screens of a local movie house. For 10 days (Nov. 9 - 18), Burns Court Cinemas will dedicate its three screens to the festival and the approximately 50 international films it brings to downtown Sarasota.

Year 'round, Burns Court Cinemas anchors Sarasota's historic downtown district and its love of film. Through independent and foreign language film screenings and related events, the theater encourages a sophisticated movie-going experience.

The festival, now in its 19th year, helps cement the theater's mission by securing for Sarasota screen buffs some of the best films from the Toronto, Cannes, New York and Telluride Film Festivals. This year, that includes documentaries and Academy Award® -winning shorts from experienced filmmakers and students alike. Lending the festival a local flair, student work from Sarasota's Ringling School of Art and Design will also be showcased.

Although genres, themes and techniques vary with each festival, two traditions remain: a spotlight on an industry innovator and the inclusion of a French film series. (The series comes in deference to what Robert Macadaeg, Sarasota Film Society Marketing and Publicity Director, calls the je ne sais quoi the French bring to filmmaking.) This year's spotlight will illuminate Volker Schlöndorff, a German-born film Renaissance man who has directed Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich and a filmography full of drama. Festival-goers can round out their international film exposure by catching some or all of the five films planned for the French series and any of three Vollker works that will be shown.

The full lineup of films for the festival has yet to be finalized, but promises some of the year's most compelling foreign cinema. Check for the full program, festival pass, ticket and accommodations information at www.filmsociety.org/cineworld1.html.

The Sarasota Film Society is a nonprofit charitable arts organization dedicated to introducing the best independent, small budget and foreign films to Sarasota at Burns Court Cinemas. Visit www.filmsociety.org or call Burns Court at 941-955-3456 for show times.

Originally posted 7/5/05