Gasparilla International Film Festival 2009

Amal, a multi-layered portrait of contemporary India, follows an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi who is content with his small but vital role in the world around him. One day, he drives an eccentric billionaire who, disguised as a vagabond, is searching the streets for the last morsel of humanity--someone he can feel comfortable leaving his fortune to. With one passenger, Amal's life may change forever. Amal serves up a visual feast for audiences. Filmed on location in New Delhi, this modern-day fable asks the important question of what success means to each individual and ultimately reveals that the poorest of men are sometimes, in fact, the richest. Director, Richie Mehta, will lead a film chat following the screening.

Join us to honor Emmy award winning and four-time Golden Globe nominated actor ARMAND ASSANTE in a private reception at La Dolce Vita Lounge at Channelside Cinema and the screening of his latest film, THE STEAM EXPERIMENT. Meet Mr. Assante up close and personal before the screening of the film and the presentation of an award. The reception will include food and beer and wine and a career highlight reel for Mr. Assante, including clips from THE JURY, GOTTI, THE MAMBO KINGS, STRIPTEASE, and AMERICAN GANGSTER. The reception will be followed at 7 PM by his latest effort, THE STEAM EXPERIMENT,directed and produced by Philippe Martinez, starring Val Kilmer. Mr. Assante will lead the film chat following the film and receive the Gasparilla Career Achievement Award. Tickets for the film, award ceremony, and reception can be purchased altogether for only $35!

Naples (Italy), 1950. Four friends are playing soccer out on the street when their ball is accidentally kicked into the evil old lady’s yard. Young boys, a soccer ball and a broken window. They’ll never play with their ball again. They concoct an electrifying and elaborate revenge on the widow who has had enough of their nonsense and for that the revenge will be deadly.

Based on a true story, A Better Life is the faithful account of 3 Mexican children who got lost in the Sonoran desert while trying to cross the U.S. border. A history that repeats itself every week in the border towns of Mexico, feeding one of the most profitable illegal businesses: immigrant smuggling.

Ride Shotgun with Wayne as he bulls his way through the Bronx, picking up his trigger happy best friend, John (John Palaumbo), a racist mafia killer with a penchant for violence. See Wayne as he stalks deadbeats like ‘Harry the Jew’ (Dennis Paladino) or being shadowed by “The Ghouls” (Biagio Tripodi), an invalid attached to an oxygen tank, whose dream is to become a cocaine dealer like his idol Wayne. To make matters worse, “Little Mike” (Tim Cinnante) and “Nicky” (Peter Bongiorno), two neighborhood psychos, are robbing and killing in the middle of the night and have plans of their own.

A young Jamaican musician, Kamel, is living on the streets. Playing the buckets is how he makes his money. He has a pregnant girlfriend, Tamarine. Together, they planned to move into a new apartment at the end of the week. Kamel gets carjacked and all of his money is stolen. His car gets towed just after telling Tamarine that the money is gone. Now, facing the prospects of losing his girlfriend, Kamel must engage a local drug dealer to make back the stolen money. Navigating the street politics is what Kamel knows, and today, his decision will represent more about his true self than ever before.

A young woman, Lucy, receives a message from a girlfriend, who invites her for a Webchat. After a while, her friend gets undressed on her Webcam. Intrigued, Lucy looks and is caught at the game in an erotic and quite disturbing atmosphere.

An excerpt from Plato’s Republic, the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ is a classic commentary on the human condition. We have adapted and brought it to life by shooting over 4,000 still photographs of John Grigsby’s wonderful claymation. The look was achieved by use of candlelight in a real fire that burned at the back of the set.