My winter festival got cancelled

Just a short note to say how I regret that one of my favorite winter pastimes, attending the Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF) in Tampa, Fla., didn’t occur this year. The obvious reason is the omnipresent virus. GIFF almost came off. I attended the opening night party (photo left) where festival president Tammy Briant Spratling, gave a rousing introduction to this year’s lineup. That was March 11. The festival was to run March 17 – 22. On March 13, when the coronavirus scare had begun descending in full force throughout North America and events hither and yon began getting cancelled, GIFF also announced its cancellation or at least postponement. I left Florida, where I’d hoped to stay until the first week of April, March 18th. This would have been GIFF’s 14th year. The opening night film was The Lovebirds (Michael Showalter), a dramedy and murder mystery, and the closing film would have been Synchronic (Justin Benon & Aaron Moorhead). Regrettably the festival’s main theatre in the traditional funky Cuban neighborhood of Ybor City, had closed, a victim of low theatre attendance throughout the year. But we were expecting an even better location at the nearby Hillsborough Community College performing arts center. Here’s to a hoped for rescheduled 2020 event and a whole new 2021 festival, hosted by an always upbeat and enthusiastic organizing committee.