April is film festival month across Florida. The timing makes sense as the year’s first major festivals—Sundance, South By Southwest and Germany’s Berlinale—have recently premiered the buzziest and most-promising new movies, anointing the films’ subsequent run on the festival circuit. Someone could nearly start at the bottom of the state and zigzag their way from one film fest to another, before looping back down U.S. 98 to St. Petersburg. That might be a road trip worthy of its own cinematic treatment. 

Miami Film Festival

Miami
April 3-13

An important platform for new Spanish-language cinema and a cultural anchor for South Florida, Miami’s signature film festival turns 42 years old this spring, under the aegis of Miami Dade College. This year’s spree, with screenings at multiple venues across town, leads with the Florida premiere of “Meet the Barbarians,” a comedy from French writer-director Julie Delpy (best-known from “Before Sunrise” and its sequels). Conversations with celebrity guests include director Paul Feig (“Another Simple Favor”) and actress Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”).

Sarasota Film Festival

Sarasota
April 4-13

Since 1998, this Suncoast staple has evolved into a place where audiences can tap into the latest wave of American indies, acclaimed documentaries and crowd-pleasing features, along with an array of filmmaker guests—many of them rising talents. The fest’s celebratory spirit carries on beyond the screenings into nights of parties and beachfront fun.

Florida Film Festival  

Maitland
April 11-20

Maitland’s Enzian Theater, billed as “Central Florida’s only alternative cinema,”  is the homebase for this fest, nestled photogenically under the sprawling limbs of oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. The vintage vibe is a calling card, but year after year (now going on 34), the lineup introduces the work of promising new voices amid a highly sociable tiki-hut ambiance. It doesn’t hurt that its main sponsor, Full Sail University, is ranked as a Top 50 film school by the showbiz bible Variety. 

Redfish Film Festival 

Panama City
April 24-27

Launched in the spirit of rebuilding the community after the devastation of Hurricane Michael in 2018, this fledgling fest marks its first anniversary. The focus is exclusively on documentaries—more than 50 features and shorts are scheduled—which is nearly unique in the Southeast. But it also throws a spotlight on the classic Panhandle getaway’s historic downtown, with venues that include Panama City Center for the Arts, Downtown Boxing Club and the Bay County Historical Museum. Expect plenty of industry guests, panels, parties and red-carpet hoopla. 

Sunscreen Film Festival 

St. Petersburg
April 24-27

What originated in a St. Petersburg art gallery in 2005 has grown into a major civic attraction, with more than 7,000 attendees each year. As a project of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Film Society, the festival is strongly invested in an extensive program of professional workshops with industry pros. Films are shown at the AMC Sundial 12, a multiplex situated in view of Tampa Bay.

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