Film festival ready to roll

The Sonoma International Film Festival rolls out the red carpet for its 18th annual cinema soiree this Wednesday – bringing more than 100 features and shorts from 26 countries for five days of film-world fantastique in and around Sonoma.

The March 25 to 29 festival officially opens with a reception for passholders at 5 p.m. in the Backlot Tent behind City Hall, before kicking off on the big screen at 7:30 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre with festival opener, “A Little Chaos,” starring Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet as King Louis XIV and a strong-willed gardener, respectively, sparring over the design of the 17th-century gardens at Versailles.

From there, the days are reel-to-reel with movie-themed events including evening parties – from a “Whisky A Go Go” event on March 26 to the awards ceremony Sunday at the Community Center – plus the annual Vamos al Cine program highlighting films from Latin America (various screening on the Plaza and at La Luz) an industry panel discussion about marketing films on the festival circuit (March 28, 10 a.m.), the Student Media Arts Program (March 29, 10 a.m.) and the fifth annual UFO Symposium (March 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

The March 29 closing night film, 6:30 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre, is “The Search,” starring Annette Bening as an EU delegate navigating the twists and turns of the 1999 Second Chechen War.

At a festival preview event March 22 at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, festival director Kevin McNeely expressed his appreciation for “tremendous amount of work” put into the festival by its many volunteers, and small band of staff at SIFF. “We’re really proud of this year’s program,” McNeely said of the 60-plus features and dozens more short films to screen this week.

While the fun may be beginning for Sonoma film lovers – and movie buffs visiting from further afield – festival programmer and public relations director Claudia Mendoza-Carruth said the work is only starting for festival staff.

“Never!” said Mendoza-Carruth upon being asked when she can relax and enjoy the festival. “This only arrived today,” she continued, flipping through the 80-plus page festival program, hot off the presses on Sunday.

Festival programs can be picked up beginning Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Box Office, behind City Hall at the Backlot Tent.

In addition to a movie guide and rundown of special events, the program includes a map of the Sonoma Plaza, its seven festival screening venues, three box office venues, 20 restaurants, 14 tasting rooms and, perhaps most importantly, four ATM locations.

Individual tickets are $15; admission to Backlot Tent is $15 per day; day passes are $75; five-day pass is $250 special event tickets are $20; “everything included” Cinema Soiree pass is $650. More information at sonomafilmfest.org.