After its two screenings were sold out in advance, "Guardians of the Gulf" was given an unprecedented third screening, an honor bestowed upon only 3 of the over 225 films shown at this year’s Sarasota Film Festival.

The production of "Guardians of the Gulf", a 53 minute high definition documentary, was completed in December 2007 and then, went quickly to post production for submission to the 2008 Sarasota Film Festival. In mid-February, The Essential Image Source was informed that "Guardians" had been selected and invited to be in the festival. The screenings of the EISF documentary took place on April 7th, 8th, and 10th.

The 10th Annual Sarasota Film Festival, ended on Sunday, April 13th after 10 days of films, parties, seminars, education and excitement. This year’s program, coordinated by festival director of programming Tom Hall, was a celebration of diversity and internationality. From the Opening Night kick off on April 4th with the presentation of “The Deal” with stars William H. Macy, Jason Ritter, Fiona Glascott and Director Steven Schacter in town, through to the Gala Tribute celebration for Filmmaker Honorees & Special Guests, Charlize Theron, Stanley Tucci, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Ted Hope, Governor Charlie Crist, Paula Wagner, Steve Buscemi, the Competition and Audience winners, and the Closing Night Film, Stuart Townsend’s “Battle in Seattle,” with his cast, Ms. Theron, Michelle Rodriguez and Martin Henderson, the festival was a beehive of activity.

The festival also presented a special sidebar during the event: Face To Face: The Films of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman. In honor of Liv Ullmann, the 2008 Master of World Cinema Award winner, the festival presented the complete retrospective of the twelve film collaboration between Ms. Ullmann and the director Ingmar Bergman, one of the most fruitful relationships in the history of cinema. Ms. Ullman also joined the Conversation Series at the Historic Asolo Theater moderated by Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Michael Barker.

The mission of the Sarasota Film Festival is to present unique and quality cinema in a festival atmosphere for the purpose of educating, stimulating and entertaining audiences. The Festival supports and encourages the filmmaker by supplying essential networking opportunities and open dialogue with intelligent, creative and inquisitive consumers of film. The Festival attracts audiences from local, national, and international markets as well as promotes Sarasota, Manatee and surrounding Gulf Coast communities as cultural centers which contribute to the financial and cultural success of its region.

The Essential Image Source Foundation was pleased to be invited and selected to be in this year’s Sarasota Film Festival and share in its magical 10th year anniversary. We wish to thank the wonderful Sarasota audiences, our partner, START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide),our sponsors and donors, as well as all of those dedicated "Guardians of the Gulf" appearing in our documentary!