Spring Break Forever, indeed.
Multi-hyphenate filmmaker Harmony Korine will receive the Trailblazer Award at the 2025 Sarasota Film Festival. This marks the first time he’s appeared at the festival, or any Florida film festival on the Gulf Coast near where he filmed “Spring Breakers” in 2012. Korine shot that now-iconic movie, which all but launched A24 as a powerhouse indie distributor, in St. Petersburg, about 45 minutes north of Sarasota.
In addition to receiving the award, Korine will screen his new film “Baby Invasion” on Saturday April 12 at New College, followed by a Q&A with this writer.
In a statement, the Sarasota Film Festival said Korine is receiving the Trailblazer Award “in recognition of his bold, innovative, and genre-defying contributions to the world of cinema, which have continually pushed the boundaries of storytelling, art, and expression. … Korine has proven himself to be an artist unafraid to defy convention and challenge the norms of filmmaking.”
As a 20-year-old, Korine was discovered while skateboarding in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park by photographer Larry Clark. He went on to write the screenplay for the controversial film “Kids,” directed by Clark. That launched a career that continued with Korine’s own directorial debut, 1997’s landmark “Gummo,” followed by “Julien Donkey-Boy,” “Mister Lonely,” “Trash Humpers,” and finally 2012’s “Spring Breakers.” A fantasia of sex, violence, Skrillex, and one ostentatious shorts collection, it’s arguably one of the most influential movies of the 21st century, and on IndieWire’s list of the Greatest American Indie Movies.
Based in Miami ever since, Korine followed by “Spring Breakers” with 2019’s “The Beach Bum,” and then 2024’s “Aggro Dr1ft.” The latter of these was the first feature release of the multimedia company he launched in 2023 called Edglrd, which seeks to expand the possibilities of visual storytelling, merging the experiences of cinema, gaming, XR, and short-form content.
“To be able to celebrate Harmony Korine’s work is an exciting moment for the Sarasota Film Festival,” said Mark Famiglio, Chairman of the Sarasota Film Festival and President of its Board. “Harmony’s films have shaped culture and cinema in a profound way. His innovative and fearless approach to storytelling continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences alike. We are thrilled to present him with this year’s Trailblazer Award as part of the 2025 festival.”
Having Korine’s Q&A on April 12 at Sarasota’s New College is going to be an important moment: The liberal arts college, long well-regarded for its commitment to the arts, was subject to a takeover by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who objected to its supposedly “woke” curriculum. Korine’s work is apolitical but certainly transgressive and boundary-breaking and willing to shatter any and all pieties, whether of left or right. His appearance feels like a reassertion of free speech at New College.
The festival, which runs April 4-13, will host several events at New College, including a screening of the book-banning documentary “The Librarians.” Other films in the festival’s lineup include “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” and “The Wedding Banquet,” continuing Sarasota’s tradition of being the great Sundance catch-up festival for the Southeast.
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