J.M. Harper’s documentary ‘Soul Patrol,’ about the first all-Black special forces unit in the Vietnam War, won the top nonfiction award at the Sarasota Film Festival. Despite critical acclaim, the Sundance-winning film is still seeking distribution.
J.M. Harper’s documentary ‘Soul Patrol’ garnered the top nonfiction honour at the 28th annual Sarasota Film Festival, reported Variety. Based on the first all-Black special forces unit in the Vietnam War, the documentary first premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. “We are so honoured to receive this award. I’ve always had the best experiences at Sarasota, starting with our film ‘Robot & Frank’ in 2012. The film community there is just so wonderful,” said ‘Soul Patrol’ producer Sam Bisbee, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for ‘The Perfect Neighbor,’ as quoted by Variety.
According to the outlet, despite critical acclaim and winning the Sundance U.S. documentary directing prize, ‘Soul Patrol’ is still seeking distribution. Submarine’s Josh Braun, the film’s sales agent, told Variety that the doc is “on the path” to finding a home. “Festivals like Sarasota, the Berkshires, the Hamptons, and Woodstock are an important part of the infrastructure. Particularly for films that haven’t found their deal yet,” added Braun as quoted by Variety.
Rory Kennedy returns with ‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin’
Meanwhile, Rory Kennedy returned to the Sarasota Film Festival for the fourth time with her documentary ‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin.’ The film is a revealing portrait of Baldwin after the tragic on-set accident on the movie ‘Rust,’ which resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, reported Variety. “We are longtime admirers of the Sarasota Film Festival and its deeply engaged audiences. ‘The Trial of Alec Baldwin’ is particularly suited to the big screen where its tension, complexity, and sense of disbelief unfold most powerfully as a shared, collective experience,” said Rory Kennedy as quoted by Variety.
Kennedy said that she has partnered with “a terrific distributor” to release the doc in theatres this fall.
Other award winners at the festival
As for other awards at the Sarasota Film Festival, director Julian Schnabel received the SFF Achievement in Directing Award for his film ‘In the Hand of Dante’. Kenny Anderson received the Achievement in Sport Award, reported Variety. Libby Ewing garnered SFF’s narrative feature jury prize for ‘Charliebird.’ The film previously won the Tribeca Festival 2025 Founders Award for Best U.S. narrative feature.
Audience awards went to Ari Selinger’s ‘On The End’ for best narrative film and John H. Cunningham’s ‘Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers’ for documentary.
SFF awarded ‘In Plain Sight’ the best U.S. narrative short. Best documentary short went to ’40 Days In Saratoga’, and best animated short was awarded to ‘My Neighbor’ reported Variety.
Consisting of 47 features and 39 short films, the festival kicked off on April 10 with a screening of ‘Deep Water’ and concluded on April 19, reported Variety.
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