SUNSCREEN FILM FESTIVAL Interviews: Austin Highsmith Garces "Inheritance"

In this episode of SUNSCREEN FILM FESTIVAL preview interviews, host Nanette Wiser chats with Dolphin 1 & 2 beloved star, Austin Highsmith Garces about her role in "Inheritance," which she will attend and be part of a post-film Q & A. Inheritance explores family secrets, unhealed traumas, and whether or not we can break free from inherited patterns, labels, and behaviors from the past. As a sister, I was interested in exploring the layered relationship between Lucy and Paige in Inheritance. Their dynamic isn’t one often seen in film – where a younger sibling assumes the “caretaker” role of the other. I’ve seen this play out in my extended family as well as the complications that can surround a family inheritance. The messiness of family is often difficult to talk about so I hope audiences see a little bit of themselves in this story and in these sisters and feel less alone in their experiences. Through Lucy and Paige we hope to show that grief has no timeline, healing isn't linear, and the past doesn't have to determine the future
AUSTIN HIGHSMITH GARCES is an artist, actress, published author/illustrator, and produced screenwriter. She is best known for the role of “Phoebe,” in the Warner Brothers/Alcon Entertainment films, Dolphin Tale 1 & 2 and as “Ms. Lang” in season 2 of MTV’s Scream: The TV Series. Highsmith Garces’s TV credits include Criminal Minds, SWAT, The Rookie, and Chicago Med, as well as many others. Film credits include Dolphin Tale 1 & 2, Gangster Squad, and many independent and made for television movies. Apart from her on-screen work, Highsmith Garces was a stand-up comic for many years having performed at such venues as the Comedy Store, Acme Comedy Theatre, and the Tampa Improv. Austin is a founding member of The Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. Her theatre credits include “Annie” in All My Sons, “Rosannah” in Brilliant Traces, “Evelyn” in The Shape Of Things, and “Annie” in Tony Winner Warren Leight’s Home Front, to name a few. Highsmith Garces wrote and sold her first TV feature film, A Country Romance, and starred in it as well, which initially aired on UPtv and is now streaming on Amazon Prime. She also co-wrote and starred in a comedy feature, The Plus One, starring Ashanti and Cedric the Entertainer, which was released in select theaters Sept 2023 and is now streaming on Starz. Her feature, Inheritance which she produced, wrote the story for, and starred in just premiered at Dances With Films film festival in LA. Her children’s book, The Miracle Tree, about her experience as a young girl was published in April of 2019 through Doce Blant Publishing and is being adapted into a screenplay with Emmy winning writer Noam Dromi. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Highsmith Garces graduated from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill with a dual degree in Fine Arts and Political Science. She’s a graduate of the Ruskin School of Acting where she now teaches the Meisner Technique. For more information visit www.austinhighsmithofficial.com

The festival celebrates 20 years and is presented by the City of St. Petersburg and St. Pete Clearwater Film Commission; films are screened at AMC Theaters Sundial with many other events and workshops April 24-27.  https://sunscreenfilmfestival.com/

#inheritance #austinhighsmithgarces #actress #screenwriter #sunscreenfilmfestival #nanettewiser