REAL Exclusive Magazine

Toni Ann Rossi, aka Toni Huartson, Stars In “Deadly Closure”.

Toni Ann Rossi, also known as Toni Huartson, a Realtor with the Jim Soda Group of Sarasota, plays Carol Dodd, a country club manager who befriends Janis in “Deadly Closure”. “Deadly Closure,” a mystery thriller filmed entirely in Sarasota was accepted into the 2010 Sarasota Film Festival.

Rossi trained in Los Angeles at the Larry Moss Studio and spent 10 years in California honing her craft. There she was cast in “Scrubs,” “Judging Amy” and “Life with Bonnie,” among other projects.

“Deadly Closure” is the story of Janis McKenzie, a 36-year-old Sarasota photographer portrayed by Lisa Varga of Fort Lauderdale (“Marley & Me” and “America’s Most Wanted”). Twenty years earlier, Janis had witnessed her evil twin brother kill their parents. Now, as her brother is about to be paroled from prison, she prepares for him to come to kill her for having testified against him. An event from her past military service in Kuwait will come back to compound her troubles.

 “The Sarasota Film Festival is highly selective,” said Tom Hall, artistic director of the festival. “Part of our commitment to local filmmaking is to make sure we are maintaining the integrity of our program throughout the selection process. While we do give special consideration to local projects because it is important to us to build relationships in the local filmmaking community, our program remains highly selective.”

“’Deadly Closure’ – the first Sarasota County indie film to qualify for the State of Florida’s film incentive program – is a testament to the dedication of the filmmaker and the abundant resources of Sarasota,” said Jeanne Corcoran, director of the Sarasota County Film & Entertainment Office. “Alan Roberts and his team proved you can find just about everything you need right here to make a compelling and original movie. Although we’ve seen several dozen indie films shooting here to some extent over the last 36 months, ‘Deadly Closure’ was the most comprehensive and lengthy shoot, and we hope it’s just the first of many to shoot in its entirety here in Sarasota County.”

To view a trailer of the film, go to http://vimeo.com/5488319.  The film’s running time is 100 minutes.