Film festivals for short films

“My Indiana Muse,” a film by Ric and Jen Serena, won the audience award for best documentary feature at the 27th annual Florida Film Festival. The spouses are graduates of Seminole High School in Sanford.“As Central Florida natives and high school attendees of the festival’s inaugural year, we were honored just to be programmed alongside such an incredibly well-curated collection of films and filmmakers,” Ric and Jen Serena said by email. “It was a special highlight to have the audience share our love for this story.”The festival on Monday announced winners in 14 categories. The 10-day event started April 6 and concluded Sunday in Maitland and Winter Park.Other winners in the documentary features category were:“TransMilitary,” directed by Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson, which won the grand jury award.“The Last Race,” directed by Michael Dweck, collected a special jury award for artistic vision.In narrative features, … [Read more...] about Florida Film Festival announces winners

“Indie Women: Grab ’em by the Movies” was a popular forum last year at the Florida Film Festival. This year’s sequel carries the same title but examines an industry transformed by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, Oprah Winfrey’s speech at the Golden Globes and Frances McDormand’s call to action at the Oscars.“I believe change can happen quickly,” said Anne Russell, who will moderate the free discussion at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 12, at the Enzian theater in Maitland. She is program director of Film Production MFA at Full Sail University near Winter Park.“We’re already seeing a big increase in female directors hired for TV,” Russell said. “However, I also think the bigger question is, will this trend last?”A record 82 female filmmakers are represented at this year’s festival, or more than 45 percent of the total schedule. The 10-day event concludes Sunday.“For … [Read more...] about Florida Film Festival: Female directors gauge progress

For its 27th edition, the Florida Film Festival will start with a heist, then bring on the stars.Those stars — Pam Grier and Ellen Burstyn — headline two of the biggest nights at the 10-day event beginning Friday. Grier will attend a Sunday screening of Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown” from 1997. Then the star takes part in a Q-and-A with the audience.Oscar winner Burstyn will attend an April 13 screening of “Requiem for a Dream,” a 2000 drama from director Darren Aronofsky. Burstyn was an Oscar nominee for playing a drug addict with harrowing force. She can discuss a career that includes “The Exorcist,” “The Last Picture Show” and the best actress Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” from 1974.The festival will screen 183 films in all — 55 features and 128 shorts — from 38 countries. Friday’s opening night film, “American Animals,” comes … [Read more...] about Florida Film Festival starts with ‘Animals,’ adds stars

The Florida Film Festival, which starts Friday, will present 18 films that it says have LGBTQ themes. They range from “The Feels,” a comedy about a bachelorette party for a lesbian couple, to “The Cakemaker,” a drama about a German baker who travels to Israel and surreptitiously meets the widow of his late gay lover.The animated short “In a Heartbeat” explores a gay boy’s infatuation. The documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” details the life of a man, now 94, who says he procured same-sex partners for film stars.The lineup was not by design but reflects the festival’s focus on diversity, said Matthew Curtis, the event’s programming director.“We do not seek out LGBTQ films in particular, just the best and most original and interesting films,” he said. “When we are getting nearly 2,000 submissions, many excellent works with LGBTQ themes happen to be part of that mix and rise to the … [Read more...] about Florida Film Festival: LGBTQ themes star