Saturday, October 7----The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, which this year celebrates its 21st edition as one of the most important venues in the US for independent and international cinema, has announced that its Centerpiece Film will be PITTSBURGH, a non-fiction comedy starring Jeff Goldblum, Illeana Douglas and Ed Begley Jr.

The film will screen on Friday, November 3 at the historic Parker Playhouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The special event is followed by the Festival's "Reel Magic" Centerpiece Gala, at the Historic War Memorial. The Festival opens on October 20th with the Southeast Premiere of Pedro Almodovar's VOLVER.

In a film that deftly mixes documentary and deadpan comedy, Jeff Goldblum plays himself.....a celebrated Hollywood actor who decides to put his celebrity life on hold to return to his home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to star alongside his new girlfriend in a regional theater production of the landmark musical THE MUSIC MAN.

Jeff Goldblum

The film is co-directed by Chris Bradley and Kyle LaBrache, who followed Goldblum to rehearsals and recorded behind-the-scenes drama between himself and his fiancee, Catherine Wreford, a Canadian actress in dire need of a work visa.

The play-within-a-movie follows Goldblum as he staggers through humiliating auditions and a grueling rehearsal schedule, while phone calls from his panicked agent measure his plummeting stock back in Hollywood. The film is a treat for Goldblum fans and those who love the mockumentary format that has been done to perfection by Christopher Guest (BEST IN SHOW, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN).

Sandy Mandelberger
Festivals Editor