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Miami Dade College announced today its lineup for the 2023 Miami Film Festival, taking place from March 3-12

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40th ANNIVERSARY MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES LINEUP

“Somewhere in Queens” and “The Lost King” to Open & Close 2023 Fest

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Celebrating a major milestone in its 40th anniversary, Miami Dade College (MDC)’s acclaimed Miami Film Festival will take place from March 3-12, 2023. The Festival will open with Somewhere in Queens, directed by comedian and actor Ray Romano, who will attend. The festival will close with The Lost King, directed by Stephen Frears on Saturday, March 11. Featuring a dozen World Premieres, three North American Premieres, seven US Premieres, and 14 East Coast Premieres, the 2023 Miami Film Festival will celebrate more than 140 feature narratives, documentaries and short films of all genres, from over 30 countries worldwide.

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“This is an incredible line-up of films to celebrate our historic 40-year anniversary,” said MDC Vice President for External Affairs and Chief of Staff Dr. Maryam Laguna Borrego. “We look forward to commemorating our fourth decade of programming by highlighting a collection of both new and established outstanding creative cinematic talents.”

 

“We are so excited to celebrate the incredible longevity of the Miami Film Festival in its 40th year,” said Director of Programming Lauren Cohen. “How many other new launches from four decades ago have not only survived, but grown into cultural mainstays? In our fourth decade of programming, we’re proud to continue bringing a diversity of top-quality films to increasingly sophisticated audiences.”

 

MFF will open with the Roadside Attractions film Somewhere in Queens. In Romano’s poignant and hilarious directorial debut, the beloved comedian stars as a bumbling Queens dad who goes to questionable lengths to ensure that his shy basketball-star son gets a prized college scholarship, much to the chagrin of his loving but fiercely protective wife played by Laurie Metcalf. Romano is expected to attend Opening Night.

 

The festival will close with The Lost King, starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan. The film follows the true story of an ambitious writer and amateur historian who defies the academic establishment to unearth Richard III's long-missing remains in a Leicester car park.

 

Four Centerpiece presentations will spotlighting key films with their directors in attendance for post-screening Q&As. They include:

 

More than 30 Special Presentation screenings will add to the depth of creative filmmaking from around the world to Miami, featuring numerous Miami Film Festival alumni filmmakers. They include:

15 Ways to Kill Your Neighbour (France/Argentina, directed by Santiago Mitre), starring Daniel Hendler, Vimala Pons, Sergi López, Melvil Poupaud, Françoise Lebrun and Éric Caravaca – East Coast Premiere

 

 

Knight Heroes, a popular program created with the support of John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, will return for its fifth consecutive year, once again in collaboration with Field of Vision.

 

The $25,000 Knight MARIMBAS Award, supported by Knight Foundation, is an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future. (A marimba is a variation of a xylophone that produces a deeper, richer and more resonant tone thant a traditional xylophone. The marimba originated in Guatemala and Central America approximately 400 years ago and remains popular to this day in a wide variety of musical disciplines. The name of Miami Film Festival’s award is inspired by its 2011 winner, Julio Hernandez Cordon’s Marimbas from Hell, which embodies the spirit of forward-looking cinema.) Films chosen for this year’s Knight MARIMBAS Award are:

 

 

For the sixth year of the Festival’s Knight Made in MIA Award competition, sponsored by Knight Foundation, the Festival will award two prizes – $45,000 to the best feature-length film making a minimum Florida premiere in the Festival and $10,000 to the best short film – of any genre – that features a substantial portion of its content (story, setting and actual filming location) in South Florida, from West Palm Beach to the Florida Keys, and that most universally demonstrates a common ground of pride, emotion, and faith for the South Florida community. The films competing for this award are:

 

Twenty-four films will compete for the $10,000 Knight Made in MIA Short Film Award. They are the following:

 

 

The $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award is sponsored by the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University Film Studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions on Broadway hits before passing away in a tragic accident at the age of 23. A total of 16 films will compete for the Award:

 

 

Ten films will vie for the audience-voted Documentary Achievement Award. They are:

 

 

This year, the Festival is introducing a new award, $2,500 Goya Quick Bites Short Film Award, courtesy of Goya, to the filmmaker of a jury selected short film of any genre that best showcases the intersection of food and community. This includes stories that feature a strong focus on food culture, mealtimes, or the way the culinary experience spices up our daily lives. The 6 films competing are:

 

 

The $5,000 Miami International Short Film Award competition features 17 films. The complete list includes:

 

 

The $1,000 Short Documentary Film Award, sponsored by the University of Miami and co-presented with Bill Cosford Cinema, will see the following films in competition:

 

 

Taking part in the annual Florida student film Cinemaslam Competition will be:

 

 

A matrix of master classes, roundtables and other events taking place at this year’s Festival include:

 

 

The Festival is curated by Director of Programming Lauren Cohen; senior programmer Thom Powers (documentary), Ivonne Cotorruelo (Ibero-American Films Programmer), Alejandro Rios (Cuban Films Programmer), Chris Molina (short films); guest programmer Rachelle Salnave; and YoungArts chair programmers Cristy Trabadass and Sophia Isabel Mickelson.

 

Other major Festival sponsors are Miami-Dade County, State of Florida, Telemundo, NBC6, official beer sponsor Estrella Damm, official wine sponsor The Critic. Festival headquarter hotel JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Miami Downtown Development Authority, and YoungArts. All Spanish-language films in Miami Film Festival are supported by ViendoMovies available with Xfinity and FlixLatino, and screenings of French-language films are supported by TV5MONDE USA.

 

Miami Film Festival screenings will take place at Silverspot Cinema, Cosford Cinema and Coral Gables Art Cinema. Individual tickets for all Festival events will go on sale to the general public beginning February 10. Festival members will have the opportunity to pre-buy beginning February 3. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).

 

About Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival

Celebrating cinema in two annual events, Miami Film Festival (40th annual edition March 3-12, 2023) and Miami Film Festival GEMS (November 2023), Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival is considered the preeminent film festival for showcasing Ibero-American cinema in the U.S., and a major launch pad for all international and documentary cinema. The annual Festival welcomes more than 45,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. Major sponsors of Miami Film Festival GEMS include Knight Foundation, Telemundo, American Airlines, Estrella Damm, Telemundo, NBC6 and Miami-Dade County. The Festival also offers unparalleled educational opportunities to film students and the community at large. For more information, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM (3456).

 

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit KF.org.

 

About Silverspot Cinema

Silverspot Cinema is a privately held, customer-centric company with sophisticated cinemas offering a unique event venue with an enhanced entertainment experience in a boutique environment. Each theater offers premium dine-in service with signature cocktails and delectable bites at its sleek bar and lounge or convenient in-theater service. Based in Miami, Silverspot has six locations nationwide. For more information, visit www.silverspot.net.

31.01.2023 | Editor's blog

Cat. : FESTIVALS

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