Florida Film Festival Selections
Movies For 2008 Chosen From More Than 1,400 Submissions
Feb 23, 2008
Running from March 28 through April 6, the Festival draws about 23,000 people each year and provides a wide range of audience members at individual screenings.
Narrative Features and Full-length Documentaries
This year, narrative features and full-length documentaries in the American Independent Competition come from more than 20 countries and include two world premieres and seven East Coast premieres.
A few noteworthy entries in the narrative features category:
- August Evening (Southeast Premiere) directed by Chris Eska;
- Blackbird (Southeast Premiere) directed by Adam Rapp;
- The Cake Eaters directed by Mary Stuart Masterson;
- Disfigured (Southeast Premiere) directed by Glenn Gers;
- Goliath (East Coast Premiere) directed by David Zellner;
- In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Southeast Premiere) directed by Alex Holdridge;
- Kabluey (Southeast Premiere) directed by Scott Prendergast.
Documentary full-length features include the following:
- Fish Kill Flea (Florida Premiere) directed by Aaron Hillis, Brian Cassidy and Jennifer Loeber;
- I Think We’re Alone Now (East Coast Premiere) directed by Sean Donnelly;
- Intimidad (East Coast Premiere) directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin;
- Land of Confusion (World Premiere) directed by Jeremy Zerechak;
- Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (Southeast Premiere) directed by Jeffrey Schwartz.
Competing for Grand Jury, Special Jury, and Audience Awards, these American Independent Competition films will be joined by works in several categories outside of the competition. These non-competing films include Spotlight Films (advance screenings), Florida Sidebar (films from Florida’s most promising new talent), Midnight Shorts (over-the-top animation and live-action), Music Sidebar (collaboration of music and film), and Retro Films (classic movies).
Also at the Florida Film Festival
Ten separate programs showcase 109 short films representing 16 countries (and culled from more than 800 submissions by U.S. and international filmmakers). Short films screen as part of the Festival’s short film programs, except for documentary shorts, which precede feature-length documentary films. As with full-length films, some are competing in the American Independent Competition (such as the Kate Hudson-directed Cutlass and the Josh Brolin-directed X), while others comprise special programming such as International Showcase: Animated & Live Action Shorts, Midnight Shorts, and Florida Shorts.
Special Guest Anthony Bourdain
Special guest Anthony Bourdain (host of the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and author of Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly) will appear at events throughout the Festival including Opening Night Independent Taste, Kitchen Confidential talk and book signing, and Babette’s Feast at a local restaurant. The Festival culminates in an awards ceremony and Revel 17, an elaborate dinner party. Enzian Theater, a nonprofit organization serving the Central Florida community for more than 23 years, produces The Florida Film Festival.
For more information about film festivals, read Florida Film Fest Announces Jury.
