Miami Film Festival unveils 25th lineup
Posted on Wed, Jan. 30, 2008
BY DANIEL CHANG
More films, more celebrities on red carpets, and an extra day to take it all in.
The Miami International Film Festival, marking its 25th year celebrating celluloid art in South Florida, unveiled on Wednesday a program of industry panels, educational seminars, parties and a lineup of 163 features, documentaries and short films to be screened Feb. 28-March 9.
The festival, one of Miami's most enduring cultural institutions, will open with an immigrant's tale, La misma luna (Under the Same Moon), director Patricia Riggen's drama about a 9-year-old boy who leaves his native Mexico to reunite with his mother in America.
In addition to 10 world premieres, the festival will highlight several American debuts, including Flawless, director Michael (Il Postino) Radford's drama about a jewel heist hatched by a corporate executive portrayed by Demi Moore.
Moore is expected to attend a red-carpet screening of the film at the Gusman Center's Olympia Theater on March 2.
Other celebrities expected at daily galas hosted by the Gusman include directors Joel and Ethan Coen, actors Harvey Keitel and David Schwimmer, and Miami music moguls Emilio and Gloria Estefan, who will be on hand for the American premiere of the documentary 90 Miles, a tribute to the music of Cuba.
For all the high celebrity wattage, though, festival leaders emphasized that the real attraction will be the films.
Patrick de Bokay, who took over as festival director in March, said he spent the past year learning more about Miami in order to shape a program that reflects the community.
De Bokay succeeds Nicole Guillemet, who grew the festival's size, audience and national profile while she was director from 2002-07.
For de Bokay, ``Miami is the youngest, most accelerating multicultural metropolis of the future.''
In that vein, de Bokay said, the festival attracts entries from filmmakers across the globe, which in turn encourages producers, directors and industry professionals to use the event as a launch pad for their projects.
Miami Dade College students reap the benefit of learning from film industry veterans and through eight festival-related internships, he said, while the community gets access to films that otherwise might not play here.
As an example of the festival's growing industry caché but still second-tier ranking, de Bokay said he received a call on Tuesday from Paramount Pictures, whose executives want to screen the documentary American Teen in Miami.
The film was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, he said, adding ``it will be our surprise screening.''
As Miami's film festival gains international repute, Eduardo Padron, president of Miami Dade College, said the school's annual contribution of about $100,000 toward an estimated $2.5 million budget (supplemented by ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and public and private grants) is well worth the investment for its students.
''Through the festival,'' he said, ``we're able to bring here the experts and the talent to expose our students to that we otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.''
Beyond that, Padron said, the film festival, along with the college's production of the annual Miami Book Fair International, cultivates South Florida's cultural life.
''They are a magnet,'' he said. ``They are an attraction for the multicultural community.''
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