Miami Film Festival To Feature In-Theater And Virtual Screenings March 5-14
One year after the Miami Film Festival was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, it returns with its 38th rendition—March 5 to 14—utilizing a hybrid format with in-theater and virtual screenings.
Attendees will be able to watch films on the Miami Film Festival or Eventive app. They can also attend in-person at the Silverspot Cinema, 300 S.E. 3rd St., in Downtown Miami.
At the theater, guests must wear a mask and be three seats apart. A limited menu will be offered using Silverspot’s Mobile App. The venue, which has touchless hand sanitizing stations, will be sanitized between screenings with a focus on tables, seats and cup-holders.
This year’s festival will feature more than 100 feature narratives, documentaries and short films from 40 different countries—including Spain, France, and Canada.
“We are re-inventing the traditions of the Miami Film Festival to account for the pandemic and the different ways that people now see movies,” said Jaie Laplante, the festival’s executive director. “It brings me joy that we are finding new ways to continue sharing new cinema with the people of Miami.”
Festivities will kick-off on March 5 with the world premiere of Ludi. The film showcases the complexities of the immigrant experience as it follows a private care service worker who struggles to send money to her family in Haiti.
Ludi was directed by Edson Jean and will compete for both the $40,000 Knight Made in MIA Feature Film Award supported by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation and the $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award.
The festival will also showcase three films dedicated to the significance of Miami’s large Cuban community. Plantados, directed by Lilo Vilaplana, tells the true story of political prisoners tortured in Cuban prisons in the 1960s before leaving to Miami.
Manny Soto’s documentary, A New Dawn, focuses on Miami Cubans sharing their stories of leaving the homeland. Revolution Rent, directed by Victor Patrick Alvarez and Andy Señor Jr., follows first-generation Miami Cuban and Broadway star Andy Señor’s difficult journey to bring a production of the musical Rent to life in Cuba.
The MFF will also present seven Best International Feature Film Oscar Contenders including El Olvido Que Seremos (Colombia), directed by Oscar winner Fernando Trueba. It recognizes the real-life story of Dr. Héctor Abad Gómez, a medical doctor and human rights activist who worked to revolutionize access to health care in Colombia before his death in 1987.
Sun Children (Iran) was written, produced and directed by Majid Majidi. It follows a 12-year-old, Ali, and his three friends who work hard to support their families before a supernatural turn of events makes Ali responsible to find a hidden treasure underground.
And Tomorrow the Entire World (Germany) follows protagonist Luisa, a law student from an upper-class family, joining an Antifa-style movement to oppose the rise of the political right in Germany.
Apples (Greece) is a science fictional film written, produced and directed by Christos Nikou. It is about a worldwide pandemic that causes instant amnesia and follows a middle-aged man who is enrolled in a recovery program designed to help patients build new identities.
The festival will close on March 14 with the world premiere of Jayme Gersen’s documentary Birthright. It follows the Miami-bred electro-pop music duo Afrobeta as they are invited to perform in Havana, Cuba. Their desire to visit their parent’s homeland ignites a surreal journey into who they are, where they come from and what being Cuban really means. Birthright is competing for the $40,000 Knight Made in MIA Feature Film Award supported by Knight Foundation and the Festival’s Documentary Achievement Award.
Ticket prices for all the films at the MFF vary. To see the festival’s full lineup or to purchase tickets, click here.
