The oldest consecutively running such event in Florida, the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival (FLIFF), returns this week for its 26th incarnation, with an ambitious lineup and a far-reaching program.
Opening Friday and running through Nov. 11, FLIFF features six world premieres, 15 U.S. premieres, 61 Florida premieres and more than 150 films from more than two dozen countries, including Bhutan, Fiji and the United Arab Emirates.
In a year when film festivals have been hard hit by the economic crisis – the Palm Beach International Film Festival has been scaled back and the Downtown Boca Film Festival is in flux — the 2011 Fort Lauderdale Film Festival is spreading its roots throughout Broward County, up the coast to Boca Raton, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine and Amelia Island, and offshore for four days to Grand Bahama Island for a new event called FLIFF on Location.
“Yes, we are looking for world domination,” joked Gregory von Hausch, the festival’s director. “But seriously, it is a huge undertaking with potential benefits. We hope to broaden our base and generate revenue. Grants and monies from the corporate sector have scaled back, but we have not scaled back our programming.”
Von Hausch said FLIFF has received money this year from the state’s tourism office, Flagler College, the city of Daytona Beach and even the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.
“We like to think we have our finger on the pulse of the public, and we are here to serve our members and the larger community. I know they appreciate it and we always appreciate their feedback,” he said.
The festival opens with the Florida premiere of The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Snapped up for distribution by Harvey Weinstein at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film, shot in black-and-white and set in 1927, pays homage to the age of silent film.
Starring Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller, it relates the story of the interlinked destinies between a rising young starlet and a silent movie superstar whose career is on the decline at the advent of the talkies.
Penelope Ann Miller will be on-site to receive a Career Achievement Award. Other 2011 FLIFF honorees include: Former U.S. Sen. George McGovern; Dennis Haysbert, known for his roles in the Oscar-nominated film Far From Heaven, as a Cuban baseball player in the 1989 baseball flick Major League and in the TV series 24 and The Unit; and Dennis Farina, who returns to FLIFF for the screening of his new film, The Last Rites of Joe May, and will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Also accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award is Piper Laurie, best-known known for her roles in The Hustler and Carrie. She won the Best Actress award at FLIFF in 1995 for The Grass Harp, a film based on the novel by Truman Capote that will screen again at this year’s festival.
Dan Hudak, chairman of the Florida Film Critics Circle and teacher of history and film appreciation at Palm Beach State College, has attended the past eight FLIFFs.
“The programming at FLIFF this year is outstanding, with one of the best collections of films South Florida has ever seen,” Hudak said.
Von Hausch personally recommends the following films:
Delhi in a Day, a Bollywood dark comedy directed by Prashant Nair, which provides a glimpse into upper-class Delhi society. Von Hausch describes the film as “a gem – comic and culturally enlightening.”
Marathon Boy, an HBO documentary film by director and British journalist Gemma Atwal about India’s youngest marathon runner. Von Hausch describes it as a compelling, heartbreaking story about politics, ambition, greed and resilience.
Abandon Ship, a Canadian documentary directed by Dianne Carruthers-Wood about the sinking of the SV Concordia. The film is a dramatic telling of the real-life journey of 48 Canadian students and 16 crew members on a tall ship that capsized off the coast of Brazil in February 2010. Stranded with no communication and four life rafts, the film uses handheld footage to tell the story of their darkest hours until their miraculous rescue.
About Fifty, an American indie comedy starring Martin Grey, Drew Pillsbury and Wendie Malick, directed by Thomas Johnston. A film that asks: “If 50 is the new 30, why do my knees hurt?” Von Hausch describes the film as “sweet, warm and funny, with an insight into the male psyche.”
My Week with Marilyn, a British drama directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges, starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Watson. Based on a book by Colin Clark titled The Prince, the Showgirl and Me, it chronicles the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier.
Clark worked on the film, which was shot in England, and escorted Monroe around the country. The film focuses on the week that Clark and Monroe spent together, a chapter that was left out of the original book and published separately as My Week with Marilyn.
The American indie romantic comedy, Like Crazy, will close the festival. Directed by Drake Doremus and starring Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance film festival.
Jessica Taylor, the media relations director for the Broward Office of Film and Entertainment, said the country is “proud to be the home of the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival.”
“The caliber of films in the lineup and the honored celebrities being awarded for their bodies of work are truly gifted,” Taylor said. “The rich cultural offerings taking place this time of year enhance this celebration of new features, documentaries and shorts from around the globe.”
Films will be screened at: Cinema Paradiso; Muvico Pompano 18; Sunrise Civic Center; Bailey Hall on the Broward College campus in Davie; The Manor in Wilton Manors; and The Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton on the Florida Atlantic University campus. For schedules and times, please visit the website at: www.FLIFF.com or call: (954) 525-3456.
Ticket prices: Most films are $6 FLIFF members, $8 for seniors or students, $10 general admission. Special screenings: $10 FLIFF members, $15 general admission. FAST passes available: $395 members, $475 non-members.