 | A request that this article title be changed to Miami Film Festival is under discussion . Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
 | |
| Location | Miami, Florida, United States |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Website | www |
The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a four-day event in October, known as the Gems Film Festival.
The Miami Film Festival debuted in February 1984, under the auspices of the Film Society of Miami. It was founded by Nat Chediak and Steven Bowles and directed by Mr. Chediak for its first eighteen years, becoming the City's premier international cultural event. When the City of Miami went bankrupt, control of the festival was assumed by Florida International University in 1999. [1] Dismayed by FIU's stewardship following the event's loss of independence, Chediak left the festival in 2001. Miami-Dade College took over in late 2003 after Florida International University lost $20 million in state funding and incurred an $800,000 deficit. [2] [1]
In 2006, the beginning of the ten-day festival shifted to early March. [3] By 2012, the festival had grown to become a comprehensive global festival with an annual attendance of over 70,000. [4]
In 2014, the festival introduced MIFFecito, a fall presentation. [5]
In 2015, the festival launched the Gems Film Festival, a second permanent festival in addition to its annual main event held in March. GEMS is "a four-day event to present the 'jewels' of the fall season", held annually in October at Tower Theater Miami. [6] [7] [8]
Jaie Laplante became director of programming in 2011. [9]
The Miami Film Festival is held for 10 consecutive days, opening annually on the first Friday of March. [10] It showcases independent American and international films, with a special focus on Ibero-American films. The competitive film festival showcases films in several venues across the city center and includes features, documentaries, short films, and retrospectives. The programming is selected so as to include premieres for both established film-makers as well as up-and-comers, socially relevant films, multidisciplinary and experimental films, and films showcasing international musicians. [11]
The stated mission of the Miami Film Festival is to bridge cultural understanding and encourage artistic development. [12]
Miami, officially the City of Miami, is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan area in the Southeast after Atlanta, and the ninth-largest in the United States. With a population of 442,241 as of the 2020 census, Miami is the second-most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the U.S. with over 300 high-rises, 61 of which exceed 491 ft (150 m).
Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of 34 municipalities in the county, it is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Miami International Airport and 13 miles (21 km) west of Downtown Miami. Doral occupies 15 square miles (39 km2) bordered on the west by the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and the Florida Everglades, on the north by the town of Medley, on the east by the Palmetto Expressway and on the south by the Dolphin Expressway and the city of Sweetwater. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, Doral had a population of 75,874, up from 45,704 in 2010.
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which separates the Beach from the mainland city of Miami. The neighborhood of South Beach, comprising the southernmost 2.5 sq mi (6.5 km2) of Miami Beach, along with Downtown Miami and the PortMiami, collectively form the commercial center of South Florida. Miami Beach's population is 82,890 according to the 2020 census. It has been one of America's preeminent beach resorts since the early 20th century.
Kaseya Center is a multi-purpose arena on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. The arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. The arena was previously named American Airlines Arena from opening in 1999 until 2021, FTX Arena from 2021 until 2023 following the bankruptcy of FTX, and Miami-Dade Arena during an interim period in 2023. Since April 2023, the naming rights to the arena are owned by Kaseya under a 17-year, $117.4 million agreement.
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in University Park, Florida. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida and the eighth-largest public university in the United States by enrollment. FIU is a constituent part of the State University System of Florida.
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
Tri-Rail is a commuter rail service linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The Tri prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail is managed by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) along CSX Transportation's former Miami Subdivision; the line is now wholly owned by the Florida DOT. The 80.0-mile-long (128.7 km) system has 19 stations along the Southeast Florida coast, and connects directly to Amtrak at numerous stations, to Metrorail at the Metrorail Transfer station, Miami Airport station, and MiamiCentral, and to Brightline at MiamiCentral.
The Miami metropolitan area is a coastal metropolitan area in southeastern Florida. It is the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the largest metropolitan area in Florida. It is also known as South Florida, SoFlo, SoFla, the Gold Coast, Southeast Florida, the Tri-County Area, or Greater Miami, and officially as the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area. With a population of 6.18 million, its population exceeds 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2023. It comprises the three most populated counties in the state, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County, which rank as the first, second, and third-most populous counties in the state, respectively. Miami-Dade County, with 2,701,767 people in 2020, is the seventh-most populous county in the United States.
Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place in March in Miami, Florida. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes.
Arthur E. "Art" Teele Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from the Republican Party. In the early 1980s, he served as the head of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration from 1981 to 1983. Born into a wealthy black family in Florida, Teele received an excellent education and became an officer in the US Army, and later had a successful career in private practice and politics. The Miami Herald published claims of legal wrongdoing against Teele during his fight to have a conviction against him overturned, after which he killed himself. Posthumously, his case was appealed and his conviction was overturned, exonerating him of all charges.
Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It is divided by the Miami River and is bordered by Midtown Miami's Edgewater, and Wynwood sections to its north, Biscayne Bay to its east, the Health District and Overtown to its west, and Coconut Grove to its south.
Miami Northwestern Senior High School is a public four-year high school located in Miami, Florida, United States.
The South Florida Council is a 501(c)(3) organization chartered by the Boy Scouts of America to serve Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties in South Florida. As of 2022, the South Florida Council had a membership of more than 20,000 youth and adults in traditional and in-school and after-school programs.
The Miami Book Fair is an annual street fair and literary festival organized by Miami Dade College.
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in the United States. It is Florida's third largest county in terms of land area with 1,946 square miles (5,040 km2). The county seat is Miami, the core of the nation's ninth-largest and world's 65th-largest metropolitan area with a 2020 population of 6.138 million people, exceeding the population of 31 of the nation's 50 states as of 2022.
The Borscht Film Festival is a film festival organized by the Borscht Corporation held in Miami, Florida roughly every 18–24 months. The festival's mission is to tell Miami stories, forging the cinematic identity of the city. While most of the films screened are commissioned specifically for the festival by the Borscht Corporation, they also accept works where the subject matter or filmmaker has some tie to South Florida.
The Miami metropolitan area composed of the three counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, also known collectively as South Florida, is home to a wide variety of public and private transportation systems.
Bayfront Park is a 32-acre (13 ha) public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay.
The 9 Mile Music Festival, also known as the Bob Marley Festival, Bob Fest, Marley Fest and Caribbean Festival, is an annual music event which began in 1993 in Miami. 9 Mile was pioneered by Bob Marley's mother, Cedella Marley Booker, to pay tribute to the legacy of her late son, and his messages of peace, love and unity. The festival maintains a tradition of collecting canned goods upon admission, to continue efforts to give back to the community. Donations go towards feeding the less fortunate in South Florida and the Caribbean. Over 2 million cans have been donated over the years.
Miami has one of the largest and most prominent LGBTQ communities in the United States. Miami has had a gay nightlife scene as early as the 1930s. Miami has a current status as a gay mecca that attracts more than 1 million LGBT visitors a year. The Miami area as a whole has been gay-friendly for decades and is one of the few places where the LGBTQ community has its own chamber of commerce, the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC). As of 2005, Miami was home to an estimated 15,277 self-identifying gay and bisexual individuals. The Miami metropolitan area had an estimated 183,346 self-identifying LGBT residents.