Florida Film Festival Opening Night and Day 1

The Florida Film Festival started off this year in a dram like state with their Opening Night film Renee, a film based on the true life story of a girl dealing with her demons and the movement it inspires. The film itself was shot locally in the Orlando area last spring so, there were a lot of people in the audience that were very enthusiastic to watch the film.

 The film stars Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls, Thor) in the title role of Renee, a girl who life and attitude is thrown into a world wind of drugs after one incident. She did a great portrayal of a girl with not many options and trying to take hold of her life again. Along with Denning the film also starred Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill, Cinderella Story) as To Write Love on Her Arms founder Jaime and Rupert Friend as Renee’s new found friend in sobriety and mentor David McKenna. Murray was great as Jaime, the carrying supporter of Renee and Friend did a great job as the music entrepreneur David trying to balance his life and new role as mentor.

The film was beautifully shot, showcasing many areas of Downtown Orlando as well as the dream sequences that occur in the film. The special effects that were created were very beautiful and lent a helping hand to the story rather than detracting from it. This film in its entirety is a good example of a great motion picture and how Orlando is a great place to being a production.

The opening night party was a blast; featuring food from the restaurants of 4Rivers,

Black Bean Deli, Sushi Pop, Eden Bar/The Enzian Theater, White Horse Café, The Hyatt Grand Cypress’s desert department and The Empanada Truck ( a local food truck).

Playing on Enzian’s stage was the group Mud City Flappers, kicking up a great sound that combined blue grass, folk and alternative. Drinks were going around and even the local team of the site Yelp was in attendance. Yelp created their own VIP lounge for attendees to visit everyday during the festival.  During the Opening Night the Yelp tent had a sampling of Nawaga energy drinks, Honest Tea and other goodies to take home as well as a photo booth type set up. The director and writer of Renee were interviewed by Indie Cinema Showcase (a local show) and took tons of pictures. The Yelp VIP tent will be up for the rest of the festival so it is advised to continue to check them out since it seems that there are opportunities for massages this week and a give away.

During the first full day of the festival I attended two of the short film programs and three feature films. Short Program #1: It Takes Two and Short Program 2: Ain’t That Peculiar played back to back. Then I took time to see Mamitas, See Girl Run and Turn Me on Damn It preceded by the short The Op Shop.

 Short Program #1 was jam packed with superb short films from High Maintenance (a couple’s baby making plans are destroyed by an in-law) to Mouthful ( a couple’s discussion about sensitive subjects). One film that garnered a lot of questions was The Other Side, a film about an Israeli boy that started to become curious about his neighbors on the other side of the wall. The filmmaker Khen Shalem, was on hand during this screening and explained that he made this film to show how similar the people are and how it was a message of togetherness.  The other film that I enjoyed a lot was Queen, a film about a cabaret Drag Queen that is trying to film the void in her heart. I love this film and cried a little. The filmmaker will be at Tuesday April 17, 2012 showing, whish is also the last showing of the collections.

Short Program #2 had a little of a varying scheme of things in the films that were put together but they definitely fit the idea of “Ain’t That Peculiar”. One stand out from the collection was Narcocorrido which the director, Ryan Prows, shared with the audience came from an actual style of singing. It is about a police officer that is trying to get lucky with a border drug shakedown but has no idea what is in store for her. The film was beautifully shot, is in English and Spanish (with subtitles) and feels like it can easily expand into a feature length film. The corkiest film in the collection is Glue Man, a mockumentary about a man that creates sound bites for documentaries. It gives you a few laughs but the most surprising thing was that the film has two high profile cameos.  Then there is the end film of the collection Nani, a Harold and Maude themed type film set on the backdrop of Graffiti or tagging. It is a heart warmer which also brought a tear to my eye. Next screening/ last screening for Short Program #2 is Thursday, April 19,2012.

   Mamitas is the story of a boy that is trying to find is way in life after he is prompted by the introduction of a new friend into his life. Though the story and theme are not completely original it is an entertaining film that is still worth a view. Mamitas can next be seen Thursday, April 19, 2012, which is also its last showing at the festival.

  See Girl Run was a film that I was prompted to see due to the actors that were in the film, Robin Tunney (CBS’s The Mentalist) and Adam Scott (Friends with Kids, NBC’s Parks and Recreations). The film is about a married woman (Tunney) that has always had an open what if question in her heart, What if I never moved away from my high school sweetheart? This question is compounded by the fact that her old flame (Scott) has been sending her love letter/drawings for years and is still holding on to hope that she will return. Tunney does an excellent job in this film as a woman considering taking a leap over the marital boundary for a not so lost love.  Jeremy Strong (The Romantics and The Happening) co-starred as Tunney’s emotionally unstable brother in the film. He was very multi faceted and a pleasure to watch as he mostly lingered in the very depressed mood in addition to cry at almost anything. There was also a delight in the small role of Grandma played by Marylouise Burke (HBO’s Hung, Must Love Dogs), she also made an appearance in the short film High Maintenance. Though her part was small it was good for a laugh to cut up a little tension. The next/ last showing of the film is Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

   Now the one movie that I walked into with only a friend’s recommendation was Turn Me On Dammit. The film had a short attached to it that screened before it called The Op Shop. The Op Shop was about a Thrift store type shop that gets an interesting bunny shaped item that the nice older women of the shop have never seen before. This film is a little laugh riot because the film is about when from the pre-sexual revolution finding something that anyone that has seen Sex and The City would know all about. After this little laugh a minute short the audience is transported into the Turn Me On Dammit, a film about a girl living in a small Norwegian town. With not much else to do in the town she is most often hanging with her friends and trying to stimulate her budding sexuality with her imagination. Unfortunately things take a turn for the worse when she declares to her friends an awkward encounter with a boy. Since she what she says seems so ridiculous she is turned into an outcast and has to find her own way.  This film is a hilarious tale of dealing with reality, learning and growing during the awkward teenage years as a girl. Though the film is Norwegian there are English subtitles and it is easy to relate to the characters that come across the screen. If you are looking for an absurdist comedy with a heart during the Florida Film Festival then you need to catch this film during its last screening Wednesday, April 18, 2012. 

If you are interested in seeing any of these films, want to buy tickets, or find out about any other films playing go to FloridaFilmFestival.com

Below I have attached The Short Program #1 Question and Answer section that I recorded.