Florida Film Festival 2025

This is the 34th year of the Florida Film Festival, and boy-howdy the selections are stellar. This year I was able to reach out directly to many of the filmmakers for pre-screening links, and they were so helpful, so gracious, so accommodating, that I can’t wait for you to sample their wares. I applaud every filmmaker on the roster. They have put their blood, sweat and tears, as well as their rent money, into their art. This isn’t their ‘side gig’, it’s their passion. So, let’s dive right in. Below is the link to all the Festival films, detailing where and when they’ll be playing and how to purchase tickets. Many of those associated with their films will be in attendance. And that’s what makes the Florida Film Festival such a success. Supporting the art is the heart of the fest.

Just The Tip – A Doc Short à la Bridget Loves Bernie (if you’re old enough to fondly remember that tv show) but religiously reversed, with great affection. The completely unfiltered inquiries about circumcision, pro-or-con, Director Jessie Kahnweiler asks of members of her religious community, her family, her friends and associates, and their responses, will have you cringing and laughing simultaneously.

Ado – Narrative Short that will agonizingly resonate with most of us. Brilliantly Directed and co-written by Sam Henderson, with impeccable casting of Jenifer Lewis as a teacher everyone should be lucky enough to experience, once in their lives.

Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere – Doc Feature that I was fortunate to be able to watch at home because I could pause and examine every single still image in the film. Schapiro was a photographer/photojournalist whose name you may not know, but whose pictures you’ve seen in newspapers, magazines and history books. Deeply involved with and believing in the Civil Rights movement, among many other history-making events, Schapiro photographed the Pettus Bridge March, the March for Voting Rights with John Lewis and Dr. King. His photography was used in movie posters for Taxi Driver, The Godfather and Midnight Cowboy. And his love for photography wasn’t singularly focused on capturing the essence of the ‘beautiful people’ like Bowie and Barbra. He also passionately exalted the nameless - ordinary people doing ordinary things, his talent making these images extraordinary. Director Maura Smith celebrates the story humbly, yet joyfully, exactly the feeling you get from Schapiro himself.

Apostasy Blues – Narrative Feature. Comedy about cults. I know, there’s nothing particularly funny about cults, but Director Peter Pavlakis lets his actors take the bat and they hit the ball out of the park. Edyn and Troy are waiting for the Rapture with their fellow cultists, but the deadline comes and goes, and they’re unrapturized. Of course, that old saw comes out ‘they know it’s coming, they just got the date wrong’, though their leader seems to have been chosen and lifted out of his locked bedroom, leaving his jacket behind on the floor. Was it the metal zippers on their pants that blocked their ascendance? Is there something in their past for which they must atone? Taking place over the Easter weekend, Edyn leaves the cabin and ends up stumbling from one scam to another. Pavlakis also pokes a stick at a few of the seven deadly sins, utilizing the character’s own foibles in this fun, refreshing dramedy.

Trash - International Animated Shorts. I admit my knowledge of what goes into an animated film is limited, but this six minute short blew me away with its story and design. Focusing on a discarded slice of dumpster pizza, a starved rat battles a determined pigeon for survival in an apartment complex in France, where the residents are equally destitute. We get quick peeks into residents’ apartments as the combatants throw themselves and each other over the fire escapes and to the ground below. Fantastic visuals and driving sound.

The Motherfucker’s Birthday – Sunspots: New Visions of the Avant-Garde. This seven-minute documentary of life under a Fascist regime is one of the most disturbing films in the entire festival. I have no idea how Director Saif Alsaegh acquired the footage, which depicts the brutality of Saddam and his sons reveling in the abuse of their citizens. Instruments of torture are displayed; iron devices born in the Dark Ages and should have remained there. A Fascistic Dictatorial government, forcing their countrymen to literally dance to the tune of their leaders, while the people live in constant fear of being disappeared, dismembered or killed. Beware powerful men who insist their citizens line up to celebrate their birthdays – or face death for resisting.

www.rachelormont.com – Midnight Movie. This is a wild trip into the isolation of living life linked only to your laptop. A young woman arrives at a bizarre government office and opts to sell her baby to them for the duration of the child’s life. The child grows up to believe flat faces, that is, the faces of the ‘friends’ she sees on her computer monitors, are more desirable than those with ‘bumps’… noses, lips, etc. With almost zero contact with the outside world, when she grows up this disturbed woman is convinced this Greek chorus of online unknown anti-social commenters, who post likes and offer her nothing but stupidity, should guide her total existence. She sets out on a quest through cyberspace to rejoin the mother who abandoned her and win her love. A mother, whom she only knows from rating her bizarre online appearances in front of a judging panel. Shocking visuals and insane performances.

La Gloria – Narrative Feature. The performances by seasoned veteran actor David Morse and first-time actress Jaklyn Bejarano are completely of this moment in time in the USA. This is one of several films in this festival that are set in the American West or Southwest, and the politics of that region direct the character’s lives. Morse, a small rancher living in a border town in Texas, is bitter and broken, resigned to his solitary existence. His son is a Border Agent, but they rarely cross paths. He must choose which road he will take when a young, injured woman who has escaped wretched poverty and certain death in El Salvador, finds refuge in his dilapidated home. Writer/Director JT Walker succeeds in shepherding a story where the humanity of the rancher, the young woman, the Border Patrol, the medical community and the townspeople are tested, regardless of the consequences. Since Morse’s character speaks almost no Spanish and Bejarano’s English is limited, the story is propelled by their non-verbal interactions. Their characters are complex and memorable.

Outside Noise – Midnight shorts. If this short doesn’t give you nightmares, I don’t know what will. Doomscrolling on her phone, Layla tries to ignore the reality of her life - unpaid bills pile up, disturbing text messages flood in. She can’t sleep so she turns on her sleep app, ‘Outside Noise’, hoping the sounds of the forest will soothe her. But that small act may have let something menacing into her bedroom. Weird calls from the device sound out …. then a strange darkness appears across the floor and scares her into flight. If you enjoy terrifying horror films such as Silent Hill, this is definitely up your alley. Filmmakers Ethan Evans and Jess Bartlett intend to expand this short film into a longer form, and with Layla’s flight into a mysterious shadow world, their success is a given. The film is sprinkled with details that merge reality with the supernatural, so pay attention.

Catch and Exterminate - Florida Shorts. So much fun! Director Summer Parks has created an animated character you want to learn more about. I hope Elliot, a pest control employee who caters to paranormal clients, finds more adventures to entertain us.

Once again, there are so many films to Dive In and explore in year 34. I’ll be back with more suggestions to tempt your palate and fill your plate.

FFF Ticket and Information Link: https://2025floridafilmfestival.eventive.org/films

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