MIAMI (March 2002) These days, when Miami Gay & Lesbian Film
(MGLFF) Festival Director Robert Rosenberg phones filmmakers to
request their latest works, most of them are already well aware of
the Festival and how big and diverse it has become in just a few
short years. That's because Rosenberg and his team at the MGLFF
have grown the Festival from a grassroots start-up to a 10-day
cultural force to be reckoned with, and this year's event, slated
for April 26 through May 5, 2002, will be no exception.
The Fourth Annual Festival will screen 60-plus feature films,
shorts and documentaries from around the world, including
Argentina, Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy,
Japan, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Of the
27 feature films and documentaries, there will be one world
premiere, eight North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, five
East Coast premieres, seven Florida premieres and four South
Florida premieres; of the 28 shorter works, there will be six
world premieres, two North American premieres, three U.S.
premieres, six East Coast premieres, six Florida premieres and
five South Florida premieres.
Around the world, Rosenberg says, the MGLFF - named "Best
Film Festival 2000" by Miami's alternative weekly New Times -
is one of the festivals for both the film industry and the general
public to watch for high-quality, innovative gay cinema, not to
mention the event's fun-tropical-Latin-South Beach flavor.
"We have our finger on the pulse of what's out there in terms
of film in ways we've never been able to before," he
explained. "People out there know who we are. Everyone in the
South Florida gay and lesbian community looks at us as the area's
premiere gay event; the Miami arts community recognizes us as a
high-quality film and cultural event apart from the gay content;
and we are now taking our place on the international film festival
calendar. The buzz is there; now were going to deepen the
groove."
But Rosenberg isn't sitting back and lighting a hand-rolled
cigar (a local favorite once distributed at one of last year's
Festival parties with the MGLFF logo affixed) just yet. The
award-winning filmmaker (Before Stonewall) known for his attention
to detail has charged himself, the Festival's Board and the newly
expanded year-round staff with deepening the Festival's quality
and impact with a projected $600,000 annual budget. In the wake of
last year's event, this year's Festival will both open and close
at the 1,700-seat, landmark, 1920s Gusman Center for the
Performing Arts in downtown Miami, a move only a few gay or film
events have tried. The remaining 34 film programs will take place
at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, a 465-seat venue that
sold out continually during the past two festivals.
The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival began a short three
years ago after South Florida had well established itself as a
gay-friendly place to live and visit. The Festival was the area's
first regularly scheduled arts programming specifically geared
toward showcasing works by gay and lesbian artists and catering to
gay and gay-friendly audiences. After the first edition of the
Festival drew more than 5,000 attendees and the following year's
event attracted 7,000 attendees, Rosenberg and the Festival Board
decided to expand the Festival from 6 to 10 days in order to
accommodate both growing audiences and the increasing amount of
solid material the Festival had been receiving from filmmakers
from across the globe. Last year's Third Annual Festival sold more
than 11,000 tickets and featured more than 70 feature and short
works from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, France, Germany,
Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Spain, Thailand
and the U.S.
OTRAS HISTORIAS RELACIONADAS
The Festival entries
The Festival social events
Fact sheet
Lista de
películas
Itinerario
en Agendal
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