Golden Friendships, Silver Screens

If your friends really liked you, they’d start a film festival with you. That’s the lesson we’re taking away from the first Bright Minds Film Festival, unspooling Tuesday at the Colony Theatre (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach). Not only are all the organizers friends, but they are also filmmakers and are somehow connected to all six of the short films. Sometimes they are the writers, the directors, the actors. Yeah, sure, that gives them a leg up when it comes to being selected for the festival, but that last F in BFF stands for “forever,” not “fsometimes.” But let’s get back to what really matters here: the films. The six shorts have a heavy Latin American influence and span a fairly wide range of subjects. There’s the story of a young couple whose baby won’t receive a necessary heart transplant. One of lonely people playing barroom billiards. Another questioning the role of money in happiness. There’s even a story about a forbidden love affair. All are difficult situations. The kinds where it is nice to have your friends around. Speaking of which, next year the plan is to open the festival to competition. There will be trophies, no doubt, but is there any prize more valuable than friendship? (Yes. Cash.)
Tue., Nov. 26, 8 p.m., 2013