MIFF 2016 Director Jaie Laplante Picks His Top Five Must-See Films

Now that the Oscars are over, serious movie fans can explore film without the hype awards ceremonies. Miami-Dade College’s 33rd Miami International Film Festival will be a haven for those cinephiles, says Jaie Laplante, the festival’s director of programming six years running. Speaking via phone, he recommended five lesser-known films he…

Miami Jewish Film Festival Returns With a Bold Lineup

“It is no longer enough for us to just give access to Jewish-interest films. What is at stake for us now is to present the best of world cinema that has a cultural insight and value,” Igor Shteyrenberg, director of the Miami Jewish Film Festival, says boldly. Leading the festival…

Borscht Corp. Alumni Get Into Sundance With Five New Films

When it comes to Miami indie film production, everyone knows Borscht Corp. has been on a roll. Yesterday, the Sundance Film Festival  announced that it has accepted an unprecedented five films from the filmmaking collective to premiere at next month’s festival in Park City, Utah. Four short films and a…

Theeb Director Naji Abu Nowar on Having His Film Return to Miami

Theeb, a foreign-language film from Jordan, made its South Florida debut during Miami Dade College’s 32nd-annual Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) earlier this year. During the festival, the film took the screenwriting prize and left audiences — and critics — in awe. Told from the perspective of the nomadic eyes…

Miami Memoirs: The Grove Cinema

Like the small bit of concrete foundation embedded in the brick sidewalk that pokes out in an awkward triangle from under the post office wall on the corner of Grand Avenue and McDonald Street, my memories of the Grove Cinema are slight. The physical evidence of the art house is…

Venezuelan Film The Longest Distance Premieres at Gables Art Cinema

The Coral Gables Art Cinema will host the U.S. premiere for the Venezuelan film The Longest Distance (La Distancia Mas Larga) this Friday with a red carpet event featuring the film’s director. The debut feature by 37-year-old writer and director Claudia Pinto presents a profoundly heavy subject with a restrained,…

Director Alex Ross Perry on His New Film, Queen of Earth

In Queen of Earth, independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry tackles big and uncomfortable questions about adult relationships. His films have always grappled with the cognitive dissonance of how people connect and disconnect in profound ways. With his latest film, he seems to say, your best friend can also be your…

Spanish Film Marshland Set to Premiere in Miami

The influence of David Fincher’s Se7en on Hollywood has been profound; from 8mm to Minority Report. Now you will find that influence in a starkly serious detective story from Spain called Marshland (La isla minima), which will have its U.S. theatrical premiere in South Florida this Friday, after first premiering…