About the 7th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival in March of 2017
The 7th annual Fort Myers Film Festival will be held March 8-12, 2017 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Alliance for the Arts and Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, with dinners and after-parties at Twisted Vine Bistro, Firestone and other select venues.
As usual, the festival will open in style with a Black Tie Red Carpet Gala on March 8 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. The festival rolls out the red carpet at 5:00 p.m., with photographers, reporters and paparazzi on hand to greet participants, which always 
include actors, directors, producers and other filmmakers along with local politicians, theater and art world luminaries who gather in the lobby for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and lively conversation.
Click here for photos from last year’s red carpet.
The doors open to the theater at 7:00 for the screening of the opening film. Among the 
independent films and documentaries that have opened past festivals are John Scoular’s Marcus Jansen: Examine & Report (2016), Most Likely to Succeed (2015), Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (2014) and When I Walk. These films not only received an enthusiastic reception by FMff audiences, they went on to be distributed across the country, if not the globe, after being featured here.
Tickets are $99 for VIPs and $19 for general 
admission. VIP ticket holders enjoy a star-studded backstage after-party with the stars of the opening night’s film along with music, dancing, and a fully-stocked bar. The event will provide the delicious foods from La trattoria Cafe Napole, Maria’s, Mermaid Cafe, Au Delicies, Norman Love and more.
Last year, more than 70 films from around the world were screened in blocks during the ensuing three days of the festival. Films are $10 per block.
Click here to find out what people said about last year’s screenings.
The festival closes on Sunday (this year, March 12, 2017) with a champagne & dessert awards ceremony at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre. The closing always attracts a score of the local and international filmmakers whose work was included in the festival, along with 
dozens of family, friends and fans. The champagne & dessert event allows you to congratulate all the participants and celebrate the winners as FMff Director Eric Raddatz and Programming Director Melissa Tschari DeHaven make the toasts and play deserving short award-winning films. Tickets are only $15.
The Fort Myers Film Festival is an intelligent independent filmmaker’s preferred event that showcases the finest artistic cinematic works. The Fort Myers Film Festival is known for world-class swagger and support of local filmmakers. The festival event offers ‘the most vibrant intellectual and edgy crowd to grace Lee County in decades.’ 
The event has featured hundreds of local filmmakers and is a must attend for cineastes living in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties who love indie film and film festivals. That’s right, Fort Myers has a film festival now, so come out for the excitement!
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About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.