Actors, artists, directors, filmmakers and events in the news May 8-14, 2021
Grouped under headings that include art openings, film, outdoor art fairs and festivals and theater are advances, announcements and articles about the actors, artists, filmmakers and events making news in Southwest Florida this week:
1 FORT MYERS FILM FESTIVAL
The 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival opens May 12 with red carpet gala
The 11th annual Fort Myers Film Festival to be held in person and online May 12-16, 2021 (with other venues, restaurants and private parties to be announced). It all starts with a red carpet gala at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center on May 12, with doors opening at 5:00 for drinks, mingling and musical entertainment. The opening is always heavily attended 
by local and international filmmakers and the actors who bring their vision to life. Tickets are $15 for movie only or $100 for movie and VIP meet and greet. Guests will enjoy fully-stocked bar and a chance to meet with the stars of the evening’s film, other filmmakers and event VIPs. The event will provide the delicious foods and beverages. Watch last year’s video here https://vimeo.com/336103431. To buy tickets go to www.sbdac.com. If you are looking for photos head to www.facebook.com/fortmyersfilmfestival.
Go here for the rest of this advance.
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This year’s Fort Myers Film Festival features 60 films in 7 categories
The Fort Myers Film Festival opens on Wednesday, May 12 with a red carpet gala and the Caytha Jentis comedy Pooling to Paradise. Over the ensuing four days, it will screen 60 fresh international and independent films, with some throwback Florida films featuring cult classics and local filmmakers. The festival closes with the U.S. premier of the lost 1948 film Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, a documentary that chronicles how that film was recovered and restored, and an awards ceremony in the grand atrium of the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 16.
The rest of this announcement is here.
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Firm up your FMFF plans now
Tickets are on sale now for the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival, which will be held at the historic Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center and other select venues May 12-16, 2021, including the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Alliance for the Arts, IMAG History and Science Center and Laboratory Theater of Florida. “We love when local media helps hone focus on specific films as they help us plan our week out a bit better,” notes Founder and FMFF Director Eric Raddatz. Go here for links to all the great pieces in case you’ve missed them.
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A FMFF venue, Lab Theater will screen three films on festival’s final day
The 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival returns to the downtown Fort Myers River District May 12-16. While most of the films will screen in the grand atrium of the historic Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, FMFF will show select films at the Alliance for the Arts, Edison Ford Winter Estates, IMAG History & Science Center and the Laboratory Theater of Florida.
Located at 1634 Woodford Ave, the Laboratory Theater of Florida offers fresh, edgy, award-winning theater, as well as theatrical opportunities and education to playwrights & actors of all ages. It will screen three films on the final day of the film festival, which is Sunday, May 16.
You will find the rest of this announcement here.
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Edison Ford Winter Estates to screen four films during 2021 FMFF
At sunset (8:00ish) on Friday, May 14, the Edison and Ford Winter Estates will host the Fort Myers Film Festival, screening four films on the lawn of the Henry Ford Estate. Seated outdoors along the picturesque Caloosahatchee River, guests will watch movies under the stars. The films will include an Edison silent picture, a production about the late Sam Galloway, and two documentaries, Stay Wild and A Greenlander.
The 
site is one of several locations hosting the Film Festival occurring May 12-16.
The event is fitting since Thomas Edison invented the motion picture camera. His first films were silent, but nonetheless groundbreaking, for the time.
Go here for the balance of this announcement.
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11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival to open with indie comedy ‘Pooling to Paradise’
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Directed by Roxy Shih, the 80-minute feature stars Taryn Manning (Orange Is the New Black, Hustle & Flow), Jonathan Lipnicki (The Resident, Jerry Maguire), Dreama Walker (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Gran Torino), Lynn Chen (Saving Face, Go Back To China) and comedian Jordan Carlos (Broad City, Guy Code, Girl Code).
The film follows four millennial strangers who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Jenny (Lynn Chen), a mom living in Los Angeles with her husband and three kids, is filled with Mommy Angst. She is off to a blogger conference in Vegas to jumpstart her life-after-kids career. Calling 
a ride-share to the airport, she accidentally chooses “pool’ and soon finds herself in a car full of strangers that includes Kara (Dreama Walker), a struggling actress feminist; Sean (Jonathan Lipnicki), a tightly wound, heartbroken talent agent; and, Marc (Jordan Carlos), their driver, a hipster anarchist shaman.
Go here for the rest of this advance.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ screenwriter Caytha Jentis
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Caytha got the idea for the storyline and the characters in a most unusual way. In Los Angeles visiting a girlfriend, the two made plans to meet a mutual guy friend at a casual Italian restaurant. En route, they struck up a conversation with their “young, cute, hipster” Lyft driver and asked him to join them for dinner.
“The dinner conversation flowed,” Caytha recounts. “Over his second slice, our driver with a boyish Cheshire cat smile announced: ‘My friend found love in Paradise!’ He had our attention. We were intrigued – of course. He shared the story of his buddy, who had stupidly cheated on his girlfriend. Unable 
to forgive, she broke up with him and moved back home to Paradise, Nevada. Full of regrets, his friend quit his job in L.A. and moved to Paradise to win her back. Now, a year later, they were getting married. As a hopeful romantic, I was taken by this bittersweet love story, but as a pragmatic (cheerful) nihilist, our driver was unsure if it was actually a good thing. [But] hat night and the Paradise story morphed into this road movie.”
The rest of this profile is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ actor Jonathan Lipnicki
Pooling to Paradise follows four millennial strangers who find themselves in a pooled ride share on their way to Paradise, Nevada. Jonathan Lipnicki plays the part of Sean, a tightly wound, heartbroken talent agent. When we first meet Sean, he’s not just distraught. He’s packing a gun.
At the age of five, Lipnicki received global acclaim as he won the hearts of Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger in the Academy Award-winning film Jerry Maguire. After this breakout role, Jonathan became a widely-recognizable celebrity. His early 
works included starring roles in the films Stuart Little (Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Nathan Lane), Stuart Little 2, the comedy-fantasy Like Mike (Lil’ Bow Wow, Jesse Plemons, Marie Chestnut), and the Little Vampire (Richard E. Grant); as well as series-regular roles on The Jeff Foxworthy Show (as Foxworthy’s youngest child) and Meego. Before the time Jonathan was ten his films had grossed nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars at the box office.
Jonathan’s full profile is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ actor Lynn Chen
Award winning, multi-talented actor Lynn Chen has enjoyed a career spanning more than three decades. She made her debut on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House at the age of five. Since then, she has either starred or appeared in over 60 films, television series, TV movies and video games, and she plays the part of Jenny in Pooling to Paradise – a blogger with Mommy Angst as she contemplates relaunching her career post-kids. In the realm of film, Lynn is something of a fixture at film festivals. In fact, she set an unofficial record at the 28th Annual LAAPFF with 5 concurrent movie roles.
Go here for all of Lynn’s movie, television and video credits.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ actor Dreama Walker
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Dreama Walker plays the part of Kara, a struggling actress. A Tampa native, Walker graduated from Henry B. Plant High School in 2004. She made her screen debut two years later and broke out in the role of Hazel Williams in 14 episodes of Gossip Girl (CW, 2008-2009) as one of Blair Waldorf’s (Leighton Meester) minions. Dreama has been working steadily in both television and film ever since.
Of note, you can see her as Connie Stevens in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), as Clint Eastwood’s granddaughter Ashley Kowalski in Gran Torino and starring opposite Anne Dowd as Becky in the indie break-out thriller Compliance (2012) that premiered at Sundance.
The rest of Dreama’s resume is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ actor Jordan Carlos
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Jordan Carlos plays the part of a Lyft driver by the name of Marc, who is a hipster anarchist shaman.
Jordan Carlos is a popular New York alternative comic who has been nominated as Best Male Comic of the Year by Emerging Comedians of New York. He recently appeared on Samantha Bee’s Not The White House Correspondence Dinner (TBS) and as the ‘nerd’ from Guy Code and Girl Code (MTV).
The rest of Jordan’s resume is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ director Roxy Shih
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Daytime-Emmy-nominated Taiwanese-American Roxy Shih directed the film.
Shih is recognized for her versatility and distinctive perspective, which has enabled her to cross genres as well as international borders when it comes to filmmaking. Her work has been shown at a host of prestigious film festivals including The LA Film Festival, Cannes, SXSW, Toronto Independent, Dances with Films, and the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. Roxy was one of ten chosen for the prestigious Armed With A Camera fellowship in 2011 and received a grant to direct a short film, Play Time, that premiered at the DGA and went on a successful film festival tour internationally.
The rest of Roxy’s profile is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pooling to Paradise’ co-producer Angela Pedraza
Caytha Jentis’ indie comedy Pooling to Paradise will open the 11th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival on Wednesday, May 12. Daytime-Emmy-nominated Taiwanese-American Roxy Shih directed. Jentis and Angela Pedraza co-produced the film.
In addition to producing, Pedraza is a director, writer, story creator, artist and philosopher. She got her start in film as a cinematographer, but in 2017 she made the leap to production with the narrative short film It’s Lawr-uh Not Laura, which she also directed and co-wrote. The film tells the story of a young Latinx teen who is ashamed of her identity and the empowering moment when family, love and photography help her find the treasure that lies within her.
Go here for the rest of this spotlight.
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‘Me Too Nice’ satirizes rules of workplace in post #MeToo world
The Fort Myers Film Festival screens Jamie Anderson’s Me Too Nice at 1:30 on Thursday, May 13. Ask Anderson to describe her filmography, and she’ll unabashedly tell you that she makes “cinematic comedies that range from crass to satirical to romantic, but always with heart.”
Me Too Nice is a case in point.
The film follows Grant (John Asher), an excessively nice Human Resources rep who is struggling to be his true self in the maelstrom of the #MeToo movement. “With all these new rules,” he exclaims, exasperated, “I’m going to need a muzzle and a straightjacket or I’m screwed.”
Go here for the rest of this advance.
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Spotlight on ‘Me Too Nice’ filmmaker Jamie Anderson
The Fort Myers Film Festival screens Jamie Anderson’s Me Too Nice at 1:30 on Thursday, May 13. Anderson is a writer, director, filmmaker and actor living in Los Angeles. Having grown up in Mississippi and Florida, her work is inspired by the paradox of the Redneck Riviera juxtaposed against her life in Hollywood. Both afford a wealth of material that guarantees she’ll never run out of something to write about. Anderson is regarded in the industry as one of the most innovative filmmakers in L.A. today. Viva Glam Magazine has identified her as “The New Female Director to Watch Out For in 2020.” The International Screenwriters Association placed her on its “Top 25 Writers to Watch” list in 2018.
The rest of Jamie’s profile is here.
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‘Me Too Nice’ filmmaker Jamie Anderson did it her way
The Fort Myers Film Festival screens Jamie Anderson’s comedic satire Me Too Nice at 1:30 on Thursday, May 13. Anderson is a writer, director, filmmaker and actor living in Los Angeles. She is regarded as one of the most innovative filmmakers in L.A. today, and perhaps there is no greater testament to her creative elan and pop culture sensibilities than the work she did this past summer in penning and directing the first commercial ever released by Craig’s Vegan, a dairy-free ice cream available inside and out of Craig’s West Hollywood.
The rest of this story is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Me Too Nice’ star John Asher
The Fort Myers Film Festival screens Jamie Anderson’s Me Too Nice at 1:30 on Thursday, May 13. The film follows Grant (John Asher), an excessively nice Human Resources rep who is struggling to be his true self in the maelstrom of the #MeToo movement. “With all these new rules,” he exclaims, exasperated, “I’m going to need a muzzle and a straightjacket or I’m screwed.”
Asher always wanted to be a director, but since children don’t have many directing opportunities, John became an actor early on. He’s been in numerous television series dating back to 1990, when he appeared in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. He’s best known for Weird Science, where he appeared in 88 episodes between 1994 
and 1998. But he has also been seen in Over My Dead Body (1990), Married … with Children (1991), Designing Women (1991), Who’s the Boss? (1991), Step by Step (1992), Great Scott! (1992), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993), Up All Night (1994), Going to California (2001-2002), Las Vegas (2004), NCIS (2007), CSI: Crime Scene Investigations (2007), Ghost Whisperer (2010), In Plain Sight (2011), The Mentalist (2012), Rizzoli & Isles (2016), Blue Bloods (2018), Grace and Frankie (2019) and The Rookie (2019).
Go here for the rest of John’s profile.
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Spotlight on ‘Me Too Nice’ receptionist Bree Turner
Bree Turner plays receptionist Jenny in Jamie Anderson’s #MeToo satire Me Too Nice, which screens in the Awesome Short 1 block on Thursday, May 13 at the Fort Myers Film Festival. In addition to Me Too Nice, Turner spent the pandemic appearing as Ashland/Zelda in four episodes of the hit television series Quarantine and in the role of Madeline Cooper in the TV movie Glass Houses. She is most often associated with the Grimm brand, having appeared as Rosalee Calvert in 100 episodes of the television series Grimm (2012-2017) as well as the TV mini-series short Grimm: Love is in the Air (2014) and Grimm: Bad Hair Day (2013).
You will find the rest of Bree’s profile here.
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Spotlight on ‘Me Too Nice’ actor Aaron Takahashi
The Fort Myers Film Festival screens Jamie Anderson’s Me Too Nice at 1:30 on Thursday, May 13.
The film follows Grant (John Asher), an excessively nice Human Resources rep who is struggling to be his true self in the maelstrom of the #MeToo movement. Aaron Takahashi plays Grant’s co-worker and best friend, Lars.
Takahashi is best known for his roles as the male nurse Lee in the 2008 film Yes Man (opposite Jim Carrey), as Troy in the 2013 film Welcome to the Jungle (opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme), and one of the fake groomsmen in The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hart (2015).
The rest of Aaron’s profile is here.
‘Under the Influence’ depicts 6 NY millennials on day social media collapses
At 3:30 on Thursday, May 13 in the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, the Fort Myers Film Festival will screen Under the Influence. The pilot for a television series, Under the Influence tells the story of six connected New York millennials on the day social media collapses.
The dramedy 
was written, produced, and stars Tara Llewellyn. She plays the lead, a character by the name of Chloe Kendrick. Chloe quits her corporate job to become a full-time social media influencer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for Chloe to realize the ramifications of resting your livelihood on the shoulders of the internet.
The rest of this preview is here.
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‘Bachelors of Broken Hill Farm’ an award-winning LGBTQ historical documentary
One of the films that will be shown by the Fort Myers Film Festival this year is Erika Yeomans’ award-winning LGBTQ historical documentary The Bachelors of Broken Hill Farm, which is based on the lives of Golden Era radio actors and writers Frank Provo and John Pickard. It screens at 4:30 p.m. on May 13 at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center and at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 16 at the Laboratory Theater of Florida.
The Bachelors of Broken Hill Farm is the true life soap opera of actors, writers and gentleman farmers Frank Provo and John Pickard. In the early 1930s, they fell in love while working on a radio program in San Francisco and went on to become a successful writing team for various 
radio and television programs (Wendy Warren and the News, Young Dr. Malone, From These Roots, Love of Life). In this documentary, there are no talking heads. The script is based entirely on letters, interviews and the diaries of Frank, John, their actor friends and family.
Their voices are brought to life by professional actors.
The rest of this preview is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Pose Down’ and ‘Bachelors of Broken Hills Farm’ filmmaker Erika Yeomans
Erika Yeomans has two films in the Fort Myers Film Festival. The first is the throwback feature Pose Down, a film about accepting your actions and facing your past. The second is The Bachelors of Broken Hill Farm, a stylized archival documentary about forbidden love and a life devoted to the arts.
Over the years, Erika Yeomans has created an extensive body of work in theater, mixed media and film.
The rest of this profile can be found here.
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Fort Myers Film Festival screening John Biffar’s ‘Captiva Island’ on Throwback Thursday
The Fort Myers Film Festival returns to the River District May 12-16 and this year it will feature a “new” category of indie, the “throwback.” And one that’s certain to excite many locals is John Biffar’s Captiva Island, which he debuted in 1995.
In case the name John Biffar is not familiar, over the course of his career as a filmmaker (he’s been a producer, director, screenwriter and cinematographer) he has directed such notable talent as Don Shula (former coach of the Miami Dolphins), Helio Castroneves (Indy Car Champion and Dancing with the Stars Mirror Ball winner), Ernest Borgine (McHales Navy), Arte Johnson (Laugh In), Norma Miller (The Queen of Swing), Bill Cobbs (Night At The Museum, Northern Exposure) Ali MacGraw (Love Story), news legend Walter Cronkite, Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill and Jacques Cousteau.
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‘A Greenlander’ follows French painter Pierre Auzias
Screening at multiple times and venues during this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival is A Greenlander from Director Nicholas Jones. A Greenlander follows Pierre A.C. Auzias, a French painter who has fully integrated into a settlement 450 miles north of the arctic circle in Greenland known as Uummaanaq. Pierre speaks Greenlandic, travels by dog sled and teaches art therapy to neglected children. But after 14 years in Greenland, Pierre’s partner, Annie, retires from her position as the town doctor and returns to France. Pierre then spends an agonizing nine months in limbo, 
waiting to find out if the Danish authorities will grant him citizenship.
Auzias is a world-renowned artist, illustrator, teacher and navigator.
The rest of this preview can be found here.
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‘Eternal Vigilance’ showcases fight to protect and restore Estero Bay and its tributaries
Eternal Vigilance: Fighting to Restore the Estero Bay Tributaries is one of the environmentally-themed films that will be shown this year by the Fort Myers Film Festival. The 25-minute film showcases the imperiled status of Estero Bay and its nine tributaries and the people who have been working to preserve and restore these vital waterways over the 
last 30 years. The documentary was made possible by a grant from the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership (CHNEP) and in partnership with Cat Chase Productions.
KC Schulberg played an instrumental role in the film’s development.
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‘Marjory’ tells the story of the epic life of conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Each year the Fort Myers Film Festival screens a host of environmental features, documentaries and short films. Included in this year’s offerings is Kaman Sway’s Marjory. Through the film, Sway tells the story of the epic life of American journalist, author, women’s suffrage advocate and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Today, Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ name is regrettably associated with the mass shooting at the high school in Parkland, Florida that bears her name. But that was not always the case. For nearly three-quarters of a century, Stoneman Douglas was affectionately known as the Mother of the Everglades and her name stood for conservation and protection of the Sea of Grasses.
The rest of this preview is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Marjory’ screenwriter and director Kamen Sway
Each year the Fort Myers Film Festival screens a host of environmental features, documentaries and short films. Included in this year’s offerings is Kaman Sway’s Marjory, which briefly tells the story of the epic life of American journalist, author, women’s suffrage advocate and conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who was known for her staunch defense of the Florida Everglades River of Grass.
Sway is a passionate and skillful visual and narrative storyteller. He synthesizes his unique cinematic style and more 
than 25 years of experience in front of and behind the camera to move, awe and dazzle audiences across the globe through the universal language of cinema.
Kamen has written, directed, edited, starred in and produced various short films, TV commercials/infomercials and two narrative feature films.
The rest of Kamen’s spotlight is here.
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‘Barbara Crites: Snorkeling St. John’ tells story of woman photographing the seas
One of the environmental films that’s being screened this year by the Fort Myers Film Festival is Barbara Crites: Snorkeling St. John, USVI by Andrea E. Leland. The film follows Barbara Crites, who has been documenting life in the seas surrounding St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the past decade.
Ten years ago, Barbara Crites came to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a job. Although she’d both flown and jumped out of airplanes, she did not consider herself adventurous, and she certainly did not see herself as a water person. But when in St. John, you snorkel, so she bought the best equipment she could find and took to the water.
You will find the rest of this advance here.
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‘Stay Wild’ focuses on expanding national parks to provide wildlife corridors
Two of the environmental films that will be screened at this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival involve the importance of wildlife corridors that connect adjacently located habitats. One is The Wild Divide; the other is Stay Wild by Lizzie Fowler.
Stay Wild centers around ecologist Melissa Wilson, who has spent 
the past decade analyzing how expanding national parks and connecting them through recreational trails could help sequester carbon and provide wildlife corridors.
“I save wild places for wild people,” Wilson sums up succinctly. “My research focuses on two primary areas: 
saving large wild landscapes and building the human-nature connection.”
In 2017, Wilson heard “Conservacion Patagonica” speak about connecting the national parks in Chile at a conference at Duke University.
Go here for the balance of this preview.
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‘Fisher’s Right to Know’ hopes to foster care and concern for environment
Among the environmentally-themed films that the Fort Myers Film Festival will screen this year is John Haley’s A Fisher’s Right to Know.
Fishers throughout East Alabama depend on the mighty Coosa River for food, recreation and a family pastime that goes back generations. But do fishermen and women — and their families — have a right to know 
which fish are safe to consume? Not currently in Alabama, the River State. Coosa Riverkeeper and other advocates are working to give fishers across the entire state that right.
Go here for the rest of this preview.
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Spotlight on ‘Fisher’s Right to Know’ documentary filmmaker John Haley
Among the environmentally-themed films that the Fort Myers Film Festival will screen this year is John Haley’s A Fisher’s Right to Know.
Haley is a Minnesota filmmaker who has an interest in the intersection of documentary film with social advocacy. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s programs in Film, Television, and Theatre and 
Peace Studies, John has worked with organizations such as CBS News and Art Works Projects to develop his media practice. He is currently an MFA Candidate in Documentary Media at Northwestern University.
John has independently directed several short films with topics ranging from the death penalty in America to LGBTQ+ identity within the Catholic Church.
The rest of this spotlight is here.
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The intriguing true-life etiology of ‘A Case of Blue’
One of the feature films being screened this year by the Fort Myers Film Festival is A Case of Blue. The film follows a recently-retired baby boomer as he experiences a journey of the soul after he encounters a woman who looks identical to a long lost love from his youth in a life drawing class in New York City. What ensues is a haunting tale of lost love, the impermanence of memories, and the enduring flame of passion through time.
Written and directed by Dana H. Glazer, the film has an intriguing etiology.
Access the balance of this advance here.
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Spotlight on ‘A Case of Blue’ actor Stephen Schnetzer
One of the feature films being screened this year by the Fort Myers Film Festival is A Case of Blue, in which a recently-retired baby boomer experiences a journey of the soul when he signs up for a life drawing class in New York City and encounters the class’s free-spirited model, who looks identical to a long-lost love from his youth. Stephen Schnetzer stars in the role of retired accountant Richard Flicker.
Schnetzer began his acting career on Guiding Light in 1952. A Case of Blue is just the latest role in a long line of television and film appearances.
The rest of Schnetzer’s profile is here.
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Spotlight on ‘A Case of Blue’ actor Annapurna Sriram
One of the feature films being screened this year by the Fort Myers Film Festival is A Case of Blue, in which a recently-retired baby boomer experiences a journey of the soul when he signs up for a life drawing class in New York City and encounters the class’s free-spirited model, who looks identical to a long-lost love from his youth. Annapurna Sriram stars in the role of that free-spirited muse, Amelia.
Sriram is a relative newcomer to narrative features. Her performance as Yazmine in the 2019 film Feral was her first lead in a narrative feature film, and after its premiere at the Sarasota Film Festival, the film was featured at the Sidewalk Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Bushwick Festival (where she won the Outstanding Performance Award), and The Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema World Film Festival.
The rest of Annapurna’s profile is here.
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Fort Myers’ love affair with Edison films dates back to 1908
At sunset (8:00ish) on Friday, May 14, the Edison and Ford Winter Estates will host the Fort Myers Film Festival, screening four films on the lawn of the Henry Ford Estate. Seated outdoors along the picturesque Caloosahatchee River, guests will watch movies under the stars. The films will include an Edison silent picture, a production about the late Sam Galloway, and two feature films, Stay Wild and A Greenlander. The site is one 
of several locations hosting the Film Festival occurring May 12-16.
It’s an appropriate partnership given Fort Myers’ long love affair with pictorial storytelling and the man who invented much of the technology that made filmmaking possible.
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Spotlight on ‘Preservation Forever’ filmmaker Ilene Safron Whitesman
Screening on Friday night, May 14, on the lawn outside Henry Ford’s home at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates is Ilene Safron Whiteman’s latest documentary, Preservation Forever. The 10-minute film looks back at the history of preserving the Edison & Ford Winter Estates through the eyes of Sam Galloway, Jr. Safron Whitesman is one of Fort Myers’ best and most recognizable videographers and photographers. Go here to read about how she got started and all that she’s done in and for Fort Myers, the town she’s adopted and now calls her own.
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‘Every Second Counts’ features local actors and locations
One of the strictly local short films in this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival is Jeff Frey’s Every Second Counts. A story about people who become intertwined without being conscious of their connection, on a grand scale the film asks whether a second can change someone’s life forever or we’re destined to fall into the same addictions no matter 
what.
Frey (2nd image) both wrote and directed the film. It’s his fifth project. His others consist of the 2020 short film The Bartender’s Guide (in which he also plays a bartender), the 2020 drama A Summer to Remember (which he produced and plays the part of Don Jamison), the 2019 short A Related Matter (which he directed and played the role of James Founder) and the 2019 short film Retentissant (which he directed and produced).
Go here for the rest of this advance.
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Cassidy Reyes plays recovering heroin addict in ‘Every Second Counts’ short film
One of the strictly local short films in this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival is Jeff Frey’s Every Second Counts. It’s a story about people who become intertwined without being conscious of their connection. On a grand scale, the film asks whether a second can change someone’s life forever or we’re destined to fall into the same addictions no matter what.
Cassidy Reyes plays the lead. Her character is a recovering heroin addict who is looking for a job as she tries to restore normalcy to her shattered life.
“Usually, I have some kind of life experiences in common with the characters I play,” says Reyes.
Fortunately, she has no first-hand experience with heroin addiction.
“But I was lucky enough to have an assistant director who’s known some recovering addicts and she reached out to them for guidance.”
Go here for the rest of this article.
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Spotlight on ‘Every Second Counts’ actor Jewelissa Gonzalez
Jewelissa Gonzalez is one of the actors in the cast of Jeff Frey’s Every Second Counts. She plays the role of Laura.
Gonzalez is a relative newcomer to the film acting. Although she studied drama in high school at Manhattan’s Graphics Communication Arts, she didn’t land her first role until after she relocated to Southwest Florida. That occurred when local filmmaker Curtis Collins cast her in the part of Rebecca in Hanging Millstone.
Not long after, she got a call from HBO, which was producing an original series called Ballers. While it wasn’t a speaking part, the experience exposed Jewelissa to A-List celebrities and validated her desire to establish a career in film.
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Isaac Osin film, ’22 Every Day,’ portrays day in the life of combat vet coping with PTSD
One of the short films that will be screened during this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival is Isaac Osin’s 22 Every Day. The movie follows a military combat veteran as he goes about his daily routine, showing how he relives his experiences during the war years later.
With the war in Afghanistan coming to end this Fall, there is renewed interest in how a new generation of combat veterans will deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the aftermath of 20 years of armed conflict. But tens of thousands of Vietnam combat vets are still grappling with PTSD nearly half a century after that war ended.
The rest of this advance is here.
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Chance meeting at the Alliance leads to the filming of ’22 Every Day’
One of the short films that will be screened during this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival is 22 Every Day. The movie follows a military combat veteran as he goes about his daily routine, showing how he still relives his experiences during the war many years later. But for a chance meeting, though, 22 Every Day may have very well have never been made.
“I met Dr. Joe Reyes at the Alliance for the Arts and he mentioned he was president of United Film & Television Artists,” Osin relates.
The rest of this story is here.
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Maryann Connolly sighting
Isaac Osin’s short drama screens during the Fort Myers Film Festival. Drawing attention to the struggles of combat vets coping with PTSD, the film features three former military people, Richard Bowers, Paul Croteau and Pedro De Armas, along with Joann Dinnen and Maryann Connolly.
“Maryann Connolly is a granddaughter of one of the veterans. You only really see her in photographs, and then she makes a phone call,” Osin notes.
“She’s a professional. She’s great.”
Connolly is singer, 
songwriter, model and stage and film actor. Her stage credits are impressive and growing all the time. She is also no stranger to advocacy and activism. Her cause is bullying. As a Star Champion for the National Organization Champions Against Bullying, Maryann travels across the country promoting her cause to put an end to bullying with her music. In this effort, she has worked on a global project called Fashion Against 
Bullying or FAB. Maryann was also on the Teen Advisory Board for Make A Wish.
For more on Ms. Connolly, go here.
22 Every Day will actually screen twice during this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival. It is part of Local Shorts Block 1 that begins at noon on Saturday, Mary 15 in the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center (along with Jeff Frey’s Every Second Counts, Prometheus Bound by Maddalena Kingsley, The Knife by Karen Whitaker and J. Bert Davis, and Waiting for Me by Glendalina Ziemba). And it will be shown a second time at the Laboratory Theater of Florida at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 16.
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In ‘Waiting for Me,’ trans woman realizes she’s already the woman she’s waiting to become
Waiting for Me is one of the films that will be screened by the Fort Myers Film Festival during Local Block 1 at noon on Saturday, May 15 in the historic Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Written and directed by and co-starring Glendalina Ziemba, the 12 minute short revolves around a transgender woman as she meditates on being a woman and envisions a time
in her life when she will become a complete woman. Her puppet friend, Diane’s sandwich antics are juxtaposed against the woman’s idleness in prayer leading to the ultimate realization that she is already the woman she’s been waiting to become.
The rest of this preview is here.
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‘Hot Dog Steering Wheel’ about hot dogs, family and the grieving process
The Fort Myers Film Festival is screening Meg Favreau’s film Hot Dog Steering Wheel on Saturday, May 15. Meg describes herself as an absurdist comedian grounded in emotion, and her film is about hot dogs, family and the grieving process as Gwen discovers when her hot dog drive does not go as planned.
“I believe life is both absurdly funny and brutally difficult — often at the same time,” says Meg. “The films that really delight me build surprising, humorous, off-kilter worlds, then tell deeply human stories in those spaces. That was my goal with Hot Dog Steering Wheel — to cross tone and genre to tell a story that’s simultaneously absurd and cathartic.”
The rest of this preview is here.
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‘Now You See Us’ parodies invisibility of ageism in modern-day society
Now You See Us is one of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival is screening this year. The film features an all-female cast and crew.
The short opens with a sixty-something actress by the name of Caroline (Caroline Ryburn) repeating her peculiar pre-audition routine for the thousandth time when suddenly the door to the minuscule waiting area opens. In enters not the casting director, but her career-long rival, Barb (Barbara Miluski). The catty hopefuls wait, bicker, rehearse, then bicker some more… Finally they are ushered into an equally dreary and horrendously stuffy casting room.
The rest of this advance is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Now You See Us’ director and editor Romina Schwedler
Now You See Us is one of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival is screening this year. Romina Schwedler not only directed and edited the film, she adapted the screenplay from a play titled Boom that was written by one of the film’s stars, Barbara Miluski.
Schwedler read Miluski’s script and fell in love with the story while she was in the final stages of an intensive festival run with The Visit, a psychological short drama starring Academy Award® Nominee June Squibb (Nebraska, Shameless) and Sean Maher (Serenity, Firefly). The Visit not only gained entry into 47 film festivals (among them Oscar® Qualifying 
HollyShorts, Cinequest, and St. Louis International Film Festival, as well as the SAG-AFTRA Short Film Showcase and Catalina Film Festival), it earned 12 awards, 16 nominations, and 5 special mentions (including the Millie Award for Best Director, Best Short Film, and Best Overall Festival Film).
In fact, the Fort Myers Film Festival was among those 47 festivals for which The Visit became an official selection.
Go here for more on Romina Schwedler’s extensive acting and direction credits.
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Spotlight on ‘Now You See Us’ actor Barbara Miluski
Now You See Us is one of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival is screening this year. Romina Schwedler directed, edited and adapted the screenplay from a play titled Boom that was written by one of the film’s stars, Barbara Miluski.
In addition to Now You See Us, Miluski’s film credits include Dr. Fish in the short film Her Favorite Patient (2020), a waitress in the short Sure-Fire (2017), a cook in the 
short The Foster Portfolio (2017), Wake (2015), Sandy in the short What’s Eating Dad (2014), Vi/South in the short Super Grannies Bridge Club (2013), Babs in the short Walkie Buddies (2013) …. Go here for more on Barbara’s film and other credits.
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Spotlight on ‘Now You See Us’ actor Caroline Ryburn
Now You See Us is one of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival is screening this year. It stars Barbara Miluski and Caroline Ryburn.
Caroline Ryburn is known for her work in both theater and film.
Besides Now You See Us, her film and TV credits include the role of Max’s mom in two episodes of the TV Mini-Series Life Sucks (2018), 
Edweenie in Lords of the Bowery (2018) and Jane Farnsworth in Finding Jane. Caroline will also be seen as Iris in Mouse (a psychological thriller that is expected to be released and begin its film festival run in 2021) and Gisele in the short film Rivka? (which is in post-production). The rest of Caroline’s film and other credits are here.
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‘About Frances’ examines the act of storytelling in face of a slippery truth
Filmmaker and FMFF alum Jordan Axelrod is back. This year the Fort Myers Film Festival screens his latest short, a 20-minute character study titled About Frances that tracks two parallel storylines.
In the first, the ghostwriter of a family matriarch’s memoirs aims to protect the unexpected story she left behind. In the second plotline, a street performer on the other side of the city who is in search of an audience tinkers hopefully with a new song.
Go here for the rest of this advance.
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‘Open House 1-4’ satirizes social class, ethnic profiling
After previewing earlier this year at TGIM (Thank God for Indie Monday), Open House 1-4 returns to the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center’s grand atrium for the big show, the Fort Myers Film Festival itself. It’s a venue in which the film’s snooty realtor (played by Tanya Christiansen) would feel right at home. Shot on location in a swanky million dollar mansion down Tamiami Trail in Naples, Florida, Open House 1-4 satirizes social class, ethnic profiling and making assumptions based solely on the presence (or absence) of the trappings of success.
The rest of this preview is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Open House’ star Tanya Christiansen
One of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival will be screening this year is Open House 1-4 by Naples-based screenwriter and director Brad Holloway. It follows a snooty realtor specializing in high-end residential properties who uses a combination of upper class and ethnic profiling to “pre-qualify” the prospective buyers who show up at her open houses. Tanya Christiansen stars in the role of the impertinent realtor.
The Tennessee native began her acting career on stage doing local theater. Following her graduation from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Consumer Sciences, she landed an on-air job as host for a home shopping channel selling everything from jewelry to exercise equipment and clothing. 
Christiansen credits the job with not only making her comfortable in front of the camera, but giving her the opportunity to fine-tune her improvisational skills.
National commercials, television pilots, and feature films soon followed.
The rest of Tanya Christiansen’s spotlight is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Open House’ actor Chellie Garcia
One of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival will be screening this year is Open House 1-4 by Naples-based screenwriter and director Brad Holloway. It follows a snooty realtor who specializes in high-end residential properties who uses a combination of upper class and ethnic profiling to “pre-qualify” the prospective buyers who show up at her open houses. So when a Cubano couple arrive, music blaring, in sedan with no hubcaps, Ms. Pretentious cannot get rid of them fast enough. Chellie Garcia plays the Latina wife.
Garcia is a Cuban-
American actor, singer and songwriter. Chellie started performing live shows at age five, fronting bands made-up of some of Miami’s best professional musicians. Introduced to theatre at eleven, she fell in love and quickly began performing across New York City with a local drama company. Before she knew it, Chellie found herself hanging out on television show sets such as NBCs Third Watch and Whoopi.
Chellie has played a diverse range of characters, effortlessly, landing roles in a number of music videos, TV pilots (such as David Rush Firm (2020)) and commercials.
The rest of this spotlight is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Open House’ actor Donna Rae Allen
One of the short films that the Fort Myers Film Festival will be screening this year is Open House 1-4 by Naples-based screenwriter and director Brad Holloway. It follows a snooty realtor specializing in high-end residential properties who uses a combination of upper class and ethnic profiling to “pre-qualify” the prospective buyers who show up at her open houses. One of the characters who makes the grade is the Wealthy Wife, played by Donna Rae Allen.
Allen has enjoyed a successful career in the entertainment business, 
working in movies, television, industrial films, and commercials in the 1980s-1990s. She was most noted for her role as Winona Donnelly in Dick Wolf’s television series South Beach (1992). Donna was also cast as a principal in several national advertising campaigns, including Proctor & Gamble’s Febreze, Lipton mini-meals, Royal Caribbean, Sea-Doo and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
The rest of Donna Rae Allen’s profile is here.
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‘The Wild Divide’ underscores need for large-scale habitat connectivity
Each year, the Florida Film Festival features documentaries that explore environmental themes and educate its audiences on a range of ecological issues. The Wild Divide is one such film. It is characterized by breathtaking macro and micro cinematography, exceptional production value and considered and thought-provoking content.
The Lake Wales Ridge is an ancient ribbon of sand dunes that is a hotspot for biodiversity found nowhere else in the world. It is also a place steeped in a long tradition of ranching and agriculture. Both are threatened by the rapid pace of development in Florida’s interior, which is facilitated by U.S. 27, a 
highway that bisects and is pushing the Florida Wildlife Corridor to the breaking point.
You will find the rest of this preview here.
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Spotlight on ‘The Wild Divide’ filmmakers Eric Bendick and Danny Schmidt
The Fort Myers Film Festival will screen The Wild Divide in the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center during Local Block 2 beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 15. Directed by Eric Bendick and Danny Schmidt, The Wild Divide is denoted by exceptional production value (including breathtaking macro and micro cinematography and crystal clear studio-quality sound) and considered, thought-provoking 
content that makes a strong argument for preserving and protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Eric Bendick is an Emmy-winning writer, director and series producer. He has led filming expeditions in the Florida Everglades, the Grand Canyon, the Great Bear Rainforest, the Alaska Range, and to the most remote spot in Yellowstone National Park.
The rest of this spotlight is here.
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‘Pose Down’ deals with issues shared by women struggling for independence and identity
Erika Yeomans’ first indie feature Pose Down was shot in Fort Myers in 2006 with a mostly local cast. It is being shown as one of this year’s throwback indies at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 15 in the historic Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center.
Pose Down is a dark comedy set in Southwest Florida that revolves around three former high school classmates, a bodybuilder, a good ol’ boy and the homecoming queen. Years later, their lives become unexpectedly entangled after a tabloid news program is aired.
Go here for the rest of this preview.
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‘The Knife’ is a ‘strictly local’ Fort Myers Film Festival ‘throwback’
The Fort Myers Film Festival has added a new category of films this year. The festival is featuring a number of “Throwbacks,” such as The Knife, a 2011 short film written, directed and produced by Karen Whitaker and J. Bert Davis whose sequel once removed, Ring, was FMFF’s “Audience Favorite Film” in 2016.
In The Knife, Stephanie thinks her husband is cheating on her with her bestie, Karen. That night, Stephanie and Terry attend a party at Karen’s house.
The rest of this post is here.
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‘The Knife’ may have inspired Stephanie Davis to go into directing
When Karen Whitaker and Bert Davis decided to make their first film, they made the tactical decision to only invite friends who had no acting experience whatsoever to be part of the cast. “We’re so bad that we’re good” was their governing mantra. But they made on important exception. They brought in the Downtown Diva, to anchor their cast. By 2011, the ineffable Stephanie Davis had already left her imprint on the local theater scene.
The fact that Davis would make any impact in theater here, or anywhere, seems in retrospect to be highly unlikely. After all, she never made it past the eighth grade.
The rest of this story is here.
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Terry Tincher’s role in ‘The Knife’ presaged Ghostbird stage appearances
There’s a reunion coming to the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center on Saturday, May 15. At 10:00 p.m., the Fort Myers Film Festival is bringing back The Knife, the seminal short film by which Karen Whitaker and J. Bert Davis cut their filmmaking teeth. And one of the stars of that flick was Terry Tincher, who plays a husband who may be stepping out on his wife, played by Diva Diaries’ Stephanie Davis.
Tincher has been a fixture in Southwest Florida art circles for more than 30 years. Besides representing collectors on both sides of the sales transaction, Terry founded Tincture Art Gallery and Space 39, unquestionably the coolest art bar in downtown Fort Myers.
The rest of this article is here.
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‘The New Abolitionists’ more than a passion project for filmmaker Christina Zorich
Actor/director Christina Zorich’s sex trafficking documentary, The New Abolitionists, screens at the Fort Myers Film Festival at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 16. It’s an important film that tracks the efforts of four ministries and related NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to rescue children and teens who have been entrapped and enslaved in the sex trade in Cambodia and Thailand. With over 11 million sex slaves, Asia is considered the most trafficked region in the world.
The documentary puts boots on the ground in spite of the risk to both the filmmakers and the members of the NGOs they followed. In fact, Zorich’s mother, Olympia Dukakis, warned her at the outset of the project to protect herself.
You will find the rest of this advance here.
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Spotlight on ‘The New Abolitionists’ filmmaker Christina Zorich
Actor/director Christina Zorich’s sex trafficking documentary, The New Abolitionists, screens at the Fort Myers Film Festival at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 16. It’s an important film that tracks the efforts of four ministries and related NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to rescue children and teens who have been entrapped and enslaved in the sex trade in Cambodia and Thailand.
The rest of Christina’s spotlight is here.
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Numerous SWFL groups battling human trafficking
Actor/director Christina Zorich’s sex trafficking documentary, The New Abolitionists, screens at the Fort Myers Film Festival at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 16. It’s an important film that tracks the efforts of four ministries and related NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to rescue children and teens who have been entrapped and enslaved in the sex trade in Cambodia and Thailand.
But human trafficking is a global phenomenon, and trafficking of all forms, including but not limited to labor and sex, is present in great numbers here in Florida.
In fact, last year Florida ranked third nationally when it comes to human trafficking cases.
Go here for the balance of this expose.
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FMFF announces ‘Lost Film of Nuremberg’ documentary as closing film
On November 20, 1945, an international military tribunal was convened for the purpose of putting more than 20 high Nazi officials, including 4 members of the Armed Forces High Command, on trial for war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity. Today, it is known as “the Nuremberg trial” and it represented the first time in history that film and photographs were employed as evidence against defendants. At the same time, the lead prosecutor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, wanted a film made documenting the trial in order to show the German public that their leaders had been given a fair trial and had, essentially, convicted themselves. He also envisioned that the film would provide an enduring lesson for posterity. 
But the United States War Department suppressed the film’s U.S. release, presumably because it would undermine public support for rebuilding Germany and combatting Soviet expansionism. That film has now been restored and will be shown for the very first time in the United States on the closing day of this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival.
Please go here for the rest of this advance.
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Saga of Schulberg and Zigman’s Nuremberg trial documentary
The 1948 film Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today will be screened for the very first time in the United States at the Fort Myers Film Festival. Although Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson expected the film to provide an enduring lesson for posterity, the U.S. War Department suppressed the film’s release. Now, 73 years later, cineastes attending the final day of this year’s FMFF will finally get to see the film that documented the prosecution of more than 20 high Nazi officials (including four members of the Nazi High Command) using original footage compiled by Joseph Goebbels’ Reich Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment documenting the rise of the National Socialist Party as well as the concentration camps created to exterminate Jews, homosexuals and others deemed undesirable by the Reich.
The rest of this preview is here.
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The Nuremberg Trial defendants
On Sunday, May 16, the Fort Myers Film Festival will screen Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today. Made between 1946 and 1948, the documentary chronicles the 11-month-long Nuremberg trial that ended October 1, 1946.
Memories fade with the passage of time, so it is worthwhile recalling who the defendants were and why they were on trial. Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler were not among those under indictment. They had committed suicide in the waning days of World War II. But more than 20 high-level Nazi officials sat in the Nuremberg courtroom. These were the most notorious of the defendants:
Hermann Goering- Ernst Kaltenbrunner
- Alfred Rosenberg
- Joachim Von Ribbentrop
- Hans Frank
- Rudolf Hess
- Albert Speer
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SWFL filmmaker KC Schulberg to receive lifetime achievement award at FMFF
The Fort Myers Film Festival will award Southwest Florida filmmaker KC Schulberg with a lifetime achievement award on the final day of this year’s festival during the awards ceremony that will follow the screening of The Lost Film of Nuremberg and the ensuing filmmakers’ panel discussion about the importance of film in the Nuremberg trials and its relevance today.
Schulberg got his start in film at the age of five when he appeared as an extra in his father’s and uncle’s 1958 movie Wind Across the Everglades (which was shot in Chokoloskee). Eleven years later, he got his start in social activism as the youngest (16-year-old) marshal serving the Poor People’s Campaign & March on Washington in 1968.
Go here for the rest of this announcement.
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FMFF announces panelists for final day of discussion about importance of film
This year’s Fort Myers Film Festival opens May 12 with a red carpet gala and the screening of the Caytha Jentis comedy Pooling to Paradise and closes with an awards ceremony on Sunday, May 16 that takes place in the grand atrium of the historic Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Before the awards ceremony there will be a panel, free to the public, that has been organized to discuss the importance and power of filmmaking in addition to truth in storytelling and media coverage.
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2 BONITA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Bonita International Film Festival takes place May 21-23, 2021
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with Paint, a dramedy about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Josh Caras (The Highwaymen, The Glass Castle), Olivia Luccardi (Channel Zero: 
Butcher’s Block, It Follows) and Paul Cooper (The Gifted, Westworld).
Over the next two days, BIFF will present more than 60 carefully-curated narrative, documentary, animation and short films from around the world.
The rest of this announcement is here.
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BIFF 2021 opens May 21 with ‘Paint’ and NightBird
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with Paint, a dramedy about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while 
trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Josh Caras (The Highwaymen, The Glass Castle), Olivia Luccardi (Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block, It Follows) and Paul 
Cooper (The Gifted, Westworld).
Prior to the screening, there will be a cocktail reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres beginning at 5:00 p.m. Then NightBird takes the stage at 8:00 p.m. to regale filmmakers, cineastes, art lovers and those who just love soulful rock ‘n roll with covers from Steve Nicks ranging from her early career with Fleetwood Mac into anthology as a solo artist.
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‘Paint’ follows three aspiring Brooklyn artists who dare to dream
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with a 5:00 p.m. cocktail part, Paint and a concert by the Stevie Nicks concert band NightBird.
Paint is a 
character-driven dramedy about three young artists living in Brooklyn. A year out of art school, they are not only trying to make it in the art world, they’re trying to figure out who they are and what they need and want.
Each aspiring artist has their heart set on achieving success in the New York art world. (Cue up Old Blue Eyes …. Because if “I can make it there, I can make it anywhere, New York, New York”).But their trajectory is as unexpected and distinct as a Bob Rauschenberg Combine or Warhol silkscreen.
You will find the rest of this preview here.
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Spotlight on ‘Paint’ actor Olivia Luccardi
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with a 5:00 p.m. cocktail part, Paint and a concert by the Stevie Nicks concert band NightBird.
Paint is a dramedy about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Josh Caras (The Highwaymen, The Glass Castle), Paul Cooper (The Gifted, Westworld) and Olivia Luccardi.
The rest of Olivia’s spotlight is here.
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Spotlight on ‘Paint’ actor Josh Caras
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with a 5:00 p.m. cocktail part, Paint and a concert by the Stevie Nicks concert band NightBird.
Paint is a dramedy about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Paul Cooper (The Gifted, Westworld), Olivia Luccardi (Money Monster, Orange is the New Black) and Josh Caras, who plays the part of Dan Pierson.
More on Josh Caras can be found here.
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Spotlight on ‘Paint’ actor Paul Cooper
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with a 5:00 p.m. cocktail part, Paint and a concert by the Stevie Nicks concert band NightBird.
Paint is a dramedy about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Josh Caras (Good Boys, The Highwayman, The Glass Castle), Olivia Luccardi (Money Monster, Orange is the New Black) and Paul Cooper, who plays the part of Quinn Donahue. He also played that role in the eponymous TV movie too.
Go here for the rest of this spotlight.
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Spotlight on ‘Paint’ actor Amy Hargreaves
The Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) opens Friday, May 21 with a 5:00 p.m. cocktail part, Paint and a concert by the Stevie Nicks concert band NightBird.
Paint is a dramedy 
about three friends from art school who are struggling to start their careers in the bizarre New York City art world while trying to figure themselves out and get by economically. Written and directed by Michael Walker, the film stars Josh Caras (Good Boys, The Highwayman, The Glass Castle), Olivia Luccardi (Money Monster, Orange is the New Black), Paul Cooper and Amy Hargreaves.
Go here for the rest of this spotlight.
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‘The Wild Divide’ underscores need for large-scale habitat connectivity
This year’s Bonita International Film Festival (BIFF) will screen two packages of short films. One of the films included in Shorts Package 2 is The Wild Divide, a documentary produced by Florida Wildlife Corridor about the importance of maintaining effective wildlife corridors along the Lake Wales Ridge.
The Lake Wales Ridge is an ancient ribbon of sand dunes that is a hotspot for biodiversity found nowhere else in the world. It is also a place steeped in a long tradition of ranching and agriculture.
The rest of this preview is here.
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Meet ‘Wild Divide’ filmmakers Bendick and Schmidt
The Bonita International Film Festival will screen The Wild Divide in the Hinman Auditorium during Shorts Block 2 beginning at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 23. Directed by Eric Bendick and Danny Schmidt, The Wild Divide is denoted by exceptional production value (including breathtaking macro and micro cinematography and crystal clear studio-quality sound) and considered, thought-provoking content that makes a strong argument for preserving and protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Eric Bendick is an Emmy-winning writer, director and series producer.
The rest of this spotlight is here.
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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.