Why you should see ‘Three Wishes’ at this year’s Fort Myers Film Festival

Curtis Collins’ film Three Wishes is one of the pictures that has been juried into the 7th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival. The seven-minute film won both Best Film and Spotlight Magazine’s People’s Choice Award at the 2016 Bonita Springs Film Festival which concluded November 3.

The film stars Marty Wisher as a genie freed from a jewel-encrusted bottle by three men who have been shipwrecked for more than two years on a tiny island. It was shot on Bonita Beach in a single morning this past August. Cast and crew were on set at 4, ready to shoot by first light, and done and gone by 11 a.m. It took another 2 ½ weeks to edit the film.

The film was shown at last December’s T.G.I.M., and even though the celebrity judges did note a handful of technical issues that inevitably crop up with almost any low budget independent short film, Gina Birch, Stella Ruiz and Shawn Guenther found much to love and praise. Birch, in particular, loved the “awesome” storyline and “great” premise, while Ruiz said “the genie lady was a lot of fun and my favorite part of the film.” One audience member went a step further. “Barbara Eden wore Marty Wisher tee-shirts to bed,” he proclaimed to enthusiastic applause.

Collins told the T.G.I.M. audience that the moment he met Wisher, he saw I Dream of Genie and knew he had to write a script that featured her as a genie in a short film. “Marty was really the key to bringing the film to life.”

“When he asked me if I would please, please, please play the genie in this film he wanted to do, I told him that I would be offended if he asked anyone else,” Wisher chuckled.

Wisher’s successful portrayal of the genie in Three Wishes came as no surprise to Guenther, who has worked with Wisher himself, but it was to Collins that Guenther offered his heartfelt congratulations. “I applaud any local filmmaker that can get a film done and give the community something to see.”

Host Eric Raddatz echoed the sentiment, acknowledging the magnitude of Collins’ accomplishment.

“To have a crew who says they’re going to do something is good, and then to have a crew that actually does something is fantastic,” said Raddatz, who does all he can through the Fort Myers Film Festival and otherwise to encourage, support and applaud local filmmakers.

In addition to FMff, film is being considered for screening by a number of festivals around the country, including Cleveland, Columbus and Chicago. “While we’re submitting it all over,” Collins summed up, “we just want everyone to know there are some serious filmmakers right here in Southwest Florida.”

And getting accepted into film festivals locally and around the country is certainly one way to underscore that message.

Collins wrote and directed the film. Angel Rodriguez (pictured with ball cap and green tee-shirt) served as cinematographer. Robert Reyhart co-wrote the script and functioned as assistant director, with Adam Reyhart providing editing, sound, music, credits and other post-production work.

February 13, 2017.

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