The 22nd Annual Florida Film Festival will be returning to the Enzian Theater and other venues April 5-14. This year’s festival will showcase 160 films many of which might be Oscar contenders. The theme for this years festival is “Open your eyes”, so prepare to see films that push the envelope.
Henry Maldonado, the Enzian’s CEO, got on the Enzian stage to announce some of this year’s highlights. The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock will be screened and Actress Tippi Hendren will be there to talk about her experience in that film and her unique relationship with Hitchcock.
The Festival has always been about Films, Friends and Food. This year author and food historian Francine Segan will present “The Magic Behind Movies and Food”. There are sevaral food related parties during the festival and the closing night party, “Revel 22” will be free and open to the public.
Several short animated films were screened once Henry left the stage. A rather funny one was Una Furtiva Lagrima by Carlo Vogele. It featured an opera singing fish who sang as he went from a supermarket freezer to a frying pan. A second short by Morgan Miller had a raccoon waiting roadside to eat a dead crow. When he ventures onto the road he is immediately hit by a car. The short then ended with another crow waiting to eat the raccoon carnage. The screening ended with a tongue in cheek documentary called, “A Brief History of John Baldessari.” John is an artist who is best known for placing dots over celebrity faces.