The Miami Film Festival (formerly Miami International Film Festival) is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, that showcases independent American and international films with a special focus on

Ibero-America Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former territories of Portugal or Spain). ...

n films. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city center and includes features, documentaries, short films, and retrospectives. The programming is selected so as to include: premiers for both established film-makers and up-and-commers, socially relevant films, multidisciplinary and experimental films, and films showcasing international musicians. The stated mission of the Miami Film Festival is to bridge cultural understanding and encourage artistic development.

History

The Miami Film Festival debuted in February 1984, under the auspices of the Film Society of Miami. It was founded by Nat Chediak and Steven Bowles and directed by Mr. Chediak for its first eighteen years, becoming the City's premier international cultural event. When the City of Miami went bankrupt, control of the festival was assumed by

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

in 1999. Dismayed by FIU's stewardship following the event's loss of independence, Chediak left the festival in 2001.

Miami-Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida Colle ...

took over in late 2003 after Florida International University lost $20 million in state funding and incurred an $800,000 deficit. Since 2006, the beginning of the ten-day festival has shifted to early March. The Festival has now grown to become a comprehensive global festival with an annual attendance of over 70,000. The Festival is held for 10 consecutive days, opening annually on the first Friday of March. In 2014, the festival introduced MIFFecito, a fall presentation.AXS
MIFF presents first ever MIFFecito film festival - AXS
/ref> The following year, the festival rebranded it to GEMS Film Festival, a 4-day event held in October to present "the jewels of the fall season."Screen
MiamiFF unveils rebranded GEMS mini-fest
/ref> Jaie Laplante became director of programming in 2011.

References

External links

Miami Film Festival Website

Miami Film Festival Facebook

Miami Film Festival Instagram

Miami Film Festival Twitter
Film festivals in Florida 1983 establishments in Florida Film festivals established in 1983 Festivals in Miami {{US-film-festival-stub