Looking ahead to its 32nd edition, Miami International Film Festival (MiamiFF) is delighted to announce luxury developers Terra Group and The Related Group as sponsors of this year’s Shorts Competition in the name of their upcoming Park Grove condominium partnership. The Park Grove Shorts Competition, as it will now be known, will present a winning filmmaker with a $2,500 cash prize at MiamiFF32, to be held March 6-15, 2015.
The news will be formally announced tonight, Thursday, August 21s from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in the spectacular Park Grove Penthouse Gallery, at a cinematic soiree for MiamiFF’s Miami Film Society members. Celebrating the art of the short form, the evening will feature a screening of “Curfew”, writer / director Shawn Christensen’s 2013 Academy Award Winner For Best Live-Action Short. The evening, open to Miami Film Society members, MiamiFF sponsors, Screening Committee members and Coconut Grove luminaries, continues the series of monthly MiamiFF special events throughout Miami-Dade County which lead up to the 2015 Festival.
Jaie Laplante, Executive Director of MiamiFF, says “The Festival is delighted to have Pedro Martin, David Martin, and Jorge Perez, three champions of the South Florida art scene, support MiamiFF’s participating short filmmakers. The Park Grove is the ideal party setting for art, architecture and film to come together in one perfect Miami evening.”
While in the last five years MiamiFF’s Shorts Competition has awarded winners from across the globe – France (twice), Chile, China and Scotland – Terra Group’s President and Co-Founder David Martin hopes South Florida’s homegrown filmmakers will continue creating exciting film projects, stating of his support, “I think it’s crucial to cultivate and nurture our local talent. Artists, filmmakers, writers and talent are the fabric of Miami’s cultural backbone and we need to encourage their growth so that our city experiences the benefits of their work.”
“We have a longstanding history of supporting the communities and neighborhoods where we develop, especially in the arts and cultural fields, says Carlos Rosso, President of Condominium Development at The Related Group. “We’re very excited to be supporting the Miami International Film Festival, as it promotes Miami’s growing talent.”
The multi-layered Park Grove event is indicative of the international nature, excitement and creative partnerships MiamiFF accomplishes each year: Miami International Film Festival annually attracts over 400 filmmakers from across the globe; Terra Group and Park Grove partner The Related Group have each developed spectacularly luxurious residential towers which have visually transformed Miami’s new cityscape, attracting a chic international citizenry; “Curfew”, shot throughout New York’s geographical plethora of glamour and grit, and winner of 48 International film awards, is acclaimed as one of the very best 19-minute films currently on the international circuit.
Event attendees will also be briefed on an exciting, audience-interactive development for 2015 – the Knight Documentary Competition transforms into being viewer-awarded instead of traditionally jury awarded, with physical ballots tallying real-time results from film-lovers attending the screenings. The Park Grove Shorts Competition joins other significant competitions held at the annual MiamiFF, including the signature Knight Competition and the Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Competition.
For membership opportunities or more information, please visit www.miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-FILM(3456). The Festival is the only major film festival event housed within a college or university.