The Longest Festival in the World
October 16 - November 12

A total of 98 features, 12 documentaries and 25 shorts screened at the 15th Annual Fort Lauderdale Int'l Film Festival. Awards were handed out during the sold-out Luminaries Gala at Marriott's Harbor Beach. The award for Best Film went to David Mamet for State and Main, while the audience award went to A Time for Drunken Horses by Bahman Ghobadi. more awards

Fort Lauderdale Int'l Film Festival: Overview

Fort Lauderdale, the haven of thousands of college students during Spring break, is well known for its tropical climate, miles of gorgeous beaches, flawlessly sunny weather (the occasional hurricane a rare exception) and for being a clean, and civilized alternative to its southern neighbor Miami.

However, Fort Lauderdale is also gaining a growing reputation as a film town, with many studios setting up shop to stimulate both local and out-of-town shoots, technicians and actors kept busy with full schedules and one of the most active film commissions in the United States. Adding to its growing reputation is the fact that hosts the longest film festival in the world; according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

In all, over 100 films from around the world will be presented at the Festival, many making their US premieres at the event. This year's opening night selection is Il Cielo Cade (The Sky Falls), a World War II drama set in Tuscany starring Isabella Rossellini. The film won the top prize at the 30th edition of the Giffoni Film Festival after 320 child jurors gave the Italian title the thumbs up.

Two very different films screen as closing selections: Shadow of the Vampire, a dramatization of the making of the horror classic Nosferatu, starring Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich, is the first film produced by Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage and Fast Food Fast Women, an official competition selection at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival by Israeli director Amos Kollek stars Anna Thomson as a waitress trying to juggle love, romance and work in New York City.

Other festival highlights include sneak previews of some of the coming season's most distinctive releases: State and Main, renowned director David Mamet's latest film - a comedy set in Vermont about the effects of a film crew on a small New England town boasts one of the season's most stellar casts, including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker (of television's Sex And The City); The Yards, a Cannes Film Festival favorite about a crime family, is the much anticipated second film from James Gray, starring Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron and screen veteran James Caan (The Godfather). Kate Hudson, who is creating Oscar buzz for her role as the groupie in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, stars in About Adam, a coming of age story about temptation and seduction that also stars Frances O'Connor. A total of 14 films will compete for the Best Film Award to be announced at a gala awards ceremony on November 11th.

The Festival also has an impressive roster of American Independent Films , most of which are having their world premieres at the event. Directors and producers use the positive buzz from the Festival to generate interest from distributors and press who attend the event, making the Festival one of the premiere showcases for new US independent talent outside of Sundance.

Another strong theme in this year's program are films adapted from literary sources. Nora is the true story of Nora Barnacle, the on-again, off-again lover of literary lion James Joyce. The Testimony of Taliesin Jones, based on the novel by Rhidian Book, is a highly acclaimed first novel for the South Wales native and the recipient of several literary awards. The first animated adaptation based on the complete and definitive edition of the Diary of Anne Frank also screens during the Festival. The animated film received an award at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and a UNICEF Award in Canada. Coronacion (Coronation), based on a novel by Chilean native José Donoso, is a cleverly scripted story about love and deception. The film was part of the official competition at the Montreal World Film Festival.

Veteran director George Sidney will be the recipient of the Robert Wise Director of Distinction Award. Sidney has directed over 50 films including Bye Bye Birdie, Viva las Vegas, Ziegfied Follies, Three Musketeers, Kiss Me Kate, Showboat, Annie Get Your Gun, the latter three enjoying runs as recent musical revivals on Broadway.

Sandy Mandelberger