Key Biscayne Film Festival (Not pictured) – Crowd watching film at outdoor film festival – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Dizfoto
Are you a budding filmmaker in South Florida or on Key Biscayne? You can enter your imaginative short film for a chance to win the $1,000 grand prize in addition to being a part of the first Key Biscayne Film Festival.
The Key Biscayne Community Foundation has partnered with seasoned directors, producers, and filmmakers Isabel Custer and Maite Garrido Thornton to organize an island-wide local, cultural, and artistic festival. It will commence with opening night at Paradise Park and run from February 2-3.
“We definitely wanted to underline the idyllic-ness of Key Biscayne and the privilege of living here,” Custer said. “We have a lot of interesting and accomplished artists to partake in the programming.
“We’re not a festival trying to be something like the Miami Film Festival, which brings in famous artists (on an international scale). We want to show something very specific – the island communities, cultures, oceans.”
The festival features four categories, including “Spotlight on Youth,” which invites participants under the age of 21 to submit a piece that is no longer than five minutes (music videos are acceptable in this category). Their fellow competitors will judge the entries in that category.
“We have to say no to horror films,” Custer laughed. “This is not that.”
At the Key Biscayne Community Center, a few sessions will be offered to encourage youth participation in competition.
The Key Biscayne Film Festival’s subject is “Islands & Oceans,” which also serves as the category for the two top prizes: Best Feature Film (with a running time of at least 60 minutes) and Best Short Film (with a running time of under 60 minutes).
This category might highlight island civilizations and their diaspora (a people dispersed over regions distinct from its geographic point of origin), or it can highlight the plants and animals that live near the ocean.
Last but not least, a category called “Spotlight on the Key” will highlight the work of islanders who are seasoned filmmakers, performers, and producers. This category might be for fiction or nonfiction.
“The goal of the festival is to serve the local community by creating a high-quality cultural event that can appeal to our diverse backgrounds and a wide age range,” said Custer, an independent filmmaker, director, producer, and editor, who recently completed an open casting for “The Real Housewives of Key Biscayne.”
Longer-time resident of the island than Custer, Garrido Thornton has experience in broadcast journalism as a TV producer for CNN in Miami and Washington, D.C.
A social gathering will kick off the Key Biscayne Film Festival at the renovated Paradise Park next to Village Hall.
“If it gets too big for that area, we can expand and put a big screen on the Village Green,” Custer said.
The Key Biscayne Community Foundation will serve as the project’s fiscal sponsor and incubator, and the Village Council recently authorized the Film Festival’s inclusion in the FY 2024 Budget.
“I have a friend in France (putting on an international film festival) for $2 million because of the artists they bring in and because they did a collaboration with Chanel,” Custer said. “We’re not at all talking about anywhere near that here.”
More rewards will probably be added if local sponsors send in more tax-free donations.
How then can one come up with an idea for something like a short film, especially for someone like a student who is just getting started?
“The basis for any short film is there usually has to be a conflict that needs to be resolved,” Custer explained. “There are 5 minutes in a person’s life that’s extremely tense. Like someone who’s about to be giving birth; they arrive at the hospital, and the elevator gets stuck. Who knows what they say to each other in that short, tense time?”
Visit this page for registration information, submission guidelines, and deadlines.
The festival date and the films’ production dates must be no more than five years apart. Write to hello@kbfilmfestival.org if you have any inquiries or would like to contribute.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.