Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs recently joined community leaders at the Florida Film Festival\u2019s 25th anniversary opening night ceremonies at Winter Park Village.<\/p>\n
Mayor Jacobs presented a proclamation declaring the opening day, April 8, as Florida Film Festival Day in Orange County. During the proclamation, Mayor Jacobs highlighted the importance of the film festival and how far the festival has come in its many years of screening.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 25 years, this festival has brought aspiring and seasoned filmmakers, celebrities, and cinema enthusiasts together, showcasing films that may not otherwise be seen in Central Florida,\u201d Mayor Jacobs said. \u201cIt represents countries and people from around the globe, sharing their culture and important messages with audiences. The Florida Film Festival truly gets better every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Florida Film Festival celebrates diverse filmmaking talent and screens films that represent 36 countries; with 33 percent of those films directed by females this year.<\/p>\n
The Festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the categories of Live Action Short Film, Animated Short Film and Documentary Short Subject – making it one of only 19 festivals in the world to be accredited in all three categories.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than 100 filmmakers fly in from around the world to attend the Florida Film Festival and bring their family and friends,\u201d said Enzian Marketing Manager Valerie Cisneros, citing the festival\u2019s regional economic impact. \u201cEvery year, our festival grows. Last year, we had 23,000 guests in attendance. Our goal is to bring more people here annually to show people what Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, and Central Florida have to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Enzian Theater opened in 1985 has hosted the Florida Film Festival since 1992. The iconic theater won an award for the \u201cBest Little Arthouse in America\u201d from Indiewire, a news site for the independent film community. The Festival was named one of the \u201cCoolest Film Festivals\u201d by MovieMaker, a publication dedicated to the art and business of movie-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Central Florida\u2019s only full-time, not-for-profit alternative theater for more than 31 years, the Enzian is part of the cultural fabric of our community,\u201d Mayor Jacobs said. \u201cIt does so much more than just entertain. It inspires, educates and connects with audiences through the art of film.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 10-day celebration will continue until April 17, and will be screening a record 181 films this year. Thirty-five of those films are directed by previous Florida Film Festival alumni. The Florida Film Festival is sponsored by Full Sail University, Orange County Government and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.<\/p>\n
For a list of films and full screening schedule, visit the Florida Film Festival website<\/a>. To view photos from the opening night event<\/a>, visit Mayor Jacobs\u2019 Flickr album.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs recently joined community leaders at the Florida Film Festival\u2019s 25th anniversary opening night ceremonies at Winter Park Village.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[260,259,24,29,55,25],"class_list":["post-2424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-services","tag-arts","tag-arts-cultural-affairs","tag-county-news","tag-featured-stories","tag-florida-film-festival","tag-mayor-jacobs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n