Miami Film Festival 2025 Program Guide

College’s acclaimed Miami Film Festival will international, North American and Ibero-American event has become a bona-fide draw for the world’s filmmakers, attracting cinematic luminaries such as Antonio Banderas, Anne Hathaway, Danny Glover, Shirley Almodóvar and Alfonso Cuarón to its screens and red carpets. has attracted approximately 45,000 attendees and and industry professionals from around the globe, and narratives, documentaries and short films across all countries.

The 42nd edition of Miami Dade College’s acclaimed Miami Film Festival will showcase an impressive array of international, North American and Ibero-American films April 3-13. This prestigious event has become a bona-fide draw for the world’s leading emerging and established filmmakers, attracting cinematic luminaries such as Nicolas Cage, Sophia Loren, Antonio Banderas, Anne Hathaway, Danny Glover, Shirley MacLaine, Spike Lee, Pedro Almodóvar and Alfonso Cuarón to its screens and red carpets.

In recent years, the annual Festival has attracted approximately 45,000 attendees and 300 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals from around the globe, and presented more than 10 feature narratives, documentaries and short films across all genres from 40 different countries.

we remain committed to supporting our homegrown their work with gala screenings and significant $80,000 in cash and equipment rental prizes and produced features and shorts. In addition, $80,000 documentary work as part of The Louies, a program Wolfson II Family Foundation.

And perhaps most importantly, we remain committed to supporting our homegrown filmmaking talent, spotlighting their work with gala screenings and significant acknowledgements, including $80,000 in cash and equipment rental prizes and the Made in MIA Award for locally produced features and shorts. In addition, $80,000

WELCOME TO THE 42ND EDITION OF THE MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL!

James Woolley Executive Director Miami Film Festival

Lauren Cohen Director of Programming Miami Film Festival

This year’s season, happening April 3-13, reflects an expanded, 11-day event, something we’re extremely excited about. We’re dedicated to giving our audiences more opportunities than ever before to indulge in our nearly 200 feature and short film offerings.

But our biggest news of the season is that MFF screenings will return to the historic Olympia Theater after five years! Serving as the host of our signature Opening Night on Thursday, April 3, with French star Julie Delpy in attendance for Meet the Barbarians, the Olympia will also be the home of our gala events and Closing Night on Saturday, April 12, where Mexican star Diego Calva will join us for the On Swift Horses screening.

You may have also noticed a new look for MFF, which was designed by Australian brand and web studio ED. Officially in a new era, we’ve proudly launched a new website and a bold 2025 festival campaign led by the Miami-based Macías Creative.

We hope you love our new direction as much as we do, and we look forward to seeing you at the movies!

“Miami Film Festival is a place that celebrates big characters, both on and off the screen. The concept and poster behind this year’s campaign is a tribute to the power of the big screen and the charisma of the Magic City. The campaign also draws inspiration from the city that raised us – its colors, its vibes and its people.

Pink and orange hues bleed into one another like a classic sunset while mimicking the effects of a 35mm light leak and setting the stage to highlight some unique Miami characters. The big screen has always been filled with memorable individuals, no matter the genre, length or origin of the film. MFF’s tagline honors the notion that movies are meant to be experienced on the big screen. So whether you want to see or be seen, Miami Film Festival knows that ‘big characters deserve big screens.’” – Macías Creative

TICKETS – ON SALE NOW!

Buy via the Miami Film Festival website: miamifilmfestival.com

For assistance, email: tickets@miamifilmfestival.com

VENUE BOX OFFICES

Box offices are available at all venues and open one hour before the first screening of the day at that venue. Patrons may purchase tickets for all Festival screenings at all venues, except for La La Land Live, which must be purchased through the Arsht Center.

TICKETING NOTES

Students and seniors must show a valid ID at the box office. Seating for ticket holders is guaranteed up to 15 minutes prior to the start of the screening; 15 minutes or less prior to showtime, you will be seated at managements’ discretion. All programs and showtimes are subject to change without notice. No refunds or exchanges.

RUSH LINES

At most venues the Festival will offer rush lines so that tickets can be purchased for sold out events, as available – turn up to try your luck! Rush lines are not available at the Arsht Center.

Opening Night Film – Meet the Barbarians

Night Film – On Swift Horses

Screenings

$13.50

Marquees: AnotherSimpleFavor, Two Women, Oh,Hi! $20 $18

Galas: Chirino, Ethan Bloom, SelenayLosDinos $20 $18

La La Land Live From $80 From $80

A Sense of Place $0 $0 Best of Cortadito $12 $10 Talks $10 $10 Arts Accelerator: Live Script Reading $23 $21

Arts Accelerator: Monetize Your Film Panel $22 $14.50

Uncomfortable Brunch $24 $22

Special screenings: Before Sunrise, $25 $21

Pride&Prejudice, CenterStage

Other Parties $15 $12

VENUES

Miami Film Festival screens in venues across Miami. Check our website for the complete list of venues and their addresses.

OPENING NIGHT

MEET THE

BARBARIANS

Directed by Julie Delpy

France | 2024 | 102 min French, English & Arabic with English subtitles

Directed and starring Julie Delpy (see our Before Sunrise screening April 4), Meet the Barbarians is a perfect film to kick-start Miami Film Festival’s 42nd edition.

Harmony reigns among the locals in Paimpont, Brittany, who include Joëlle, the schoolteacher inclined to lecture people; convenience store owner Anne, who likes a good aperitif; Alsatian plumber Hervé, who’s even more Breton than the locals; and Johnny, the local ranger. In solidarity, the town votes to host a group of Ukrainian refugees. But it turns out they’re actually Syrian – and some folks in this charming little hamlet aren’t pleased with having them for neighbors. So, when all is said and done, who are the real barbarians?

Julie Delpy will be in attendance at the screening.

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

After the premiere, join us at the iconic Alfred I. duPont building for our opening night bash, where we’ll honor the elegance and charm of French cinema! A live DJ will set the mood with a blend of French and Miami rhythms, for an event that promises to be a night filled with style, culture and unforgettable fun. This partyis 21+.

Historic Alfred l. duPont Building Courtesy of the Tilia Properties 169 E Flagler St., Miami

CLOSING NIGHT

ON SWIFT HORSES

Directed by Daniel Minahan

USA | 2024 | 117 min English

Muriel and her husband, Lee, are beginning a bright new life in California when he returns from the Korean War. But their newfound stability is upended by the arrival of Lee’s charismatic brother, Julius – a wayward gambler with a secret past – and a dangerous love triangle quickly forms. When Julius takes off in search of the young card cheat he’s fallen for, Muriel’s longing for something more propels her into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love she never dreamed possible. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter and Diego Calva star in this Toronto Film Festival breakout about the American West and queer love.

Diego Calva will be in attendance at the screening.

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY

Celebrate the grand finale of the Festival at Jungle Plaza in the iconic Miami Design District, where the world of cinema comes alive against the vibrant backdrop of Miami! Revel in a night of culinary delights from our top partners and say goodbye to MFF42 with a bang. This partyis 21+.

Jungle Plaza at Design District 3801 NE First Ave., Miami

TALKS AT MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL

A Conversation With Melanie Lynskey

April 12 | 1 PM

MDC Wolfson Campus – Chapman Center

MELANIE LYNSKEY will receive the Miami Film Festival

Precious Gem Award and participate in an in-depth conversation about her career, including her acclaimed two-time Emmy-nominated performance in Yellowjackets , ButI’maCheerleader , Don’tLookUp and TheLastofUs .

Arts Accelerator: Monetize Your Film Panel

April 5 | 6 PM

MDC Wolfson Campus – ArtLab

Want to turn your passion into a sustainable career? Are you a filmmaker, creator or just curious about how films land on the screen? Discover what makes movies pay off as director Billy Corben (CocaineCowboys) and distributors Chris Beaver (Allrights) and Francois Martin (Vertical Entertainment) share insights on how to turn films into cash.

Arts Accelerator: Live Script Reading

April 8 | 7 PM

MDC Wolfson Campus – Chapman Center

The Arts Accelerator presents Live Script Readings, where actors get on stage and cold read screenplays in development from veteran and emerging writers. Agents often attend to discover talent, and guests often include well-known actors and writers. Audiences can volunteer for a chance to read alongside actors, network with participants, experience new works in progress and maybe discover the next great talent.

Encounters of Cinema at MFF – A Talk in Spanish

April 12 | 3:15 PM

MDC Koubek Center

Sumérgete en el cine en español con dos directores internacionales de renombre, cuyas últimas obras, ambas estrenadas en el 42º Festival de Cine de Miami, han estallado y revolucionado el mundo del cine independiente. Inmediatamente después del estreno de Corina, únete a Estrella Araiza del FICG para una conversación a fondo con la mexicana Urzula Barba Hopfner (Corina) y la española Gemma Blasco (Fury).

Mastershot: A Conversation With Roger Ross Williams

April 9 | 7:30 PM | Silverspot 12

Following a screening of StampedfromtheBeginning, Kevin Sharpley will moderate a conversation with Roger Ross Williams, an Oscar-, Emmy-, Peabody- and NAACP Image award-winning director, producer and writer – the first African American director to win an Academy Award. Williams’ credits include Cassandro; LovetoLoveYou,DonnaSummer; and TheApollo. Presented by Miami Media & Film Market (MMFM), CineVisun and BFMG.

Mastershot: AI You Ready?

April 8 | 6:30 PM

MDC Wolfson Campus – AI Center

An immersive conversation on cinema at the crossroads of artificial intelligence. Find out how this novel technology is being used in current production pipelines, how to utilize AI to aid in your productions and what the future of AI + cinema holds. There’s no replacement for the human creativity that’s the foundation of any successful project, but there are ways to utilize AI as a tool to help bring your vision to life. Presented by Miami Media & Film Market (MMFM) and sponsored by the Miami Dade College School of Engineering + Technology.

Mastershot: Mastershot: The Power of PR

April 4 | 3:30 PM

MDC Wolfson Campus – Idea Center

A fireside chat with 42 West VP Hilda Somarriba, top industry film publicist and creative media strategist. Get an inside look at how a creative media strategy and generating buzz can lead to multimillion-dollar acquisitions and awards season success, including the coveted BAFTAs and Oscars. Presented by Miami Media & Film Market (MMFM).

Mastershot: Raiders of the Lost Archives

April 4 | 2 PM

Wolfson Campus – Idea Center

A masterclass in archival producing with Monica Berra and Sasha Wortzel. Using their collaboration on Riverof Grass as a case study, director Wortzel and archival producer Berra offer a deep dive into the archival filmmaking process. Learn key steps – from research planning to rights clearances – and explore how archival discovery can help shape your film’s visual language and direction. Presented by Miami Media & Film Market (MMFM).

AWARDS PRESENTATIONS

Miami Film Festival has awarded numerous prizes for films screening at MFF42. Our website lists the films shortlisted in each category.

The $15,000 MARIMBAS AWARD is an international competition for new narrative feature films that best exemplify richness and resonance for cinema’s future.

Amarimba is avariation ofa xylophonethat produces a deeper,richer,and more resonant tonethanatraditionalxylophone.ThemarimbaoriginatedinGuatemalaandCentralAmerica approximately400yearsagoandremainspopulartothisdayinawidevarietyofmusical disciplines.The name ofthis Miami FilmFestivalawardisinspiredbyits2011winner,Julio HernandezCordon’s Marimbas from Hell,which embodiesthe spirit offorward-looking cinema.

For the eighth year of our MADE IN MIA AWARD competition, we will award two prizes: $60,000 in equipment rental from Panavision for the best feature-length film making a minimum Florida premiere at the Festival, and $5,000 to the best short of any genre that features a substantial portion of its content (story, setting and actual filming locations) in South Florida – from West Palm Beach to the Florida Keys – and that most universally demonstrates a common ground of pride, emotion and the South Florida community.

The $10,000 JORDAN RESSLER FIRST FEATURE AWARD is sponsored by the South Florida family of the late Jordan Ressler, an aspiring screenwriter and Cornell University Film Studies graduate who, during his brief entertainment career, held production positions on the original production of Broadway hit JerseyBoys before passing away in a tragic accident at the age of 23.

The lo-fi, sci-fi, not AI. Here for:

We’re all here for substance. The lo-fi, sci-fi, not AI.

We’re all here for substance.

OFFICIAL CREATIVE PARTNER

OFFICIAL CREATIVE PARTNER

MARQUEES & GALAS

MARQUEE

APRIL 6 7 PM

ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR

Directed by Paul Feig

USA | 2024 | 120 min English

Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.

Director Paul Feig will join us in person at Miami Film Festival to screen AnotherSimple Favor and will follow up with a live recording of the HappySad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz During the conversation Feig will discuss his latest film, as well as past work on films including Bridesmaids, The Heat and Spy, as well as his work on beloved TV shows such as Freaks and Geeks and The Office.

MARQUEE

APRIL 4 8:45 PM SPOT 13

APRIL 6 12:30 PM SPOT 12

TWO WOMEN

Directed by Chloé Robichaud

Canada | 2024 | 99 min French with English subtitles

Violette and Florence can no longer make sense of what’s happening to them. Both neighbors are haunted by a sense of failure: Despite having successful careers and families, they are not happy. But what if happiness lies in rebelling against a rigid performance-driven society by sometimes choosing short-term satisfaction over success, and freedom over being good? In a world where having fun is nowhere near the top of the priority list, having a sexual adventure with the delivery guy can be revolutionary. For Violette and Florence, this is the breath of fresh air they’ve been longing for.

A hit at the Sundance Film Festival this past January, Two Women is a fun new feminist sex romp comedy.

MARQUEES & GALAS

MARQUEE

APRIL 5

2:45 PM REGAL 17

OH, HI!

Directed by Sophie Brooks

USA | 2025 | 94 mins

English

Iris and Isaac are on their first weekend getaway together. They sing along in the car, buy strawberries at a local farmers market, and share jokes and easy conversation during the long drive. When they finally arrive at their idyllic farmhouse destination, they take the romantic vibes up a notch: dips in the nearby lake, home-cooked scallops and dancing under the stars. What could possibly go wrong? Featuring hugely charismatic performances from Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, Oh,Hi! is a wickedly clever anti-romcom. Hilariously skewering the worst realities of modern dating, this Sundance hit explores the rose-colored glasses we often have on during those early stages – and what happens when we refuse to take them off.

GALA

APRIL 4 7 PM OLYMPIA

CHIRINO

Directed by Jorge A. Soliño

Cuba, USA | 2024 | 87 min

Spanish with English subtitles

With Chirino – a dazzling visual and auditory immersion into the life of Cuban music icon Willy Chirino – Jorge Soliño adds to his remarkable film career with the first documentary about a living legend. The acclaimed director takes viewers from Chirino’s joyful origins in the town of Consolación del Sur in the province of Pinar del Río, to the emotional upheaval of family separation when he took the path of exile as part of the Operation Pedro Pan, and then to the international success of an unparalleled musical legacy. The film includes recognition from Chirino’s family and contemporaries, explores the adoration of his audience, and examines the ethical and moral commitment of an original artist to his time and his work.

Join us after the film for a free Cuban Music Block Party at Kyriakides Plaza at MDC Wolfson Campus.

MARQUEES & GALAS

MARQUEES & GALAS

OH, HI!

APRIL 5

APRIL 6 8 PM OLYMPIA

ETHAN BLOOM

Directed by Herschel Faber

Directed by Sophie Brooks

USA | 2025 | 94 min

USA | 2025 | 94 mins

English

English & Spanish with English subtitles

Amidst the lush tree-lined streets and eccentric houses of Miami’s Coconut Grove enclave, 13-year-old Ethan Bloom lives a double life. One moment he might be helping his priest, Father Diaz, clean up after mass as an altar boy; the next moment he’s having Shabbat dinner with his family. His father, Gary, a real estate developer, is disturbed by his son’s new obsession with Catholicism, but is trying to be flexible because his son’s therapist has encouraged Ethan to find peace after the death of his mom. So Gary makes him a deal: Ethan must begin studying for his bar mitzvah if he wants to continue to spend time at church.

Iris and Isaac are on their first weekend getaway together. They sing along in the car, buy strawberries at a local farmers market, and share jokes and easy conversation during the long drive. When they finally arrive at their idyllic farmhouse destination, they take the romantic vibes up a notch: dips in the nearby lake, home-cooked scallops and dancing under the stars. What could possibly go wrong? Featuring hugely charismatic performances from Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman, Oh,Hi! is a wickedly clever anti-romcom. Hilariously skewering the worst realities of modern dating, this Sundance hit explores the rose-colored glasses we often have on during those early stages – and what happens when we refuse to take them off.

This is a world premiere screening of a wonderful new Miami film.

CHIRINO

APRIL 4

APRIL 6 2:30 PM

SELENA Y LOS DINOS

Directed by Isabel Castro

Directed by Jorge A. Soliño

Cuba, USA | 2024 | 87 min

USA | 2025 | 109 min

Spanish with English subtitles

English & Spanish

With Chirino – a dazzling visual and auditory immersion into the life of Cuban music icon Willy Chirino – Jorge Soliño adds to his remarkable film career with the first documentary about a living legend. The acclaimed director takes viewers from Chirino’s joyful origins in the town of Consolación del Sur in the province of Pinar del Río, to the emotional upheaval of family separation when he took the path of exile as part of the Operation Pedro Pan, and then to the international success of an unparalleled musical legacy. The film includes recognition from Chirino’s family and contemporaries, explores the adoration of his audience, and examines the ethical and moral commitment of an original artist to his time and his work.

SelenayLos Dinos delves into the life and enduring impact of Selena Quintanilla, the Queen of Tejano music. Through never-before-seen archival footage, personal photographs and heartfelt interviews, the film paints a vivid portrait of Selena’s journey from a young girl in Corpus Christi, Texas, to an iconic superstar whose voice continues to resonate across generations. Told through the eyes of her devoted family and bandmates, this film reveals the relentless efforts they have made to honor her memory and preserve her legacy. SelenayLos Dinos, which premiered at Sundance, not only celebrates her remarkable talent but also highlights the resilience and love of a family determined to ensure that Selena’s light never fades.

Join us after the film for a free Cuban Music Block Party at Kyriakides Plaza at MDC Wolfson Campus.

PARTIES

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

THURSDAY, APRIL 3

9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT

Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building Courtesy of the Tilia Companies 169 E Flagler St., Miami, FL 33131

After the premiere of our opening night film, Meet the Barbarians, head over to the iconic Historic Alfred I. duPont building for our opening night bash, where we’ll honor the elegance and charm of French cinema! Bites and sips provided by Quinto Miami, Divieto Ristorante, Paella y Ole, Shake Shack, Crepemaker, Cerveceria La Tropical, Sixty Vines, Barceló Rum, Olipop Soda and Strega Liqueur. A live DJ will set the mood with a blend of French and Miami rhythms, so dress in your best French-inspired chic and get ready to celebrate in style! This partyis 21+

Party Entry: $96 | $90 for Miami Film Festival Society Members

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY

SATURDAY, APRIL 12

9:30 PM – MIDNIGHT

Jungle Plaza at Miami Design District 3801 NE First Ave., Miami, FL 33137

Celebrate the Festival’s grand finale at Jungle Plaza in the iconic Miami Design District, where the world of cinema comes alive against the vibrant backdrop of Miami! Relish in a night of culinary delights from our top partners, featuring festival favorites Paella y Ole, Divieto Ristorante and Santo Dulce Churros, and relax with refreshing drinks courtesy of Cerveceria La Tropical, official craft beer of the Festival, and Olipop Soda. It’s the perfect way to wrap up an unforgettable run of cinematic experiences! This partyis 21+.

Party Entry: $86 | $80 for Miami Film Festival Society Members

PARTIES

CUBAN MUSIC BLOCK PARTY

FRIDAY, APRIL 4

8:30-11 PM

Kyriakides Plaza at MDC Wolfson Campus 300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132

We’re taking over downtown Miami with our inaugural FREE block party, right in the heart of the city’s cultural hub! Join us at Kyriakides Plaza at Wolfson Campus for an unforgettable evening celebrating the vibrant culture of Cuba. After the premiere of Willy Chirino’s documentary, Chirino, the celebration continues with a live performance by the Miami Cuban Trio, plus delicious bites to purchase from Cuban Food Guys and Churro Family, and authentic Cuban cafecito from La Cafetera. It’s a night you won’t want to miss! Free and opentothe public; all ages.

HOY COMO AYER PARTY

TUESDAY, APRIL 8

9 PM – MIDNIGHT

Hoy Como Ayer 2212 SW Eighth St., Miami, FL 33135

Dance and drink like a local at the center of Little Havana’s Hoy Como Ayer, our new festival hot spot! Join us after a day of movie watching for some great cocktails, yummy bites and heart-pumping music steeped in Latin heritage. This partyis 21+.

Party entry: $15

LA TROPICAL PARTY

THURSDAY, APRIL 10 9 PM – MIDNIGHT

Cerveceria La Tropical 42 NE 25th St., Miami, FL 33137

Miami Film Festival is back at one of our favorite Wynwood breweries for an unforgettable night at one of the area’s top craft brewers and gardens! Enjoy refreshing drinks from Cerveceria La Tropical – MFF’s official craft beer – paired with delicious Latin-inspired bites and music. This partyis 21+.

Party entry: $15

42ND STREET

Directed by José María Cabral González

Dominican Republic 2025 | 90 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 6 8:15

A galvanizing sensory trip into the lives of zealous dancers and artists with a restless appetite for fame, all drawn like moths to its flame. At a time when the malicious tactics of the police clash head-on with documentary subject Demetal’s unorthodox views and Natasha’s and Maco’s nihilistic approach, a struggle about expression ensues. In a counterculture fitted to shock and offend the establishment, 42nd Street is an unrepentant window into a place and time in the Dominican urban landscape that makes you glad to be alive – all on a 600-meter thoroughfare.

This documentary from José María Cabral González, a star of the Dominican film industry, premiered at SXSW in March 2025.

A HOUSE ON FIRE

Directed by

Dani de la Orden

Spain, Italy | 2024 | 105 min Catalan & Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 4 9 PM

APRIL 12 6

Popular comedy director Dani de la Orden (You Keep the Kids! and The Wedding Unplanner) presents an engaging dramedy about the darker side of all families. Montse is very excited because she is about to spend a weekend with the whole family at her house in Cadaqués on the Costa Brava. She has been divorced for a long time, her ex has a new partner, and her children have grown up and are living their lives without paying any attention to her, but nothing and nobody will be able to spoil Montse’s mood. She’s been waiting for this moment for too long, she’s been dreaming about it for too long: This weekend will be an ideal weekend ... even if she has to burn everything to do it.

A LINE OF FIRE

Directed by Matt Shapira

USA | 2025 | 90 min English

APRIL 5 8:30 PM REGAL 17

After working as a secret agent in the FBI for 10 years, Jack Conry, aka “Cash,” left it all behind after his wife passed in order to dedicate himself to his two daughters. Despite a fulfilling life at home, Cash misses the chance to make an impact and has been considering a return to the force. That decision is made for him when his old partner’s niece, Jamie, calls him for help, launching Cash right back into a world of danger, corruption and intrigue.

Partly filmed and set in Miami, A Line of Fire stars Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr., as well as David A.R. White, Jason Patric and Katrina Bowden

A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY

Directed by Rachel Elizabeth Seed

USA | 2024 | 87 min English

Thirty years after her mother’s death, photographer Rachel Elizabeth Seed discovered her work: more than 50 hours of interviews with the greatest photographers of the 20th century, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lisette Model, Gordon Parks, W. Eugene Smith, Roman Vishniac, Cornell Capa and Bruce Davidson. Sheila Turner-Seed, a daring, world-traveling journalist ahead of her time, died of a brain aneurysm when her daughter was just 18 months old. When Rachel threads in the audio reels and presses play, she hears her mother’s voice for the first time since she was a baby. Moved to uncover more of what her mother left behind, Rachel sets out to revisit Turner-Seed’s subjects, family and friends, and the photographers she interviewed decades before.

A WEIRD KIND OF BEAUTIFUL

Directed by Gabriel Mayo

USA | 2025 | 80 min

English

APRIL 6 2:30 PM

Bea, Mari and Ivan just buried their best friend, David, who died from an overdose. They didn’t have money to pay for the headstone Mari had promised to buy, so Bea suggested calling on an old friend, Eric, and inviting him to the funeral to see if he could help out. Eric left the group after high school and ghosted his friends, who haven’t heard from him since. Ivan still holds a grudge because of it. When Eric shows up with his fiancé, Bea is completely dejected. Too bad she knows the real reason why Eric left – and if she were to share it with the group, if she were to share it with his fiancée …

ADIOS CUBA

Directed by Rolando Díaz

Spain, USA, Cuba | 2025 | 90 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 5 8:15 PM KOUBEK

Caridad, a Cuban theater director exiled in Valencia, Spain, is determined to put together a play about the exodus of Cubans off the island. Her concept: a dialogue with these individuals who – at risk to their lives – come from different corners to share their experiences, testimonies that will inform a dynamic staging of emotion, pain and at times, even laughter. To carry out her dream, Caridad’s close friends, all Cubans residing in Valencia, will help her set up an unusual scenario in the middle of a lost industrial warehouse that allows them to express emotions through music, words, dance and scenography, exploring uprooting, nostalgia and loss.

AGUADILLA

Directed by Alexander Zeke Musca & Tom Musca

APRIL 6

5:30 PM COSFORD

USA, Puerto Rico | 2025 | 108 min English & Spanish with English subtitles

A Dominican couple washes ashore on a Puerto Rican estate owned by Benicio Libre, a former big-wave surfer who now battles the constraints of his wheelchair. On the verge of turning the migrants over to Border Patrol, Benicio becomes intrigued with the alluring Talisa, unwittingly stoking the ambitions of Raúl, Talisa’s manipulative pseudo-brother. Benicio sees through Raúl’s scheme but plays the role of the unsuspecting fool, allowing Raúl to weave his tangled web unaware that Benicio’s pulling the strings of a more dangerous game. As sparks fly between him and Talisa, she reveals layers of herself that Raúl has never explored, each revelation intensifying the simmering desire that binds them. And what begins as a tumultuous dance of attraction quickly transforms into a high-stakes battle of wills.

ALL GOD’S CHILDREN

Directed by Ondi Timoner

USA | 2024 | 100 min English

APRIL 10 6:30 PM CGAC

In an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism and combat the rising racial and ethnic tension in their Brooklyn communities, the largest reform synagogue and the oldest Black Baptist Church attempt to unite their congregations and bring about peace. Filmed over five years by Ondi Timoner, All God’s Children follows her sister, activist Rabbi Rachel Timoner, and her Beth Elohim congregation’s partnership with Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman of Antioch Baptist Church. As their faith is put to the test, both congregations struggle to not let their differences drive them apart. They ultimately emerge with an inspiring model for how other communities might build bridges across religious, economic and class divides to foster enduring, powerful kinship.

AN AUTUMN SUMMER

Directed by Jared Isaac

USA | 2025 | 97 min English

APRIL 11 6:30 PM REGAL 17

It’s the summer of 2010, and 18-year-old Kevin and his girlfriend, Cody, are two months into his family’s annual trip at their northern Michigan lake house. The couple has one month remaining before change is thrust upon them and their lives take them to different colleges. Amid peaceful summer days and adventurous nights, Kevin and Cody attempt to seize the moments before them as they awaken to reality: that this time will eventually end, and each moment may become a fleeting memory.

An Autumn Summer is a movie of firsts – first love, first heartbreak and that bittersweet first time you must separate from your friends to pave your own path.

APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS

Directed by Petra Costa

Brazil | 2025 | 110 min Portuguese with English subtitles

When does a democracy end and a theocracy begin? In Apocalypse intheTropics, Petra Costa investigates the increasingly powerful grip that evangelical Christian leaders hold over politics in Brazil. She gains extraordinary access to the country’s top political leaders, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and former President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as to Brazil’s most famous televangelist: a magnetic pastor who aspires to play puppet master to the far-right leader. The film chronicles the profound role the evangelical movement has played in Brazil’s recent political turmoil, while also grappling with the apocalyptic theology that drives the movement. As in her Academy Award-nominated The Edge ofDemocracy, Costa documents a time of profound confusion and despair with lucidity and a poetic eye.

ARENAS

Directed by

Camille Perton

France | 2024 | 100 min French with English subtitles

At just 18 years old, Brahim, a promising young footballer, is preparing to realize his dream: signing his first professional contract in Lyon, his club, his city. But when mysterious and powerful agent Francis (Édgar Ramírez) disrupts the negotiations, Brahim embarks on a race against time on the transfer market, where anything goes.

From first-time feature filmmaker Camille Perton, Arenas is an exhilarating exploration into the shady side of the football business. A thriller with a moral quandary twist at its center, viewers will find themselves fully immersed in the push and pull between loyalty and money, and the tough choices we make to claim our ultimate destiny. APRIL 5 3

BALOMANÍA

Directed by Sissel Morell Dargis

Denmark, Spain | 2024 | 93 min Portuguese with English subtitles

APRIL 9 6:45 PM SPOT 13

In the heart of Brazil’s favelas, filmmaker Sissel Morell Dargis gains unprecedented access to the hidden world of the “balloon mafia.” For baloeiros in Rio and Sao Paolo, hot air balloon construction, flying and chasing is a treasured and competitive art form. But authorities have now made their art illegal, ranking them just below drug cartels in the law and driving them underground. With police and bounty hunters hot on their heels, Dargis embarks on a wild ride to witness the extreme obsession and sacrifice required to build these spectacular balloons that reach more than 70 meters high and require more than 100 people to launch into the sky. Intimate and explosive, Balomania is a real-life action film about freedom against all odds.

BECOMING VERA

Directed by Sergio Vizuete

USA | 2025 | 87 min English

APRIL 9 6:30 PM

In the vibrant city of Miami, a talented 18-year-old pianist named Vera has a passion for Latin jazz. When she gets a freelance job at a music studio, she seizes the opportunity to play in front of Hector, its owner. The unscrupulous music producer recognizes her undeniable talent and exploits her dreams for his own gain by stealing her composition. Vera must confront her own insecurities and doubts about her worthiness in the competitive world of music. But through perseverance, resilience and the support of her friends, she embarks one last time on a journey of self-discovery, finding her voice and carving out a future in the rich musical tapestry that is Latin jazz.

BEFORE SUNRISE

Directed by Richard Linklater

USA, Austria | 1995 | 101 min English, German & French with English subtitles

APRIL 4 9:30 PM REGAL 17

One of the major works of independent U.S. cinema in the 1990s, Before Sunrise stars Ethan Hawke and MFF42 special guest Julie Delpy as two twentysomething strangers on a train – him a slick American tourist nearing the final stop of his trip, her a French art student returning to Paris to complete her graduate studies at the Sorbonne – who spontaneously decide to spend the evening together walking and talking (and talking some more) across Vienna. Packed tight with sharp and witty dialogue and fueled by Hawke and Delpy’s irresistible chemistry, Before Sunrise served as the first chapter in Richard Linklater’s unexpected but beloved film trilogy – and also the catalyst for Delpy and Hawke to become successful writer-directors in their own rights.

BORDERLAND | THE LINE WITHIN

Directed by Pamela Yates

APRIL 12 12 PM

USA | 2024 | 110 min English & Spanish with English subtitles

Borderland: The Line Within is a documentary that explores the United States immigration system, including the physical border between USA and Mexico, as well as immigration policies like mass surveillance that have led to a border within the nation. These new technological advancements are explored in the film to show how governments are changing the way they track and detain their targets. We hear testimonies from those who have experienced the policies of recent governments, including the impact that surveillance, detention and deportation had on their lives. We also hear from those who have worked inside the system to enforce policies and the way in which their roles are changing.

BOYS GO TO JUPITER

Directed by Julian Glander

USA | 2024 | 87 min English

Julian Glander’s style is all his own, featured everywhere from The NewYorker to Adult Swim, and now a perfect match for the humid surrealism of Florida in Boys GotoJupiter. Set during the liminal period between Christmas and New Year’s, the film follows a week in the life of teenage delivery driver Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) as he tries to outsmart the gig economy. After a routine drop-off, Billy becomes the caretaker of a mysterious egg that hatches an alien creature. Through ridiculous humor, plenty of heart and a stellar voice cast (comedic all-stars Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman, Cole Escola and Janeane Garofalo, to name a few), Billy navigates the difficult choices of life, love and money that come along with becoming the unwelcomed parent of an otherworldly being.

CENTER STAGE

Directed by Nicholas Hytner

USA | 2000 | 115 min English

APRIL 6 1 PM REGAL 17

We’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 2000 cult classic dance film – arguably one of the greatest dance movies ever made – CenterStage . Join us for a rare screening of the film on the big screen, followed by an extended conversation with the film’s star, Jody Sawyer herself – Amanda Schull!

The American Ballet Company is not for the fainthearted – it’s for the most gifted and beautiful ballet dancers alive. But you’ll need more than mere physical prowess and determination to succeed; you’ll need to deliver the goods at Center Stage. Jonathan Reeves (Peter Gallagher), the ballet company’s owner, is evaluating this tight-knit group of young students as they face the growing pains of their ambitions, romances and heartbreaks, which prove to be both invigorating and difficult.

CENTERED: JOE LIEBERMAN

Directed by Jonathan Gruber

USA | 2024 | 77 min English

APRIL 7 7:30 PM REGAL 17

An inspiring documentary that chronicles the life of one of America’s most courageous and consequential political leaders. From his groundbreaking role as the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket to his fearless stands on issues that often defied party lines, Centered: Joe Lieberman tells a story of conviction, resilience and unwavering principles. Featuring exclusive interviews with family, friends and political figures from both sides of the aisle, along with rare archival footage, it offers a deeply personal look at a man who put country over politics and character over ambition – a powerful reminder of what true leadership looks like. The film challenges us to think about the future of democracy and how we can find ways to work together, no matter our differences.

CHECKPOINT ZOO

Directed by Joshua Zeman

USA | 2024 | 103 min English, Ukrainian & Russian with English subtitles

APRIL 11

6:30 PM SPOT 12

In the early days of the Russian invasion some of the fiercest fighting took place on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where there was a zoo that was home to more than 5,000 animals. Five weeks after the invasion the zoo’s founder posted a desperate plea to social media –the relentless shelling had left thousands of animals trapped in their cages with little food or water. Within 24 hours, a group of volunteers appeared on his doorstep, offering to help in any way they could. Thanks to footage captured by the zookeepers, volunteers and news media of those fateful days, filmmaker Joshua Zeman has reconstructed the events of an incredible zoo rescue.

CHERRI

Directed by Fabián

Suárez

Cuba, Guatemala | 2025 | 82 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 5 5:15 PM KOUBEK

APRIL 12 5:30 PM SPOT 13

Cherri is gay, obese and loves dancing. He lives with his husband, Luis, an elderly man who can no longer fend for himself. Cherri baths him, cares for him and feeds him, but they no longer function as a couple. But in the last few months, love has again knocked on Cherri’s door, or so he believes. He’s delighted with Tim, who works in a factory, but rather than a genuine romance, it’s really a commercial relationship where one allows the other to touch him while the other calms his thirst for love. Until a violent act closes that chapter of Cherri’s life, after which he’ll finally be ready to start anew.

CHLOROPHYLL

Directed by Ivana Gloria

Italy | 2023 | 75 min Italian with English subtitles

Green-haired Maia is tired of city life and, driven by a desire to be among nature, decides to spend the summer picking oranges. In the orchards she is greeted by the gardener, an eccentric loner called Teo, who notices that Maia isn’t like everyone else. In the same way he tends his plants, he devotes his time and energy to her, too, and the young woman starts to blossom. Their burgeoning friendship, however, is unsettled by the arrival of Teo’s father and older brother Arturo. In her richly coloured story, director Ivana Gloria shows it’s sometimes difficult to find someone who can help us discover our true selves.

CHRONICLES OF THE ABSURD

Directed by Miguel Coyula

Cuba | 2024 | 77 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 6

Chronicles of the Absurd, directed by Miguel Coyula, is a Molotov cocktail on the chaotic face of the decaying Cuban dictatorship. Artist couple Lynn Cruz and Coyula deploy a string of secret audio recordings to expose the intimidation that independent artists in Cuba suffer, where the victims confront threats with strength and reveal the tricks of police secrecy through clandestine recordings of sinister conversations aimed at curbing freedom of expression. It is a collective of aesthetic erudition, the prophecy of Antonia Eiriz, the anathematized artists and the irreverent soundtrack that asserts itself and takes by storm one of the last totalitarian strongholds in the world.

CORINA

Directed by Urzula Barba Hopfner

Mexico | 2025 | 98 min Spanish with English subtitles

A recluse by habit but a dreamer at heart, Corina (Naian González Norvind) has spent 20 years moving through life in the safest way possible – home, work, repeat. But when a catastrophic editorial mistake at the publishing house where she works threatens its most famous book series, she’s forced on an unexpected journey beyond the four walls she’s long called home. With her job on the line, Corina must step out of her comfort zone and track down a mysterious writer before it’s too late. A sharp-witted and deeply charming debut of missteps and self-discovery by director Urzula Barba Hopfner, Corina transforms worst nightmares into an adventure of second chances and the power of rewriting one’s own story.

CUBA’S ETERNAL NIGHT

Directed by Jordan Allott

USA | 2025 | 66 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 10 6:30 PM

What happened in Cuba after the glorious national rebellion of July 11, 2021, which was brutally crushed by the regime with violence and repression? Those who miraculously escaped persecution and imprisonment speak courageously before the camera to talk about a country that is sinking and people with no glimmer of hope, except the desperate urge to flee by any means necessary. What emerges is a bankrupt society abandoned to its fate, without the solidarity or support of the nationals and foreigners who once placed their faith in a doomed and corrupt ideology. Cuba’s Eternal Night follows five individuals over the span of two years as they struggle with government repression, scarcity of food and medicine, and the biggest mass exodus the island has ever experienced.

THE DATING GAME

Directed by Violet Du Feng

USA, UK, Norway | 2025 | 90 min Mandarin with English subtitles

APRIL 5 2:45

Set in China, where eligible men outnumber women by more than 30 million, The Dating Game is the story of Zhou, Li and Wu, three bachelors embarking on a seven-day dating camp led by Hao, one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches. In their last-ditch effort to find love, the men chuckle and bond as Hao makes them over, altering how they look and act. It’s all part of Hao’s signature “strategic deception,” a series of techniques designed to, purportedly, make humans connect. As the three bachelors stumble through the camp’s awkward challenges, they try to make sense of their authentic and constructed selves, and find the self-confidence they need to land that date.

DIAMANTI

Directed by Ferzan Özpetek

Italy | 2024 | 120 min Italian with English subtitles

APRIL 5 5:30 PM

A director gathers his favorite actresses, those he’s worked with and those he’s loved. He wants to make a film about women but doesn’t reveal much to his cast. He observes them and takes cue until his imagination transports them to another era, a past where the noise of sewing machines fills a workplace populated by women, where men have minor and marginal roles and cinema can be told from another point of view: one of costume. Between loneliness, passions, anxieties and unbreakable bonds, reality and fiction permeate, as do the lives of the women and those of the characters, in competition and in sisterhood.

Director Ferzan Özpetek will be in attendance for this screening.

DIG! XX

Directed by Ondi Timoner

USA | 2024 | 146 min English

APRIL 11 6:30 PM

You may think you know rock ’n’ roll rivalries, but it’s all child’s play until you’ve seen this seminal 2004 documentary detailing the volatile frenemy relationship between then up-and-coming psychedelic pop/folk refashioners The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre – the former trying to ride those sixties Summer of Love vibes. Meanwhile the self-sabotaging musical genius leading the latter taunts them with diss tracks (“Not if You Were the Last Dandy on Earth”) and gift-wrapped shotgun shells. The film – helmed by Miami-raised director Ondi Timoner and christened the “greatest rock ’n’ roll documentary of all time” by none other than Dave Grohl – has been enhanced with more than 40 minutes of new footage and context for its twentieth anniversary.

DJ AHMET

Directed by Georgi M. Unkovski

North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia | 2025 | 99 min Turkish & Macedonian with English subtitles

The life-affirming, liberating power of music gets a potent, intoxicating visual counterpart in this film following a pivotal moment in life of Ahmet, a teenage boy from a rural Macedonian village whose bleak and monochromatic sheepherding existence is lit up in vivifying technicolor when he improbably comes across a ecstatic late-night rave. (The sheep are perhaps changed as well!) Like a radio receiving a signal, the rhythms and melodies are channeled through Ahmet, reverberating through his stoic father and disconnected younger brother, all three wracked with a collective grief over the death of the family matriarch that manifests in very different ways, as well as a kindred spirit in the form of a beautiful girl desperate for a way out of an upcoming arranged marriage.

THE DOG THIEF

Directed by Vinko Tomičić

Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, France, Ecuador, Italy | 2024 | 90 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 12 3

Vinko Tomičić Salinas’ The DogThief trades easy sentiment for a raw, restrained intensity, capturing the quiet turbulence of a youth searching for belonging. Martin (Franklin Aro), an orphaned Indigenous shoeshiner, steals Astor, the cherished German shepherd of Señor Novoa (Alfredo Castro, El Club, From Afar, El Conde), a lonely tailor whose life may be more entangled with Martin’s than either expects. Set against the sweeping backdrop of La Paz’s cable car-laced skyline, the film excavates themes of race, class and unspoken kinship with an unvarnished honesty. Tomičić’s patient storytelling resists resolution, offering instead a piercing meditation on the fragile bonds we long for, and the ones that slip through our fingers. A poignant riff on the ties that bind and break us.

DUINO

Directed by Juan Pablo Di Pace & Andrés Pepe Estrada

USA, Argentina, Italy | 2024 | 109 min English & Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 8 9:15 PM

APRIL 9 6:45 PM O

Executive produced by the late Norman Lear, this debut feature by Juan Pablo Di Pace and Andrés Pepe Estrada follows filmmaker Matias as he struggles to finish editing a movie that was inspired by his elusive first love – a Swedish boy named Alexander – whom he met at boarding school in 1997. Tenderness and fascination define their strong friendship, which is short-lived when Alexander is suddenly expelled, leaving young Matias with a story of undeclared emotions, even 25 years later. Matias, played by co-director Di Pace (The Mattachine Family, Mama Mia, TV’s Fuller House), decides to reopen Pandora’s box by coming face-to-face with Alexander, discovering life imitating art and confronting the sneaky power of memory.

Salinas

EDGE OF HOPE

Directed by Dudley Alexis

USA | 2025 | 106 min English

There is hope in the face of climate injustice. With growing disasters, such as increased hurricanes, sea-level rise, extreme heat and widespread displacement, climate change has become one of Miami’s most pressing issues. Edge ofHope examines how systemic injustices often concealed, lost to view or conveniently forgotten disproportionately impact a community’s capacity to combat the effects of climate change. This documentary examines the perspective of experts and community advocates in order to paint a portrait of hope and resistance in the face of a global crisis.

Directed by Dudley Alexis, known for When Liberty Burns, winner of the Knight Made in MIA Award at Miami Film Festival. APRIL 12

EL SONIDO DE MIAMI

Directed by Emilio Oscar Alcalde

USA | 2025 | 90 min

Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 10 7:30 PM BANDSHELL

El Sonido de Miami is a love letter to a group of Cuban immigrants who tried to find their place in Miami, assimilating to American culture while maintaining their roots. The music they created is a fusion of cultures that could only happen in the Magic City. The cornerstone is collaborator Eloy Cepero’s vast collection of LPs that frame the documentary, a delicate and touching selection of archival materials that evoke the Miami of the 1960s and ’70s. With the participation of the key musicians, producers and other figures such as Los Jóvenes del Hierro, The Ideals, Conjunto Universal, Coke, Antiques, Pearly Queen, Kracker, The Judge’s Nephews, Willy Chirino, Miami Sound Machine, Clouds and Grupo Alma.

ESCAPE

Directed by Rodrigo Cortés

Spain | 2024 | 126 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 6 5:15 PM SPOT 13

“[T]here is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind,” wrote Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own. But what if your mind is so untethered and unruly you find yourself longing for the gate, for the lock, for the bolt? This is the conundrum N. faces. He is paralyzed by thoughts, by indecision, by a paradox of choice that makes it feel as if there is no choice at all. No one seems able to help – not his sister, not his psychologist. And then he has an epiphany: Incarceration! He’s finally made a life decision. The only problem? Landing himself a prison sentence proves much more challenging than expected. How far will he go? Choose to see Escape to find out.

ESPINA

Directed by Daniel Poler

Panama, USA | 2025 | 129 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 5 8:15 PM SPOT 12

APRIL 10 9 PM KOUBEK

Bitter after losing his job, Venezuelan expat Jonathan plans a holiday to Panama City before his spinal surgery. Paraplegic and unable to travel far on his own, he recruits a down-on-her-luck actress and a cynical playboy as makeshift aides for the journey from Mexico City. Lavishly funded by donations meant for his “surgery,” this unlikely trio ventures into Panama’s wild side, and it’s no longer clear if Jonathan chose his destination for diversion or to avenge a long-held grudge. This irreverent and vibrant film draws inspiration from the real-life experiences of Jonathan, who portrays himself in this tale of self-discovery.

THE EXILES

Directed by Belén Funes

Spain, Chile | 2024 | 110 min Spanish & Catalan with English subtitles

APRIL 11 6:45 PM SPOT 13

Grief is a slippery, untamed thing that twists and haunts the corners of our lives. In The Exiles, director Belén Funes conjures a gut-punching tale of a mother and daughter tethered by loss yet torn apart by the messy, mismatched ways they mourn. Delia (Antonia Zegers, Post-mortem, El club), a Chilean immigrant barely keeping her head above water as a Barcelona cab driver, slams the door on her husband’s absence. Meanwhile, daughter Ana bears its weight. As eviction looms and their relationship frays, their exile becomes both literal and internal. With a cinematography that shrouds its characters in the heavy silence of the unspoken, The Exiles is a meditation on mourning, migration and the fragile possibility of healing.

THE FISHERMAN

Directed by Zoey Martinson

Ghana | 2024 | 105 min English

APRIL 5 12:15 PM SPOT 13

The Fisherman is a heartwarming comedy about Atta Oko, a retired traditional fisherman from Ghana. His life takes a whimsical turn when he is forced into retirement and partnered with a modern, bougie talking fish, leading him on an adventure to Accra. Joined by his three quirky “Associates,” they pursue their dream of owning a boat as they navigate the chaos of the modern world. Filled with laughter, magic and the vibrant culture of Ghana, The Fisherman is a delightful tale of family, dreams and the enduring spirit of a true fisherman.

The Fisherman premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 – the first Ghanaian film to do so.

FOUR MOTHERS

Directed by Darren Thornton

Ireland, UK | 2024 | 89 min English

APRIL 5 2:45 PM SPOT 12

APRIL 13 5:30 PM SPOT 13

Edward, a novelist saddled with caring for his elderly mother, finally finds himself on the brink of literary success. With pressure to go on a U.S. book tour mounting, the last thing Edward needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Pride holiday, leaving their mothers on his doorstep! Over a chaotic weekend, he must juggle his burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative and wildly different ladies.

An Irish twist on the acclaimed Italian hit Mid-August Lunch, Four Mothers is an uplifting comedy and tender drama that takes an unlikely found family on a journey to embrace life. The film won the Audience Award at the BFI London Film Festival.

FREAKY TALES

(PREVIEW NIGHT)

Directed by Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden

USA | 2024 | 107 min

English

MARCH 24 7 PM SPOT 12

Set in 1987 Oakland, California, FreakyTales is a multitrack mixtape of colorful characters – an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis and a debt collector – on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles. Executive produced by hip-hop pioneer Too $hort and featuring an all-star ensemble including Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, the late Angus Cloud and Tom Hanks, this pulpy blend of explosive action, edgy humor, gory kills and sly twists and turns makes for one wild ride.

FreakyTales screened on opening night of Sundance 2024.

THE FREEDOM TOWER

Directed by Juan Castañeda

USA | 2025 | 12 min English

APRIL 13 12 PM

Nestled in the heart of Miami’s skyline, the Freedom Tower stands as a powerful symbol of resilience, hope and new beginnings. Originally built in 1925 as Miami’s first skyscraper, its most poignant chapter began in 1962 when it became the Cuban Refugee Center, known as El Refugio, offering sanctuary to thousands fleeing political oppression and economic hardship in Cuba. Through personal testimonies and historical accounts, this documentary explores the building’s deep connections to the immigrant experience, cultural preservation and the pursuit of opportunity.

Screening as part of our “A Sense of Place” shorts package; followed by a discussion on the Freedom Tower’s future.

FURY

Directed by Gemma Blasco

Spain | 2024 | 107 min Spanish & Catalan with English subtitles

APRIL 11 9 PM CGAC

Young actress Alex is raped at a New Year’s Eve party but cannot identify her attacker. When she turns to her brother Adrian for help and support, he reacts by questioning and pressuring her, pushing Alex to distance herself from him and everything she knows. For a year she lives in solitude, mired in disgust, shame and guilt, before finding the only way to channel her pain and anger – by playing the vengeful character of Medea on the stage. Meanwhile, consumed by rage, Adrian makes his own decisions on an increasingly dark path that strays far from what Alex actually needs.

World premiering at SXSW in March, Fury is a powerful film from director Gemma Blasco

THE GOLDSMITH’S SECRET

Directed by Olga Osorio

Spain | 2025 | 99 min Spanish with English subtitles

Top Spanish actor and Goya Award winner Mario Casas (The Invisible Guest) and Goya nominee Michelle Jenner (Berlín) star in the cinematic adaptation of Elia Barceló’s critically acclaimed romance novel The Goldsmith’s Secret. Set across three different moments, the film delves into the passionate relationship between a young man and a woman, grappling with the complexities of being in the “right place at the wrong time.” Drawing inspiration from timeless classics such as Somewhere in Time and In the Mood for Love, the film was produced by Nostromo Pictures, known for such big-budget productions as Palm Trees in the Snow The Goldsmith’s Secret is a remarkable story of impossible love trapped between parallel times. APRIL

GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY

Directed by Liz Garbus

USA | 2025 | 52 min English

APRIL 12

Told from multiple points of view as a means to explore issues of perspective, bias and trauma, this compelling drama is inspired by the disturbing stories surrounding a Midwestern couple (Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass) who adopts a girl with a rare form of dwarfism. But as they begin to raise her alongside their three biological children, mystery emerges around her age and background, and they slowly start to suspect she may not be who she claims. As they defend their family from the daughter they’ve grown to believe is a threat, she fights her own battle to confront her past and what her future holds, in a showdown that ultimately plays out in the tabloids and the courtroom.

After the episode Duplass will record an episode of Josh Horowitz’s HappySad Confused podcast.

GOOGOOSH –MADE OF FIRE

Directed by Niloufar

Taghizadeh

Germany | 2024 | 94 min Farsi & English with English subtitles

APRIL 5 5:30 PM REGAL 17

From symbolizing modern Iran to enduring 20 years of house arrest to ultimately making a stunning return to music while becoming a powerful advocate for women and freedom along the way, this is the extraordinary story of Googoosh, the Queen of Persian Pop. For decades, the Iranian megastar captivated audiences with her progressive style and boundless talent, earning global acclaim with performances alongside Tina Turner and Ray Charles. The 1979 Islamic Revolution halted her meteoric career with a ban on women singing in public, leading to two decades of house arrest and enforced silence. Googoosh – Made ofFire recounts the dramatic life story and comeback of Googoosh through her own words and spellbinding archival footage.

HAMBRE

Directed

by

Joanna Nelson

Venezuela, Italy, Chile 2024 | 110 min Spanish & Italian with English subtitles

APRIL 7 6:45 PM

13

Amid the Venezuelan exodus, two young adults on opposite paths meet at a crossroads. Roberto, convinced that his country needs him, works for the Caracas Metro and is determined to stay. Selina, yearning for escape, lives in Italy looking for a way to leave her Venezuelan passport behind. When Roberto gets a job offer abroad and Selina gets trapped in Venezuela during Christmas vacation, they must decide: Stay behind or migrate?

Hambre is an important and timely film on the current Venezuelan crisis and is directed by Joanna Nelson based upon personal experiences: “I needed to capture what triggered millions of Venezuelans to migrate, to abandon their country and why they couldn’t take it anymore.”

HAPPYEND

Directed by Neo

Sora

Japan, USA | 2024 | 113 min Japanese with English subtitles

Best friends Yuta and Kou are on the brink of graduating from high school in a near-future Tokyo, where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake casts a shadow over daily life. One night, they play a prank on their principal with unexpected consequences, leading to the installation of a surveillance system in the school. As the oppressive security measures take hold and the national political situation darkens, the two are compelled to confront differences that they have never expressed before.

Screened at film festivals all over the world, including the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY

Directed by Sam Feder

USA | 2025 | 85 min English

APRIL 11 9:15 PM

An actively unfolding story of resistance follows an ACLU lawyer and a group of journalists and activists responding to anti-trans backlash in real-life communities and workplaces, while revealing mainstream media’s role in rolling back hard-won rights. The story’s central participant is Queens, New York-based ACLU attorney, father and cat lover Chase Strangio. The pressure is on for Chase, as the first out trans person to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court – and the outcome will determine the future of legal bodily autonomy for contraception, abortion and reproductive health care.

Directed by Sam Feder, known for the documentaries Disclosure and BoyIAm, HeightenedScrutiny debuted at Sundance in January.

HOT MILK

Directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz

UK | 2024 | 92 min English

APRIL 7 9 PM SPOT 12

Hot Milk delves into the complexities of a relationship between a single mother and her daughter. Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter, Sofia (Emma Mackey), travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gómez, a physician who may hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town, Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveler Ingrid (Vicky Krieps). Sofia’s increased freedom becomes too much for her controlling mother, and their relationship simmers with pent-up resentments, threatening to tear the fragile threads that hold them together and leading them to a dramatic conclusion.

THE HOUSE SITTER

Directed by Matias Lucchesi

Argentina, Uruguay | 2024 | 82 min Spanish & English with English subtitles

APRIL 10 6:30 PM REGAL 17

Director Matías Lucchesi (Ciencias naturales and El Pampero) brings The House Sitter to Miami with a captivating twist: turning a childhood home into a vibrant stage of family tension and sly comedy. Claudio (Alfonso Tort), a timid playwright, and Marcela (Paola Barrientos), a brash architect with American investors in her pocket, return to their roots with grand plans for a sleek hotel. But Ramón (Alvin Astorga), the charming yet cunning caretaker, has his own schemes up his sleeve. Hilarious clashes undercut with tender resonance, and Lucchesi’s incisive lens turns rivalries into a deft interplay of flawed souls. The House Sitter, a ticket to revel in humanity’s messy brilliance that proves that going home can be as tangled as it is moving, beckons.

I AM NEVENKA

Directed by Iciar Bollain

Spain, Italy | 2024 | 112 min Spanish with English subtitles

In 2004, 24-year-old Nevenka Fernandez (Mireia Oriol), a finance councillor in the Ponferrada City Council, was relentlessly harassed by the city’s mayor, a man used to doing as he pleased, politically and personally. Despite knowing she’d likely pay a high price for doing so, Nevenka reported him – facing a city that turned its back on her and a tough public trial in the media that marked the beginning of the #metoo movement in Spain, long before the term was coined. This is a story based on real events and the pioneering young woman at the heart of it all who was the first in her country to take a powerful, popular politician to court for sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace. APRIL

THE INN BETWEEN

Directed by Ondi Timoner

USA | 2024 | 70 min English

The Inn Between, by award-winning director Ondi Timoner, invites audiences inside the only hospice for the homeless in America – which also provides recuperative care – to discover the miracles that can happen when human beings are given a chance to regain their hope, dignity and feeling of belonging. Based in Salt Lake City, The Inn Between is the only place between the hospital and the street, between life and death. There is such unexpected joy and inspiration in meeting the unsheltered as they discover a new life here, in a place where many have come to die. The Inn Between is both emotionally devastating and deeply heartwarming. APRIL 13

INTERSTATE

Directed by Oscar Corral & Haleem Muhsin

USA | 2025 | 61 min English

Interstate highlights both the engineering achievements of the U.S. Interstate Highway System and its detrimental effects on minority communities, particularly for African Americans. A decade after World War II ended, President Dwight D. Eisenhower embarked on the country’s most ambitious public works project by building an interstate highway system. To many people, it translated into an ethos of freedom and possibility, but not everyone benefited. For others its construction meant displacement, destitution and destruction. In Miami, the historic Black enclave of Overtown was cut into quarters by construction, leading to a population collapse from 40,000 Black residents to about 10,000 in just a decade. Combining personal narratives, historical insights and expert commentary, Interstate sheds light on stories of resilience amid displacement.

ISLA FAMILIA

Directed by Abraham Jiménez Enoa & Claudia Calviño

Cuba, Spain, France | 2024 | 85 min Spanish

A young couple decide to start a family against an uncertain political backdrop in Cuba. Claudia is a prestigious film producer; her husband, Abraham, has chosen the path of truth as an independent journalist. He is a founder of El Estornudo and collaborates with the so-called “enemy press.” Isla Familia follows Abraham during the last three years of his life, beginning with the arrival of the COVID pandemic in Cuba through his political exile in Spain. An intimate and epic journey seen through the eyes of one couple, filming their daily life with a cellphone and big hearts.

JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE

Directed by Laura Piani

France | 2024 | 94 min

French and English with English subtitles

APRIL 11

Agathe (Camille Rutherford) is a hopelessly clumsy yet charming young woman who works in the legendary Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris. While she dreams of being a successful writer and of experiencing love akin to a Jane Austen novel, she finds herself desperately single and plagued by writer’s block. When her best friend (Pablo Pauly) gets her invited to the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she finally has her Jane Austen moment – and is caught in a very unexpected romantic triangle. Agathe must let go of her insecurities to decide what she really wants for herself, and to achieve her romantic and professional dreams.

KNOW ME: THE UNTOLD MIAMI BATH SALTS PHENOMENON

Directed by Edson Jean

USA | 2025 | 72 min

Haitian Creole & English with English subtitles

APRIL 7 7:30 PM

11

In 2012, Jimmy Moïse attacked a man on Miami’s MacArthur Causeway, brutally biting parts of his face before he was shot and killed by police at the scene. Sensationalized details of the attack leaked to the press, launching a national news story about a man who became a “zombie” by abusing a scary street drug known as bath salts. Across town, Jimmy’s youngest brother, Kenson Joseph, remains unaware of his brother’s sudden passing until his image and insane headlines appear on every television in sight.

This film is based on the true story of the late Rudy Eugene and his youngest brother, Markenson Charles. The film was developed and co-written by Charles and continues to be produced with the input and willing participation of the Eugene/Charles family.

LA LA LAND IN CONCERT

LA LA LAND IN CONCERT

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Directed

by

Damien Chazelle

USA | 2016 | 128 min English

USA | 2016 | 128 min English

APRIL 9

Revisit the Academy Award-winning film starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) in a mesmerizing live concert experience! La La Land showcases the captivating story of a promising pianist and aspiring actress who cross paths and fall in love while attempting to harmonize their careers in Los Angeles. Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions; Sebastian, a jazz musician, ekes out a living by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars. But as success mounts they’re faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair.

Revisit the Academy Award-winning film starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) in a mesmerizing live concert experience! La La Land showcases the captivating story of a promising pianist and aspiring actress who cross paths and fall in love while attempting to harmonize their careers in Los Angeles. Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions; Sebastian, a jazz musician, ekes out a living by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars. But as success mounts they’re faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair.

The concert features a 50-piece orchestra and jazz band performing the soundtrack along to the movie. Experience the vivid musical moments central to the film, including the unbelievable piano solos!

The concert features a 50-piece orchestra and jazz band performing the soundtrack along to the movie. Experience the vivid musical moments central to the film, including the unbelievable piano solos!

LAST FLIGHT HOME

Last Flight Home is a rare look at death, something so often kept out of view. In January of 2021, Eli Timoner, filmmaker Ondi Timoner’s father, was placed into the hospital against his will when a social worker heard his labored breathing. During this time in the hospital, Eli had to grapple with losing total mobility of his body and not being able to see his family because of COVID restrictions. It’s at this time that this project began, as voice recordings made during this week display Eli’s progression of clinging to his family to coming to the decision that he wanted his life to end. In capturing these intensely intimate moments, Last Flight Home offers a unique perspective on the final stages of life. APRIL 12 2:45

LAST FLIGHT HOME

Directed by Ondi Timoner

Directed by Ondi

Timoner

USA | 2022 | 101 min English

USA | 2022 | 101 min English

Last Flight Home is a rare look at death, something so often kept out of view. In January of 2021, Eli Timoner, filmmaker Ondi Timoner’s father, was placed into the hospital against his will when a social worker heard his labored breathing. During this time in the hospital, Eli had to grapple with losing total mobility of his body and not being able to see his family because of COVID restrictions. It’s at this time that this project began, as voice recordings made during this week display Eli’s progression of clinging to his family to coming to the decision that he wanted his life to end. In capturing these intensely intimate moments, Last Flight Home offers a unique perspective on the final stages of life.

THE LAST MEAL

THE LAST MEAL

Directed by Maryse Legagneur

Directed by Maryse Legagneur

Canada | 2024 | 111 min

Canada | 2024 | 111 min French & Haitian Creole with English subtitles

French & Haitian Creole with English subtitles

APRIL 6 5:30 PM SPOT 12

Reynold is dying of stomach cancer and must resign himself to starvation, as his condition gradually prevents him from eating normally. Thus a missed rendezvous with death catches up with him, as the hunger inflicted on him at Haiti’s notorious Fort-Dimanche prison stirs up dark memories. He uses the pretext of the last meals he is still able to eat to share them with his daughter, Vanessa, whom he hasn’t seen in almost 20 years. Hesitant at first, Vanessa accepts the invitation to see her father. Then, with the help of her aunt, who owns a Haitian food store, she prepares traditional meals for her father. As they dine, a ritual that takes place at Reynold’s bedside, each meal from his childhood becomes a reminiscence of his past.

Reynold is dying of stomach cancer and must resign himself to starvation, as his condition gradually prevents him from eating normally. Thus a missed rendezvous with death catches up with him, as the hunger inflicted on him at Haiti’s notorious Fort-Dimanche prison stirs up dark memories. He uses the pretext of the last meals he is still able to eat to share them with his daughter, Vanessa, whom he hasn’t seen in almost 20 years. Hesitant at first, Vanessa accepts the invitation to see her father. Then, with the help of her aunt, who owns a Haitian food store, she prepares traditional meals for her father. As they dine, a ritual that takes place at Reynold’s bedside, each meal from his childhood becomes a reminiscence of his past.

THE LIBRARIANS

Directed by Kim A. Snyder

USA | 2025 | 92 min English

In Texas, the Krause List targeted 850 books focused on race and LGBTQ+ stories, triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of white Christian nationalism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats and laws aimed at criminalizing their work, the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

Kim A. Snyder is known for the Parkland documentary UsKids , which screened at Miami Film Festival in 2020, as well as the recent 2025 Oscar-nominated short DeathbyNumbers , which also focuses on the Parkland survivors.

LOVEABLE

Directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir

Norway | 2024 | 104 min Norwegian

APRIL 12 12:30 PM

How do you cope when your second chance begins to slide the way of the first? For Maria, struggling to raise four children and keep her professional head above water – while her second husband, Sigmind, briefly dips an overly cheery toe in the chaos between seemingly endless business trips – the answer at first appears to be … not so well. So when Sigmund responds to her resentment with a request for divorce, Maria’s crisis of confidence goes from a simmer to a roiling boil. After all, once could be the fault of someone else or no one at all. But twice? That’s uncomfortable common denominator territory. Realizing the only way out is through, Maria goes on a quest of self-inventory and examination to see if perhaps accepting herself in full will make the third time the charm.

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA

Directed by Samir Oliveros

USA | 2024 | 90 min English

APRIL 6 8:45 PM SPOT 13

Based on a true story, The Luckiest Man in America is set in May 1984, when Michael Larson, an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio, steps onto the game show PressYourLuck harboring a big secret: the key to endless amounts of money. His winning streak is threatened when the bewildered executives in the control room wonder what could possibly be going on. The film ushers viewers behind the scenes of the show’s most infamous episode and speculates on Larson’s motives. The Luckiest Man in America stars Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, David Strathairn, Maisie Williams, Haley Bennett and Johnny Knoxville. The film debuted at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

MAGIC HOUR

Directed by Jacqueline Christy

USA | 2025 | 94 min English

Harriet, a once-promising filmmaker, is stuck in the suburbs of New Jersey. Alienated from her cheating husband and spurned by her teenage daughter, she secretly enrolls in film school. She leads a double life and loves the grueling yet exhilarating world of student filmmaking. But when she gets fired off her own film and found out by her daughter, Harriet must decide if her life’s ambition is pure folly or a dream worth saving. Starring a wonderful Miriam Shor (Younger) in a performance that‘ll make you fall in love with her, Magic Hour is a feel-good film about how it’s never too late to chase your dreams.

MALECÓN

Directed by Carlos Larrazabal

Spain, Cuba, USA | 2025 | 94 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 8 9:15 PM REGAL 17

Elvis returns to Havana after serving a 10-year prison sentence for killing his abusive, alcoholic stepfather in a tragic accident. Reinserting himself into a city that’s struggling to recover from the infamous “Special Period” – caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the country opening up to capitalist influence – is difficult, and he quickly realizes Havana’s no longer the place he once knew. When the opportunity to leave Cuba presents itself, Elvis starts a journey to pay for his escape. But his life takes yet another a turn when fate reunites him with his childhood love, Yuli, and her husband, Sebastian, lord of a sex-trafficking business.

MISTURA

Directed by Ricardo de Montreuil

Peru | 2024 | 97 min Spanish and French with English subtitles

APRIL 10 8:45 PM SPOT 12

In 1960s Peru, a privileged French-Peruvian woman’s life unravels when her husband’s betrayal ostracizes her from elite society, leading her to embrace people from the very communities she was raised to disregard. Amid a backdrop of newfound alliances, she embarks on a transformative journey that challenges societal norms and reveals Peru’s authentic identity through a daring culinary venture that celebrates the country’s remarkably diverse cuisine and peoples, igniting a revolution that redefines her life.

Mistura has been a hit at festivals worldwide and we’re thrilled to be screening this audience-pleasing film in Miami with its director, Ricardo de Montreuil, in attendance.

MOTEL DESTINO

Directed by Karim Aïnouz

Brazil, France, Germany, UK | 2024 | 115 min

Portuguese with English subtitles

Brazilian auteur Karim Aïnouz (Invisible Life) orchestrates a sweaty, steamy and illicit love triangle at a sleazy sex motel on the northeastern coastal region of Ceará. After botching a hit and going off the grid, 21-year-old Heraldo (newcomer Iago Xavier) lands at the Motel Destino, where he becomes dangerously entangled with the owner’s wife, Dayana (Nataly Rocha). No other film at last year’s Cannes Film Festival turned the heat up quite as high as Motel Destino (though a few certainly tried). Taking inspiration from Lawrence Kasdan’s BodyHeat, Aïnouz anchors his fatalistic tropical noir with a sizzling debut performance from Xavier, who beat out nearly 500 actors for the part. APRIL 9

NEWS WITHOUT A NEWSROOM

Directed by Oana Liana Martisca

USA | 2025 | 80 min

English

APRIL 11 6:30 PM

As local newsrooms vanish and the industry’s first digital transformation redefines journalism, News Without a Newsroom explores the profound shift in journalism’s culture, values and connection to the communities it serves. Once a pillar of democracy, local newspapers provided a voice for the marginalized and a check on power. Now, with shrinking staffs, remote journalists and AI-driven social media shaping the news that people see, the newsroom’s collaborative spirit and public service mission are at risk. Through frontline reporting and expert insights, the film unpacks the challenges facing journalism today – from political polarization and media distrust to legislative threats and the emergence of generative AI, which blurs the line between fact and fiction like never before.

OLIVIA & THE CLOUDS

Directed by Tomás Pichardo Espaillat

Dominican Republic | 2024 | 80 min Spanish with English subtitles

Olivia, haunted by a past love, hides it under her bed. She trades flowers with this ghost in exchange for comforting rain clouds. Barbara, rejected by Mauricio, escapes reality through fantastical stories. Mauricio, full of regrets, is swallowed by the Earth. Ramón, smitten by Olivia, witnesses the growth of a strange plant mirroring her form. One of the most unique animated films in years, Olivia &the Clouds blends an array of different animation styles – from claymation, stop-motion, cut-outs and mixed media – to craft this unforgettable story about the enduring power of love’s memory. A vibrant debut that defies you to tear your eyes away, this is a surreal exploration of love’s many complexities.

OMAHA

Directed by Cole Webley

USA | 2025 | 83 min

English

APRIL 6 8:45 PM

Set against the backdrop of the 2008 economic crisis, Omaha follows a struggling father (John Magaro) who embarks on a road trip across the American West with his two children, Ella and Charlie, in search of hope and a better life. And what begins as a seemingly spontaneous family journey gradually reveals deeper layers of both grief and resilience, as Ella starts to sense that her father’s intentions may be masking a more profound truth. With its quiet, stripped-down storytelling, Omaha resonates emotionally, capturing the deep, unspoken bond between a father and his children while reflecting on the resilience required to keep a family intact during uncertain times.

THE OTHER WAY AROUND

Directed by Jonás Trueba

Spain | 2024 | 112 min

Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 4 6:30

Ale is a film director; Alex is an actor. After 15 years together, they decide to go their separate ways and begin to act on an old joke made by Ale’s father – that separations, and not unions, are cause for celebration. The couple announces the break-up to numerous family members and friends in a bid to convince themselves of the reality of their separation. Coupledom – whether getting together, staying together, making up or breaking up – is synonymous with filmmaking. Director Jonás Trueba’s films have won a Goya, a Special Jury Prize in Malaga and multiple San Sébastián prizes, and he has been nominated for a Cézar.

OUT OF PLAIN SIGHT

Directed by Daniel Straub & Rosanna Xia

USA | 2024 | 94 min

English

APRIL 6 2:45 PM COSFORD

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Rosanna Xia and Academy Award-winning L.A. Times Studios comes Out ofPlain Sight, a cinematic exposé of an environmental disaster lurking just off the coast of Southern California. Not far from Catalina Island, aboard one of the most advanced research ships in the world, David Valentine discovered a corroded barrel on the seafloor that gave him chills. The full environmental horror sharpens into greater clarity once he calls LosAngelesTimes journalist Xia, who pieces together a shocking revelation: In the years after World War II, as many as 500,000 barrels of toxic waste had been quietly dumped into the ocean – and the consequences continue to haunt the world today.

THE PARTY’S OVER

Directed by Elena Manrique

Spain | 2024 | 103 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 8 6:45

Having arrived illegally in Spain, young Senegalese immigrant Bilal is pursued by the police. By chance he manages to escape, hiding out in an Andalusian manor house set in an immense garden. The runaway is discovered first by Carmina, the capricious and unpredictable lady of the house, then by maid Lupe. Neither woman reveals her discovery to the other. But what first appears as a refuge quickly becomes Bilal’s prison, and a dangerous game ensues … Elena Manrique’s directorial debut deftly navigates moments of harsh reality, tenderness, vulnerability, humour and callousness. The Party’s Over debuted under the Toronto Film Festival’s Discovery program in September.

PAVEMENTS

Directed by Alex Ross Perry

USA | 2024 | 128 min English

This examination of the iconic 1990s indie band Pavement appears to be just another music documentary – until it isn’t. A prismatic hybrid of narrative, scripted, documentary, musical and metatextual forms, the film intimately shows the band preparing for its sold-out 2022 reunion tour while simultaneously tracking its preparations for a musical based on the band’s songs, a museum devoted to its history and a big-budget Hollywood biopic inspired by its saga as the most important band of a generation. Director Alex Ross Perry is famous for directing Golden Exits, Her Smell and The Sweet East, and our screening takes place in a secret venue that has just the right vibes for a classic rock documentary.

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR

Directed by Geeta Gandbhir

USA | 2025 | 96 min English

A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute escalates into deadly violence, in a film that deftly presents police bodycam footage and investigative interviews to expose the consequences of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. In a normal American neighborhood with families living their lives and kids playing outside, one woman was quick to see any conflict as an attack that required police attention. The annoying behaviors of a local “Karen” are slowly revealed to be something darker and far more appalling. Director Geeta Gandbhir tells this uniquely American story through the artful presentation of real-life footage that allows the circumstances to speak for themselves with terrifying clarity. Will justice be done, or will the legal system built to protect one class of people from another step in and excuse the inexcusable?

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

Directed by

Peter Weir

Australia | 1975 | 107 min English

APRIL 13

This sensual and striking chronicle of a disappearance and its aftermath put director Peter Weir on the map and helped usher in a new era of Australian cinema. Picnic at Hanging Rock is set at the turn of the 20th century and concerns a small group of students from an all-female college who vanish while on a St. Valentine’s Day outing. Less a mystery than a journey into the mystic, as well as an inquiry into issues of class and sexual repression in Australian society, Weir’s gorgeous, disquieting film is a work of poetic horror whose secrets haunt viewers to this day.

This is a new 4K restoration of the cinematic work voted best Australian film of all time by members of the Australian Film Institute.

PINK NARCISSUS

Directed by James

Bidgood

USA | 1971 | 65 min No dialogue

APRIL 10

An extremely handsome, brooding, self-absorbed young man escapes the realities of his world through a progression of fantasies. Obsessed with his own perfection, he lives in a dreamscape of intense colors, magnificent music, elaborate costumes and strikingly handsome men. In a series of sequences he imagines himself as a Roman slave chosen by the emperor, a triumphant matador vanquishing a bull (who is really a black leather-clad cyclist), an innocent wood nymph gamboling in the woods and a diaphanously dressed harem boy in the tent of a sheik. His narcissistic enchantment with his own beauty and lifestyle is marred by one great fear – aging and the loss of his youth and good looks.

PREDATORS

Directed by David Osit

USA | 2025 | 96 min English

A cultural sensation from its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s candid-camera investigative series “To Catch a Predator” ensnared sex offenders and lured them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and arrested while cameras rolled. The show was a hit and transformed its host, Chris Hansen, into a moral crusader and TV star while spawning a worldwide industry of imitators and vigilantes. But why did we watch so voraciously – and why do we continue to devour its web-based, clickbait-driven offshoots? Looking back on the program and the franchises it spawned, filmmaker David Osit turns his camera on journalists, actors, law enforcers, academics and ultimately himself, to trace America’s obsession with watching people at their lowest.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Directed by Joe Wright

USA, England, France | 2005 | 127 min English

APRIL 8

In partnership with Miami Book Fair, we invite you to a magical evening at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens for a special 20th-anniversary screening of Pride &Prejudice (2005) to celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday and her enduring impact! Immerse yourself in the romance of the Regency era with MBF’s Austen-inspired activations, featuring charming photo ops, witty mini-games, exciting giveaways and more, in a stunning, Austen-inspired setting. In this adaptation of Austen’s beloved novel, Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. As the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), sparks fly.

THE PYTHON HUNT

Directed by Xander Robin

USA | 2025 | 91 min English

Every year, the Florida government calls upon the general public to compete in an invasive python removal contest in the Everglades in an attempt to save its threatened ecosystem. For 10 grueling nights, an eclectic group of amateur hunters confront dangerous terrain, nocturnal creatures and their own desires. Meanwhile, one professional hunter leads the charge to undermine the competition, questioning what hides beneath the python mania gripping the ’Glades. Called “the next TigerKing” by Deadline after the film’s SXSW premiere, The Python Hunt is a truly entertaining documentary that’s sure to break out when released. This is a film filled with insane, memorable characters and incredible, skin-crawling scenes of angry Burmese pythons.

QUEENS OF DRAMA

Directed by Alexis Langlois

France | 2024 | 115 min French with English subtitles

Shot in bright colors and filled with infectious original pop music, Queens ofDrama traces the rise and fall of chanteuse Mimi Madamour (Louiza Aura) over several decades. Auditioning for Stars in the Making, a vicious American Idol-esque competition, Mimi crosses paths with punk performer Billie Kohler (Gio Ventura). Mimi achieves stardom; Billie gets heckled off the stage. But a turbulent love affair emerges along with the whispers of both the public and the industry, not ready to accept a lesbian pop princess in 2005. Thoroughly campy and melodramatic from start to finish, Alexis Langlois’ debut feature is his bloody valentine to bad girls, trash art and the wild world of obsessive queer fandom. Don’t say we didn’t warn you when the song “Pas touche (Don’t Touch)” gets stuck in your head.

RAINS OVER BABEL

Directed by Gala del Sol

Colombia, Spain, USA 2025 | 118 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 11 9 PM REGAL 17

In a tropical-punk twist on Dante’s Inferno, a group of misfits converges at Babel, a mythical club that doubles as purgatory, and where the city’s Grim Reaper presides. In the film, today marks the end of Dante’s contract with La Flaca, death personified. As Dante starts recalling who he was before he died, he aids Monet, a ghost desperate to return to his body before it decomposes. Meanwhile, Jacob – caught between his orthodox upbringing and his passion for performance –faces the ultimate test, and is keeping secrets from his devout parents. Against this backdrop, the lives of these characters intertwine at Babel, on a night where the living and the dead collide.

READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN

Directed by Eran Riklis

Italy, Israel | 2024 | 108 min Persian & English with English subtitles

APRIL 8 6:30 PM

APRIL 9 9 PM

Azar Nafisi, a former professor at Tehran University, secretly gathers seven of her most committed female students to read forbidden Western classics. As fundamentalists seize control, the women remove their veils and speak about their intimate hopes, loves and disappointments, femininity and search for a place in an increasingly oppressive society. By reading Lolita in Tehran, they celebrate the liberating power of literature in revolutionary Iran and form their own future.

Winner of the Audience Award and Special Jury Award for Female Cast at the 2024 Rome Film Festival, Reading Lolita in Tehran is a powerful new film by director Eran Riklis.

REINAS

Directed by Klaudia Reynicke

Switzerland, Peru | 2024 | 104 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 10 6:30 PM SPOT 12

It’s the summer of 1992 in Lima, Peru, and everything is happening very fast. Lucia, Aurora and their mother, Elena, are preparing to emigrate to the United States. They’re apprehensive about saying goodbye to their country, family and friends, but above all to Carlos, father and ex-husband, who has all but disappeared from their lives. Together, the family must confront the difficult truth about the losses their impending departure implies. Reinas is an intense, choral and moving tale of initiation, made in the spirit of the 1990s.

This Swiss-Peruvian-Spanish international co-production debuted at Sundance and was selected as the Swiss entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

RENT FREE

Directed by Fernando Andrés

USA | 2024 | 93 min English & Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 10 6:30 PM

Best friends since childhood, Ben and Jordan are two young men living in a rapidly changing Austin, Texas, where they navigate low-paying jobs, fraught relationships and their own emotionally codependent friendship. When they suddenly lose their apartment, they come up with a last-ditch plan to spend the rest of the year “rent free.” They set out on a tragicomic journey across the couches, floors and guest rooms of their friends while desperately trying to save up enough money to leave behind a city they no longer recognize. Made with a satirical bent and an ensemble cast, Rent Free is a high-anxiety comedy about a generation on the edge.

RIVER OF GRASS

Directed by Sasha Wortzel

USA | 2025 | 83 min English

APRIL 9 6:30 PM REGAL 17

RiverofGrass is an ode to the Florida Everglades past and present, told through the prescient writings of the late environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Miccosukee educator Betty Osceola and those who today call the region home. In the wake of a hurricane that has devastated her home, the film’s narrator (director Sasha Wortzel) turns to Douglas’ groundbreaking book The Everglades: River of Grass (1947) to make sense of its history, and she embarks on a deep listening walk with Osceola in order to seek a way forward. Interweaving passages from Douglas’ book, personal narration, present-day verité, archival pieces and otherworldly landscapes, River of Grass reveals how this country’s origin story haunts and inextricably shapes contemporary American life, while asking how together we might better weather coming storms.

SALLY

Directed by Cristina Costantini

USA | 2025 | 103 min English

Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure she carried a secret. Sally – directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Cristina Costantini (Mucho Mucho Amor) – skillfully weaves together the dual threads of her story: the private romance she shared with her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaughnessy, and the professional trajectory of her time in the space program that saw her contend with overt sexism and homophobia, prompting her secrecy. Rare archival footage brings viewers behind the scenes to witness NASA training and missions, while press appearances reflect the media frenzy Ride was subjected to both before and after her historic first flight.

THE SALT PATH

Directed by Marianne Elliott

UK | 2024 | 115 min English

The Salt Path is the profound true story of husband-and-wife Raynor (Jason Isaacs, Event Horizon and Armageddon) and Moth (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files and Sex Education) Winn’s 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline. After being forcibly removed from their home, they make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace and a sense of acceptance. With depleted resources and only a tent and some essentials between them, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination.

The Salt Path premiered under the Special Presentations program of the Toronto International Film Festival.

SAMANÁ SUNRISE

Directed by Rafa Cortés

Spain, Dominican Republic 2024 | 99 min Spanish & English with English subtitles

APRIL 9 9 PM

A Caribbean sunrise, a throbbing hangover and a marriage that doesn’t quite belong to you. Something’s off – way off. With his signature wit and precision, Rafa Cortés (Yo, Cannes Critics’ Week FIPRESCI Award) crafts Samaná Sunrise, a sharp, sun-soaked comedy where one drunken confession sends reality into a tailspin. What starts as a carefree vacation between two longtime couples unravels into a dizzying puzzle of mixed-up identities, bruised egos and truths that refuse to stay buried. Featuring an electrifying ensemble cast – including Luis Tosar, María Luisa Mayol, Luis Zahera and Bárbara Santa-Cruz, this Spanish-Dominican fever dream blends biting humor, existential chaos and the sinking feeling that the life you woke up in might not be your own.

THE SCHOOL DUEL

Directed by Todd Wiseman Jr.

USA | 2024 | 91 min English

APRIL 8 6:30 PM

In this dystopian thriller set in near-future Florida, Sammy (Kue Lawrence), a tormented 13-year-old, is recruited to participate in a deadly, statewide competition known as “The School Duel.” The event is the government’s solution to curbing school shootings in the wake of the abolishment of gun control. Attracted by the promise of notoriety and acceptance – and guided by a sense of righteousness and misguided patriotism – outcast Sammy secretly enlists in the contest against his mother’s (Christina Brucato) wishes. As he takes the battlefield, he slowly starts to understand what is at stake. Also starring Oscar Nuñez (The Office), who will attend this Miami Film Festival screening.

SECRETARY

Directed by Steven Shainberg

USA | 2002 | 97 min English

A submissive former mental patient gets a job at a law firm and begins a sadomasochistic relationship with her new boss. He is aroused by her obedience; she embraces his abuse. The bold and boundary-pushing film series Uncomfortable Brunch is making its Miami debut as part of Miami Film Festival, bringing its signature blend of provocative cinema + indulgent brunch! Known for showcasing transgressive and challenging films in a communal setting, Uncomfortable Brunch has become a favorite for adventurous cinephiles in the greater Orlando area. This special Miami edition offers audiences the chance to experience thought-provoking cinema alongside a curated brunch menu, making for an unforgettable morning of discomfort.

SILENT PARTNERS

Directed by Jorge “Jokes” Yanes

USA | 2025 | 82 min English

APRIL 3 7 PM

Valentine, a psychotic hitman, realizes his only shot at a free life would mean hijacking the Chicago Outfit’s elaborate insurance scam. Now forced to work with sworn enemies who have a cop problem of their own, this silent partnership could turn deadly. Inspired by true events of Miami’s infamous drug wars of the 1980s and shot in South Florida, Silent Partners is directed by Jorge “Jokes” Yanes, who has screened multiple films at Miami Film Festival and is also known for his music videos and work for HBO, Complex, Universal Music, Atlantic Records and Rolling Loud.

SPERMAGEDDON

Directed by Tommy Wirkola & Rasmus A. Sivertsen

Norway | 2025 | 80 min Norwegian with English subtitles

APRIL 6 9 PM SPOT 12

This is a movie about the beginning of life! A tale so basic and universal, it’s a wonder no one has told it before. We’re talking about the race, the origin of all races as it were, between millions of sperm cells, all frantically trying to fertilize a single egg. It’s a quest fraught with peril, where all but one are doomed to failure. In this colourful and outrageous animated musical, an awkward teenage boy navigates his first sexual experience. Meanwhile, inside his scrotum a nervous sperm prepares to embark on the journey of a lifetime. A gleefully gross, deceptively sweet coming-of-age story with a difference.

STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING

Directed by

Roger Ross Williams

USA | 2023 | 91 min English

APRIL 9

7:30 PM SPOT 12

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams (Cassandro and Love to Love You, Donna Summer) brings Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s New York Times bestseller to the screen. Kendi’s National Book Award winner chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Williams’ documentary adaptation uses an innovative animation process that blends live action with the art of the era to illuminate figures and moments both well known and obscure, both historical and contemporary. Leading female academics and activists guide viewers through a searing account of how racist tropes and imagery were developed and enshrined in American culture. Director-producer Williams will be in attendance for an extended interview on his career.

THE SUMMER BOOK

Directed by Charlie

McDowell

USA, Finland | 2024 | 90 min English

APRIL 6 8:30 PM COSFORD

Based on Tove Jansson’s beloved novel of the same name, The Summer Book tells the story of Sophia, a 9-year-old girl who is growing up fast, and her grandmother (Glenn Close), who is nearing the end of her life. Together with Sophia’s father, they spend time at their family’s summer home on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland exploring the islet and talking about life and nature –but not their feelings about Sophia’s mother’s death and their love for one another. By the end of the summer, emotional wounds are healed, bonds are deepened and Sophia’s grandmother is able to leave her life peacefully.

The Summer Book debuted at the BFI London Film Festival.

THE SURFER

Directed

by Lorcan

Finnegan

Australia, Ireland | 2024 | 99 min English

APRIL 7 9:15 PM SPOT 13

Maybe you’ve never wondered what it would be like to see Endless Summer cross-pollinated with Falling Down. But it’s a cinematic blossom whose time has come when you add a (literally and figuratively) smoldering Nicolas Cage to the mix as a father who just wants to take his son surfing on the same beaches he surfed on as a kid – and maybe close a deal on the very house he grew up in. What should be a triumph of father-son bonding and family legacy building goes wrong when a local gang of surfers led by a charismatic baddie (OK, maybe there’s some Point Break in here, too) play gatekeeper and humiliate him. Will the Surfer bail on his dreams and his relationship with his son? Or will he find a way to shred the barrel and salvage both?

TALKING WITH CHAGO

Directed by Emilio Oscar Alcalde

USA | 2024 | 92 min Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 5 2:30 PM

An intimate, contemplative portrait of Cuban Renaissance man Santiago “Chago” Rodríguez –engineer, writer, painter, film critic and avid collector of film memorabilia. Chago opens the doors of his home-temple, making us happy accomplices to his privileged memory, which summons wisdom and recollections of all kinds. He is an encyclopedic evocation of cinema as a vice. An unrepentant collector. A “naïve” painter of an enchanted bestiary, caught between dream and nightmare. Chago weaves his irreverent, cursed literature into a life well lived, where good always prevails over evil. The story, while simple, reveals the deep and complex truth of how memory is reconstructed in exile. This is not an epic – true heroism is discovered in the day to day.

TATAMI

Directed by Guy Nattiv & Zar Amir

Georgia, UK, Israel | 2023 | 105 min English & Persian with English subtitles

In the first feature film to have both an Iranian and an Israeli director, Leila, an Iranian judo athlete, is put in political danger when her government tells her to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival in the final – forcing her to make a life-or-death decision that could put her life and the lives of her coach and family in jeopardy.

Tatami premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and was directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv, who is best known for the feature films Golda (with Helen Mirren) and Skin (with Jamie Bell), as well as the Oscar-nominated short film of the same name.

THE THINGS YOU KILL

Directed by Alireza Khatami

Turkey | 2025 | 113 min Turkish with English subtitles

APRIL 10 9 PM SPOT 13

APRIL 12 5 PM COSFORD

Reaping what you sow, as a concept, stretches all the way back to the apostle Paul and Galatians – maybe further – but it gets an interesting twist in this film about Ali, a university professor who spirals into a dissociative rage after his mother’s suspicious death and eventually recruits a near-otherworldly gardner named Reza as a vessel to exact revenge. That is the sowing. The reaping comes once the violence unearths family secrets and refracts Ali’s reality, a multitude of selves and shadow selves planted in the dark, fecund soil of his soul, waiting to see which will take root. It’s a disquieting, multilayered parable – another thing with a long history that feels new in this smart, thought-provoking story.

THE THREESOME

Directed by Chad Hartigan

USA | 2025 | 111 min English

APRIL 12 12 PM

One fateful night, the stars seemingly align for Connor, a kind and unassuming young man, as his long-time crush – the electric and irreverent Olivia – steers them into a threesome with sweet, alluring stranger Jenny. The encounter sparks a relationship between Connor and Olivia and their love grows quickly, all the way to planning a life together. But their happy romance is soon demolished when Jenny reappears in their lives, thrusting all three into a difficult journey toward true accountability and adulthood. Featuring charismatic performances from Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King and Ruby Cruz, The Threesome reminds us that even the simplest relationships are messy … and three’s a crowd.

TRANSPLANT

Directed by Jason Park

USA | 2024 | 93 min

English & Korean with English subtitles

APRIL 10 9 PM

A motivated surgical resident pushes himself to extreme lengths while training under a legendary heart transplant surgeon obsessed with protecting his perfect reputation in this thrilling psychological drama. Like the medical-world version of Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, Transplant is about a mentor-mentee relationship that gets pushed to dangerous levels. Filmmaker Jason Park tackles themes such as ambition – and the way our family dynamics shape that very ambition – and what happens when one’s moral compass collides with ruthless determination. When other people’s lives hang in the balance, how does that affect one’s decisions and actions? The film asks tough questions, while at the same time operating like a fast-paced thriller that consistently keeps the audience on its toes.

TRIFOLE

Directed by Gabriele Fabbro

Italy, South Africa, USA 2024 | 100 min English & Italian with English subtitles

APRIL 4 6:30 PM

Dalia, in her late twenties, is sent by her mother to care for her grandfather, Igor, in Piedmont, Northern Italy, hoping rural life will help her find direction. On arrival, Dalia is shocked by Igor’s dementia and his state of well-being. Facing eviction as local wineries encroach on truffle lands, they bond through the struggle. Igor shares his hunting secrets, sending Dalia on a journey for the mythical “lightning-struck” truffle, an adventure that offers newfound purpose. Starring Umberto Orsini, a legendary figure in Italian cinema who has worked with filmmakers such Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, and elevated by gorgeous scenery and the endearing presence of Birba the dog, Trifole is a bittersweet Italian fable.

TWO ISLANDS

Directed by Humberto Ochoa

USA, Australia | 2024 | 52 min

Spanish & English with English subtitles

APRIL 5 12:15 PM KOUBEK

APRIL 13 2:45 PM KOUBEK

Two Islands is an evocative documentary film project that employs the art of cinematic storytelling to illuminate an extraordinary international cultural exchange between Afro-Cuban artists from Miami and First Nations Aboriginal artists from Australia. The constant transference of ideas, values and traditions that takes place when two distinct cultures come in contact helps to ensure tolerance, acceptance and the continuous growth of our already diverse community.

Produced by Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center and made possible thanks to the support of MDC, the National Endowment of the Arts and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.

UNDERCOVER

Directed by Arantxa Echevarría

Spain | 2024 | 118 min

Spanish with English subtitles

APRIL 5 5:30 PM SPOT 12

Between its formation in 1959 and its dissolution in 2018, the Basque separatist group ETA killed nearly a thousand people in Spain – including more than 300 civilians – and injured more than 22,000 others. Yet it was only ever infiltrated successfully by one police officer. Aranzazu Berradre Marín is a pseudonym, but her story, told here, is based on true events. The film not only details the years of dedication it took posing as a young ETA sympathizer to gain the trust of its inner circle, but also the personal sacrifice and complex emotional trauma that accompanies the pursuit of justice when one is forced to build relationships with the enemy and see the world through their eyes.

THE UNITED STATES OF ELIE TAHARI

Directed by David

Serero

USA | 2022 | 63 min English

APRIL 5 9 PM SPOT 13

Shot in 2020, this is the first documentary ever produced about iconic fashion designer Elie Tahari. The much-anticipated film tells Tahari’s life story – from his birth in Israel to Iranian parents to his creative process and enduring place in the world of fashion – honoring the legacy that he has built. Fern Mallis (aka the Godmother of Fashion), fashion designers Nicole Miller and Dennis Basso, actor Melissa Rivers, Wall Street Journal fashion reporter Teri Agins, Instagram influencer Julia Kananovich and artist Lynna Davis all appear to weigh in on Tahari and his work, with disco, models, Studio 54 and more sprinkled in.

THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE

Directed by Laura Casabe

Argentina, Mexico, Spain

90 min | 2025

Spanish with English subtitles

2001, Argentina: A hot and steamy summer. Natalia, Mariela and Josefina are inseparable friends living on the outskirts of Buenos Aires who have just completed their final year of high school – and they’re all madly in love with Diego. Natalia’s always had the most chemistry with him, but just when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, Silvia appears on the scene. Older and more experienced, she soon captures Diego’s attention. Suddenly, our protagonist finds herself having to deal with heartbreak, rejection and the fear of losing everything. But with the help of her Grandma Rita, Natalia calls on dark incantations and curses to jinx Diego and Silvia’s blossoming relationship.

WALTZING WITH BRANDO

Directed by Bill Fishman

USA | 2025 | 104 min English

APRIL 4 6:30 PM REGAL 17

Set in the stunning landscapes of the late 1960s Tahiti, WaltzingwithBrando tells the charming, funny, and inspiring true story of silver screen icon Marlon Brando (portrayed by Billy Zane, Titanic) and progressive Los Angeles-based architect Bernard Judge as they attempt to build the world’s first sustainable paradise on the remote, uninhabitable atoll of Tahiti’s Tetiaroa. The film is set primarily between 1969 and 1974, during which Brando was preparing to star in TheGodfather and LastTango in Paris.

Zane will be in attendance for the screening, and the film also stars Jon Heder and Richard Dreyfuss With a stellar cast and unforgettable characters, the Academy Award shortlisted film is a celebration of audacious dreams, ecological innovation and human resilience.

WAVES

Directed by Jiří Mádl

Czech Republic, Slovak Republic

2024 | 131 min

Czech, Slovak, French, Italian & Russian with English subtitles

5

Two decades before a cascade of revolutions brought down communist governments throughout Europe in 1989, there was the Prague Spring uprising of 1968, in which a brief program of political and cultural liberalization was ultimately crushed by a Soviet-led invading force of more than 500,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers. This film detailing the brave, doomed last stand of the International News Office at Czechoslovak Radio against censorship and authoritarianism is a story of the flawed, very human individuals who find themselves thrust into the crossroads of history, and also a stirring – and timely – meditation on how a lost battle fought valiantly can inspire the people and ideas that ultimately win the war. Waves forces us to ask, What would I sacrifice in their position? Waves was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.

THE WEDDING BANQUET

Directed by Andrew Ahn

USA | 2025 | 103 min English, Korean & Mandarin with English subtitles

APRIL 12 3 PM REGAL 17

APRIL 13 3:30 PM O CINEMA

Angela and Lee have been unlucky with their IVF treatments. Their friend Min, the closeted scion of a corporate empire, has plenty of family money but a soon-to-expire student visa. So when Chris, his commitment-phobic boyfriend, rejects his proposal, Min makes the offer to Angela instead: a green card marriage in exchange for funding Lee’s IVF. But their plans to quietly elope are upended when Min’s skeptical grandmother flies in from Korea insisting on an all-out wedding extravaganza. Anchor by a pitch-perfect cast that includes Bowen Yang, Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen and Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, this is a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating the disasters and delights of their own families’ expectations.

WHEN FALL IS COMING

Directed by François Ozon

France | 2024 | 102 min French with English subtitles

APRIL 10 9 PM REGAL 17

APRIL 12 5:45 PM

After a tumultuous life in Paris, Michelle has retired to a quiet existence in Burgundy, tending her garden. The voracious hostility of her daughter Valérie remains Michelle’s great puzzlement: How can her child treat her with such contempt and suspicion? Then Valérie drops off her son for a week with his grandmother, and Michelle sees an opportunity to repair the mother-daughter relationship. With the help of best friend Marie-Claude, whose son has recently been released from prison, Michelle plots a path toward restoring the family life so long denied to her. With a deceptively placid surface, master stylist François Ozon cooks up a twisty and destabilizing thriller where family ties remain the most mysterious ingredient of all.

WISH YOU WERE HERE

Directed by Julia Stiles

USA | 2024 | 99 min English

APRIL 6 4:15 PM

Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammer star in a fascinating movie about leaving the everyday world behind to take a chance on true romance. When the perfect night with a perfect stranger ends suddenly the next morning, Charlotte searches for answers and meaning in her disappointing life until she uncovers a secret that changes everything.

A screen icon of the early 2000s known for her performances in films such as 10Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance, Julia Stiles makes the transition to behind the camera with this brilliantly warm and emotional film, much of which was shot in South Florida.

ZOE

Directed by Emanuela Galliussi & Dean Ronalds

Italy, Spain, UK, France | 2024 | 101 min Italian, Spanish, English & French with English subtitles

Zoe has all the things that should make a person happy – unfortunately, she’s not. Then on Mardi Gras, a little boy dressed as a wizard grants her three wishes to live the life she’s always yearned for. And over the following three days, Zoe discovers herself living in Ibiza, London and Paris experiencing three new lifestyles, new lovers and completely different Zoes. Although she doesn’t find exactly what she’s looking for, she’ll soon realize she has found much more. Returning home from her magical adventure of “what if,” this Zoe again meets the little wizard, and discovers that his magic was much greater than she ever could have imagined.

SHORTS

APRIL 13 12 PM KOUBEK

A SENSE OF PLACE

Total running time: 87 minutes

Join the Miami Dade County Public Library’s Special Collections team and film director Mel Kiser for a selection of newly digitally remastered 16mm films that capture Miami as it once was.

A FEW THINGS I KNOW ABOUT MIAMI | Dirs Mel Kiser, Corky Irick | USA | 30 min // CALLING

MIAMI HOME | Dirs Mel Kiser, Corky Irick | USA | 27 min // LAST NIGHT AT THE S&S DINER | Dirs Mel Kiser, Corky Irick | USA | 30 min

Screens with The Freedom Tower, a short documentary film by Juan Castañeda (see page 30).

APRIL 12 2:45 PM SPOT 13

ARROZ CON MANGO

Total running time: 82 minutes

From a boxing rooster to a gender reveal gone awry, these comedy shorts take life and turn it on its head. A true arroz con mango!

FRENCH LESSONS | Dirs Anna Maguire, Kyle Greenberg | USA | 8 min // GENDER REVEAL | Dir Mo Matton | Canada | 12 min // MANNY & PAPO | Dir Andres Monsalve Roca | USA | 12 min // POLLO PUNCH | Dir Alec Castillo | USA | 10 min // SANDRA | Dirs Jen Chuck, Hannah Levy | USA | 12 min // TEEN MARY | Dir Ali Rosenthal | USA | 20 min // THE BULLFIGHTER | Dir Giselle Bonilla | USA | 16 min

APRIL 6 12 PM KOUBEK

BEST OF CORTADITO

Total running time: 99 minutes

Over the past decade, Cortadito has produced more than 50 original short films written and directed by emerging Puerto Rican filmmakers, with the program operated by the Alliance Française de Puerto Rico. Best of Cortadito is a retrospective of the program’s standout films that showcases the vibrancy of contemporary Puerto Rican cinema and its cultural dialogue with the Francophone Caribbean.

EL PASO | Dir Juliana Maité | Puerto Rico | 15 min // LA TORRE DE INÉS | Dir Adrián Pérez Rodriguez | Puerto Rico | 17 min // MANO SANTA | Dir Stephanie Camacho | Puerto Rico | 13 min // NOS PERSIGUEN | Dir Paulis Cofresí | Puerto Rico | 21 min // PAN DE LA ESQUINA | Dir Natalia Vega Maisonave | Puerto Rico | 17 min // SIRENES | Dir Sarah Malléon | Martinique | 16 min

APRIL 5 12 PM COSFORD

CINEMASLAM

Total running time: 100 minutes

A celebration of up-and-coming talent being nurtured right in our own backyard. These films by college students across our state are some of the best representations of the future of film in Florida.

¡QUE COLOMBIANADA! | Dir Samuel Vargas | USA | 17 min // CONSUMMATION | Dir Van Galex | USA | 10 min // DIRT THERAPY | Dir Sebastian Valencia | USA | 8 min // GAG | Dir Lex Morales | USA | 5 min // PHANTOM CONTACT | Dir Andres Eduardo Gonzalez Campillo | USA | 20 min // PRÈLUDE | Dir Paolo Cesti | USA | 15 min // PURPLE GROOVES: A FUNKY TRAGEDY | Dir Larry Flores II | USA | 9 min // THE BROTHER AND SISTER DUO | Dir Perry Feder | USA | 9 min // WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR VISION | Dir Brady Shea | USA | 7 min

SHORTS

APRIL 5 2:45 PM COSFORD

DEBÍ TIRAR MÁS FOTOS

Total running time: 78 minutes

Life is filled with moments we wish we would have captured. These shorts explore the feeling of wanting those times back, and not realizing those times are slipping past us.

ANA Y LA DISTANCIA | Dir Hansel Porras Garcia | USA | 10 min // BOAT PEOPLE | Dir Al’lkens Plancher | USA | 10 min // GRANDMA NAI WHO PLAYED FAVORITES | Dir Chheangkea | Cambodia, France, USA | 19 min // HERMANO HERMANA | Dirs Rodrigo Cuartas, Jonathan Cuartas, Michael Cuartas | USA | 3 min // LA ULTIMA MEMORIA | Dir Felipe Carlos Barandiaran | USA | 12 min // LITTLE HAITI, MIAMI, USA | Dir XF Serrano | USA | 9 min // THE BIG TIME | Dir Tristan Wauchope | USA | 15 min

APRIL 8 6:30 PM COSFORD

FADE INTO YOU

Total running time: 71 minutes

These films cut to the root of what all films are about: connection. Whether it be between lovers or friends, these works capture the longing we know all too well.

COMPLICATIONS | Dir Ivar Aase | Norway | 14 min // INVINCIBLE SUMMER | Dir Arnaud Dufeys | Belgium | 19 min // MY BEST FRIEND | Dir Elina Street | USA, France | 17 min // NOT TODAY | Dir Christian Meola | USA | 16 min // SWAMP ANGEL | Dir Emily Kobert | USA | 5 min

SHORTS

APRIL 6 12 PM COSFORD

HOMEGROWN DOC BLOCK

Total running time: 60 minutes

There’s no place like home. Featuring a diverse range of Made in MIA short documentaries, this program reminds us that Miami really is one of a kind.

GEORGE V. | Dirs Dennis Scholl, Dia Kontaxis | USA | 13 min // I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BUT YOU ARE SO DIFFICULT | Dir Berenicé Brino | USA | 14 min // MIC DROP: NIGHT TRAINS LAST STOP | Dir Gina Ann Margillo | USA | 15 min // OPEN DIALOGUES: GEN QUEERZ | Dir Freddy Rodriguez | USA | 18 min

APRIL 12 12 PM SPOT 13

I’M EVERY WOMAN

Total running time: 96 minutes

In this female-focused program, we’re shining a spotlight on films by and about women, featuring an array of different genres and unique perspectives.

ATTACHMENT THEORY | Dir Katherine Jackson | New Zealand | 16 min // DIRTY TOWEL | Dir Callie Carpinteri | USA | 13 min // FLASH WARNING | Dir Allegra Leguizamo | USA | 10 min // FRENESI | Dir Natasha Elías | USA | 4 min // JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA | Dirs Julia Aks, Steve Pinder | USA | 13 min // ON A SUNDAY AT ELEVEN | Dir Alicia K. Harris | Canada | 9 min // SELFNESS | Dir Isis Masoud | USA | 5 min // SHE AND HER GOOD VIBRATIONS | Dirs Olivia Griselda, Sarah Cheok | Singapore | 11 min // TROIS VAGINS QUI CRIENT | Dir Alexia Roc | Canada | 15 min

SHORTS

APRIL 4 6:30 PM SPOT 12

SEX, LOVE AND VIOLENCE

Total running time: 83 minutes

These comedies are sure to capture everyone’s attention, leaving you blushing and laughing the whole time.

CAPTAINS | Dirs Kevin Castellano, Edu Hirschfeld | Spain | 15 min // DIE BULLY DIE | Dirs Nathan Lacey, Nick Lacey | Australia | 16 min // OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE | Dir Tope Babalola | Canada | 22 min // THE SACRIFICE | Dir Christopher Werner | USA | 17 min // WHAT TO EXPECT | Dir Gabriela Garcia Medina | USA | 13 min

SUBTROPIC

Total running time: 63 minutes

APRIL 4 6:30 PM COSFORD

From Everglades art to punk rebellion and flamingo love stories to Miami street culture – this Subtropic Film Festival X Miami Film Festival collab delivers fresh, bold and unexpected stories straight from South Florida’s indie scene!

ASK A PUNK | Dir Emily Kobert | USA | 15 min // BLUE MIRROR | Dir Angela Rio | USA | 12 min // HIJA DE FLORINDA | Dir Shenny De Los Angeles | USA | 11 min // FLORIDA BOYS | Dir Nicholas Gelakis | USA | 5 min // FOREVER GLADING | Dir Greg Pesochin | USA | 9 min // TEST OF TIME: THE BIG CHEESE | Dir Julian Alicea, Common Interest | USA | 9 min // THE CRACK IN MY HEART | Dir Harrison Lum | USA | 2 min

APRIL 4 9 PM SPOT 12

SYMPATHY IS A KNIFE

Total running time: 94 minutes

Nowadays, horror comes in all forms. Whether it’s family drama, social media or societal norms, this block of short films is sure to scare you into the Atlantic.

JEFF | Dir Julia Hebner | USA | 24 min // NEURO | Dir Wes Ellis | USA | 15 min // QUEEN OF SAMBA | Dir Stacy Pascal Gaspard | USA | 11 min // RAT! | Dir Neal Suresh Mulani | USA | 17 min // THIS EDIBLE AIN’T SHIT | Dir Frank Volk | USA | 8 min // WASSUPKAYLEE | Dir Pepi Ginsberg | USA | 19 min

WHO WE ARE

APRIL 10 6:30 PM COSFORD

–UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM PROGRAM

Total running time: 66 minutes

A great documentary film captures the human spirit, and this diverse block of films captures that and more. UM Documentary Short Award Presentation.

CHASING THE PASSAGE OF TIME | Dir Dennis Scholl | USA | 6 min // CONFESSIONS OF A JUMBOTRON ADDICT | Dir Mickey Duzyj | USA | 9 min // DON’T CRY FOR ME ALL YOU DRAG QUEENS | Dir Kristal Sotomayor | USA | 9 min // QUE HAY ALLÍ AFUERA | Dir Mateo FormosoDeLucia | USA, Mexico | 4 min // STUD COUNTRY | Dirs Lina Abascal, Alexandra Kern | USA | 11 min // THE BORICUA’S DILEMMA | Dir Sebastian Nazario-Colon | USA | 15 min // TIGER | Dir Loren Waters | USA | 13 min // VIEW FROM THE FLOOR | Dir Megan Griffiths | USA | 5 min

Experience the best of Cuban cinema at the newly renovated, state-of-the-art theater at MDC’s Koubek Center, located in the heart of Little Havana. Screenings take place throughout the year and admission is free for all films in the series! Cuban Cinema Series was founded and directed in 1993 by renowned film critic and author Alejandro Ríos, who continues to direct the program today.

Presented by Miami Film Festival, many screenings feature special appearances by filmmakers and guest speakers.

Visit the Miami Film Festival website for updates.

Miami Film Festival also includes a Spotlight on Cuba program, featuring eight new films programmed by Ríos. These films include Adios Cuba, Cherri, Chirino, Chronicles of the Absurd (Crónicas del absurdo), Cuba’s Eternal Night (La noche eterna de Cuba), Isla Familia, Malecón and Talking with Chago (Hablando con Chago).

In addition, MFF will feature a five-film retrospective of Leon Ichaso in the fall of 2025.

Cuban Cinema Series is sponsored by ArtesMiami. Its mission is to support and promote Hispanic artists and cultural organizations, primarily in South Florida, in order to generate greater understanding and appreciation for their work among the diverse publics of this region.

Cuban Cinema Series is sponsored by ArtesMiami. Its mission is to support and promote Hispanic artists and cultural organizations, primarily in South Florida, in order to generate greater understanding and appreciation for their work among the diverse publics of this region.

Miami’s Own New World Symphony

Stéphane Denève, Artistic Director

Miami Dade College

300 N.E. Second Ave.

FL 33132-2296

Michael

Madeline Pumariega, President, Miami Dade College

Ismare Monreal

Madeline Pumariega, President, Miami Dade College

Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, sexual orientation or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures and practices, please contact the College’s Equity Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and ADA Coordinator, at 305-237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service); 11011 S.W. 104th St., Room 1102-01; Miami, FL 33176. EquityOff@mdc.edu

U.S. Postage PAID

Miami, FL PERMIT #313

Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, sexual orientation or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures and practices, please contact the College’s Equity Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and ADA Coordinator, at 305-237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service); 11011 S.W. 104th St., Room 1102-01; Miami, FL 33176. EquityOff@mdc.edu Non-profit Organization

“Filmmakers, keep making films for the big screen. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films. Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters and you will be molding the next generation of movie lovers and filmmakers. And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in a theater and let’s keep the great tradition of the moviegoing experience alive and well.”

– Sean Baker in his Best Director Oscar speech for Anora